Writing the History of Capitalism

Jürgen Kocka, University Professor Emeritus at the Free University Berlin and former President of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin), delivered the first Gerald D. Feldman Memorial Lecture at the German Historical Institute. The Feldman Memorial Lecture was established by the Friends of the German Historical Institute to honor the memory of historian Gerald D. Feldman (1937-2007) and has been made possible by generous individual donations to the Gerald D. Feldman Lecture Series Endowment Fund. Professor Kocka spoke on the topic "Writing the History of Capitalism." After tracing the conceptual history of the term "capitalism," he provided a magisterial survey of the major stages in the historical development of capitalism before concluding with reflections on the current economic crisis and its place in the history of capitalism. Professor Kocka's lecture will be published in the Fall 2010 issue of the Bulletin of the GHI.