Mother of Capital
Rent, or unearned income, is a pervasive concept in contemporary economics. Economists of all stripes see today's global economy as riddled with harmful rents, but most deny these are intrinsic to capitalism, and insist they can be eliminated with the right policies. It begs the question, why is ren...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Pluto Press
2026
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| Online Access: | ONIX_20260415T184306_9780745350561_2 |
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| _version_ | 1869524138033414144 |
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| author | Costa, Matthew |
| author_browse | Costa, Matthew |
| author_facet | Costa, Matthew |
| author_sort | Costa, Matthew |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Rent, or unearned income, is a pervasive concept in contemporary economics. Economists of all stripes see today's global economy as riddled with harmful rents, but most deny these are intrinsic to capitalism, and insist they can be eliminated with the right policies. It begs the question, why is rent theory so critical of the present but so optimistic about the future? In Mother of Capital, Matthew Costa delves into the intellectual and social history of rent to solve this puzzle. Centring rent as the engine of capitalism's historical emergence in medieval Europe, he offers a groundbreaking, systematic history of rent and rent theory. The book also traces the history of resistance to rent from below, and unearths a neglected body of critical rent theory. Weaving complex strands of social and intellectual history into a vivid, lively, and original explanation of how the society we live in came to be, Costa makes a bold intervention into contemporary debates about the origins and future of capitalism, the nature of social change, and of history itself. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-175777 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Pluto Press |
| publisherStr | Pluto Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1757772026-06-12T06:37:22Z Mother of Capital Costa, Matthew Rent theory World history Economic history Wage labour Future of capitalism Subaltern movements Economic theory Rent Transition from feudalism to capitalism History of capitalist economics Birth of capitalism Engine of history Feudal Britain History of Renting Private Rent Renters Capitalism and the state Accumulation by dispossession Uneven development Subaltern studies Global proletariat Class struggle Heterodox economics Neo-feudalism Economic history of England Radical economic thought Postcapitalism Land politics Peasant studies Capitalism’s future Historical sociology Transition debates Historical materialism Marxist theory Political economy Primitive accumulation Critique of political economy History of capitalism Capitalism vs feudalism Techno-feudalism Capitalist transition Rentier capitalism Economic rent History of rent Origins of capitalism Resistance to rent Proletarianization Books on rent Private renting Rent strikes Theory of Rent thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCA Economic theory and philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCS Economic systems and structures::KCSA Capitalism thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCP Political economy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPF Political ideologies and movements::JPFC Far-left political ideologies and movements Rent, or unearned income, is a pervasive concept in contemporary economics. Economists of all stripes see today's global economy as riddled with harmful rents, but most deny these are intrinsic to capitalism, and insist they can be eliminated with the right policies. It begs the question, why is rent theory so critical of the present but so optimistic about the future? In Mother of Capital, Matthew Costa delves into the intellectual and social history of rent to solve this puzzle. Centring rent as the engine of capitalism's historical emergence in medieval Europe, he offers a groundbreaking, systematic history of rent and rent theory. The book also traces the history of resistance to rent from below, and unearths a neglected body of critical rent theory. Weaving complex strands of social and intellectual history into a vivid, lively, and original explanation of how the society we live in came to be, Costa makes a bold intervention into contemporary debates about the origins and future of capitalism, the nature of social change, and of history itself. 2026-04-20T08:38:19Z 2026-04-20T08:38:19Z 2026-04-16T12:07:02Z 2025 book ONIX_20260415T184306_9780745350561_2 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/112426 9780745350561 9780745350554 9780745350547 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/175777 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/112426/1/9780745350561.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/112426/1/9780745350561.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/112426/1/9780745350561.pdf Pluto Press cdf55516-7e48-4edb-898e-73aa7305a12c 9780745350561 9780745350554 9780745350547 Knowledge Unlatched (KU) Knowledge Unlatched (KU) KU Select 2025 320 London open access |
| spellingShingle | Rent theory World history Economic history Wage labour Future of capitalism Subaltern movements Economic theory Rent Transition from feudalism to capitalism History of capitalist economics Birth of capitalism Engine of history Feudal Britain History of Renting Private Rent Renters Capitalism and the state Accumulation by dispossession Uneven development Subaltern studies Global proletariat Class struggle Heterodox economics Neo-feudalism Economic history of England Radical economic thought Postcapitalism Land politics Peasant studies Capitalism’s future Historical sociology Transition debates Historical materialism Marxist theory Political economy Primitive accumulation Critique of political economy History of capitalism Capitalism vs feudalism Techno-feudalism Capitalist transition Rentier capitalism Economic rent History of rent Origins of capitalism Resistance to rent Proletarianization Books on rent Private renting Rent strikes Theory of Rent thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCA Economic theory and philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCS Economic systems and structures::KCSA Capitalism thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCP Political economy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPF Political ideologies and movements::JPFC Far-left political ideologies and movements Costa, Matthew Mother of Capital |
| title | Mother of Capital |
| title_full | Mother of Capital |
| title_fullStr | Mother of Capital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mother of Capital |
| title_short | Mother of Capital |
| title_sort | mother of capital |
| topic | Rent theory World history Economic history Wage labour Future of capitalism Subaltern movements Economic theory Rent Transition from feudalism to capitalism History of capitalist economics Birth of capitalism Engine of history Feudal Britain History of Renting Private Rent Renters Capitalism and the state Accumulation by dispossession Uneven development Subaltern studies Global proletariat Class struggle Heterodox economics Neo-feudalism Economic history of England Radical economic thought Postcapitalism Land politics Peasant studies Capitalism’s future Historical sociology Transition debates Historical materialism Marxist theory Political economy Primitive accumulation Critique of political economy History of capitalism Capitalism vs feudalism Techno-feudalism Capitalist transition Rentier capitalism Economic rent History of rent Origins of capitalism Resistance to rent Proletarianization Books on rent Private renting Rent strikes Theory of Rent thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCA Economic theory and philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCS Economic systems and structures::KCSA Capitalism thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCP Political economy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPF Political ideologies and movements::JPFC Far-left political ideologies and movements |
| topic_facet | Rent theory World history Economic history Wage labour Future of capitalism Subaltern movements Economic theory Rent Transition from feudalism to capitalism History of capitalist economics Birth of capitalism Engine of history Feudal Britain History of Renting Private Rent Renters Capitalism and the state Accumulation by dispossession Uneven development Subaltern studies Global proletariat Class struggle Heterodox economics Neo-feudalism Economic history of England Radical economic thought Postcapitalism Land politics Peasant studies Capitalism’s future Historical sociology Transition debates Historical materialism Marxist theory Political economy Primitive accumulation Critique of political economy History of capitalism Capitalism vs feudalism Techno-feudalism Capitalist transition Rentier capitalism Economic rent History of rent Origins of capitalism Resistance to rent Proletarianization Books on rent Private renting Rent strikes Theory of Rent thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCA Economic theory and philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCS Economic systems and structures::KCSA Capitalism thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCZ Economic history thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHD European history::NHDJ European history: medieval period, middle ages thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KC Economics::KCP Political economy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPF Political ideologies and movements::JPFC Far-left political ideologies and movements |
| url | ONIX_20260415T184306_9780745350561_2 |
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