Understanding the present crisis of capitalism demands a historical review. In this collection, Wolf Lepenies looks back to Honoré de Balzac's "human comedy." The contribution by Hans-Ulrich Wehler discusses the German variation on state-guided capitalism. Ute Frevert and Hartmut Berghoff underline the meaning of emotions in capitalsm. Gudrun Krämer relativises Max Weber's theory of the "spirit of capitalism" as a genuinely Calvinistic thought by looking at Islam. Gunilla Budde in her contribution points out the changing influence of the family today. Jürgen Kocka compares past financial crises, and Charles S. Maier and Marcel van der Linden discuss the book's theme from the perspective of world history.

Dr. Gunilla Budde ist Professorin für Deutsche und Europäische Geschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts und Vizepräsidentin an der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.