New Books in Economics Trevor Jackson, "The Insatiable Machine: How Capitalism Conquered the World" (Norton, 2026)
Apr 28, 2026
Trevor Jackson, an economic historian at UC Berkeley and author of The Insatiable Machine, traces capitalism from 15th-century monetary origins to early 20th-century challenges. He covers monetization, colonial silver, slavery’s role in enriching elites, industrial energy use and environmental change, and why capitalism is neither natural nor inevitable.
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Book Born From A Class And A Last Slot Presentation
- The book began as a class Trevor Jackson had taught for a decade and a quick Warren Center presentation during a Harvard fellowship year.
- He wrote a draft within a year, used grad students' feedback, and then Norton asked him to revise the introduction for trade publication.
Markets In Factors Define Capitalism
- Capitalism is best defined by markets for factors of production: land, labor, and capital rather than merely markets in commodities.
- Trevor Jackson contrasts societies (e.g., Soviet Union, medieval Europe) that lack land, labor, or capital markets to show why they are non-capitalist.
Periodization Uses Lives To Reveal Systemic Shifts
- Jackson periodizes his story roughly 1415–1933, centering prologue/intermission/afterword on lifespans (Luther 1517, Newton 1717, Lenin 1917) to reveal shifts across eras.
- He ends at the interwar low point to unsettle triumphalist narratives and emphasize capitalism's fragility.
