The evolution of modern capitalism: a study of machine production

ch. 1. The origin of modern capitalism -- ch. 2. The instruments of capitalism -- ch. 3. The structure of industry before machinery -- ch. 4. The order of development of machine industry -- ch. 5. Size and structure of the modern business -- ch. 6. The structure of trades and markets -- ch. 7. Combinations of capital -- ch. 8. Cartels and trusts -- ch. 9. Economic powers of the trust -- ch. 10. The financier -- ch. 11. Machinery and industrial depression -- ch. 12. Machinery and demand for labour -- ch. 13. Machinery and the quality of labour -- ch. 14. The economy of high wages -- ch. 15. Some effects of modern industry upon the workers as consumers -- ch. 16. Occupations of the people -- ch. 17. Civilisation and industrial development.

Hobson's The Evolution of Modern Capitalism was first published in 1894, although this reissue is of the fourth edition, published in 1926. The work traces the developments in trade and industry which characterised the first decades of the twentieth century. In the first part, Hobson deals with the origins and structure of modern capitalism, including the development of the machine industry, the changing structure of trades and markets, and the effects of these on workers and consumers. The final supplementary chapter considers the impact of World War I on this changing economy, and the 'distu