Classic Works of Sociology and Economics
1. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith - 1776
Smith's foundational work on free-market economics introduced the invisible hand, shaping modern capitalism and policy.
2. The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
John Maynard Keynes - 1936
Keynes' theory of government intervention in economic cycles revolutionized macroeconomic policy globally.
3. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1
Karl Marx - 1867
Marx's analysis of capitalism's contradictions laid the groundwork for Marxist theory, impacting global thought.
4. Capitalism and Freedom
Milton Friedman - 1962
Friedman's defense of free markets and limited government became a cornerstone of neoliberal economics.
5. Capital in the 21st Century
Thomas Piketty - 2013
Piketty's study of wealth inequality sparked global debates on economic justice with data-driven insights.
6. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Max Weber - 1905
Weber's link between Protestant values and capitalism offered a cultural explanation for economic growth.
7. The Division of Labor in Society
Émile Durkheim - 1893
Durkheim's study of social cohesion through labor specialization shaped sociology's view of interdependence.
8. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste
Pierre Bourdieu - 1984
Bourdieu's work on cultural capital revealed how taste reinforces class distinctions, impacting sociology.
9. The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century
Immanuel Wallerstein - 1974
Wallerstein's world-systems theory framed global inequality as a product of capitalist expansion.
10. The Consequences of Modernity
Anthony Giddens - 1990
Giddens' analysis of modernity's risks and globalization shaped sociological views of social change.
11. The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time
Karl Polanyi - 1944
Polanyi's critique of market-driven societies highlighted the social costs of unregulated capitalism.
12. Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil
Thomas Hobbes - 1651
Hobbes' social contract theory laid the philosophical foundation for modern political thought.
13. Selections from the Prison Notebooks
Antonio Gramsci - 1971
Gramsci's concepts of cultural hegemony reshaped Marxist theory and influenced cultural studies.
14. The End of History and the Last Man
Francis Fukuyama - 1992
Fukuyama's claim that liberal democracy marked ideological evolution's end sparked global debates.
15. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson - 2012
Acemoglu and Robinson's institutional theory emphasized inclusive governance in economic success.
16. The Modern World-System II: Mercantilism and the Consolidation of the European World-Economy, 1600–1750
Immanuel Wallerstein - 1980
Wallerstein's analysis of mercantilism deepened understanding of global capitalist hierarchies.
17. The Modern World-System III: The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist World-Economy, 1730s–1840s
Immanuel Wallerstein - 1989
This volume explored industrial capitalism's global spread, reinforcing Wallerstein's framework.
18. The Modern World-System IV: Centrist Liberalism Triumphant, 1789–1914
Immanuel Wallerstein - 2011
Wallerstein's final volume analyzed liberalism's dominance, offering ideological insights.
19. Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism
V.I. Lenin - 1917
Lenin's theory of imperialism as capitalism's expansionist phase shaped anti-colonial movements.
20. The State and Revolution
V.I. Lenin - 1917
Lenin's blueprint for a proletarian state influenced revolutionary movements worldwide.
21. What is to Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement
V.I. Lenin - 1902
Lenin's call for a revolutionary vanguard shaped Bolshevik strategy and communist movements.
22. The British Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia
Mark Doyle (Ed.) - 2018
Doyle's reference work illuminated the British Empire's global impact, aiding postcolonial studies.
23. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
Walter Rodney - 1972
Rodney's critique of colonial exploitation reshaped postcolonial and African development studies.
24. The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon - 1961
Fanon's analysis of colonial oppression became a foundational text for liberation movements.
25. Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Ayn Rand - 1966
Rand's defense of laissez-faire capitalism influenced libertarian thought, despite criticism.
26. De Justitia et Jure
Jesuit Authors - 1609
This Jesuit treatise on justice blended theology with economic ethics, influencing moral philosophy.
27. The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand - 1964
Rand's advocacy for rational self-interest popularized objectivism, shaping libertarian ideology.
28. Lehrbuch der Nationalökonomie
Jesuit Authors - 1855
This Jesuit textbook integrated Catholic thought, influencing 19th-century economic ethics.
29. The Organization of a Christian Economy
Jesuit Authors - 1936
This work proposed a Christian economic framework, responding to capitalist and socialist challenges.
Works from China
30. The Great Divergence
Kenneth Pomeranz - 2000
Pomeranz's comparative analysis of China and Europe reshaped global economic history debates.
31. Red Capitalism
Carl Walter, Fraser Howie - 2011
Walter and Howie's study of China's state-driven capitalism revealed its financial complexities.
32. The Search for Modern China
Jonathan D. Spence - 1990
Spence's history of China's modernization provided critical insights into its evolution.
33. How China Became Capitalist
Ronald Coase, Ning Wang - 2012
Coase and Wang's study of China's market reforms highlighted gradual liberalization's impact.
34. Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics
Yasheng Huang - 2008
Huang's analysis of China's state-led capitalism explained its unique economic growth model.
Works from Russia
35. The Russian Economy
Richard Connolly - 2020
Connolly's overview of Russia's economy highlighted resource dependency, informing geopolitics.
36. The House of Government
Yuri Slezkine - 2017
Slezkine's history of Soviet elites offered a sociological portrait of the USSR's ideology.
37. The Soviet Tragedy
Martin Malia - 1994
Malia's critique of Soviet socialism's failures shaped views of its collapse and legacy.
Works from Africa
38. Africa's Silk Road
Harry G. Broadman - 2007
Broadman's study of Africa-China trade highlighted new economic dynamics in Africa.
39. The Dragon's Gift
Deborah Brautigam - 2009
Brautigam's analysis of China's aid to Africa reshaped views on global development partnerships.
40. Black Power: A Record of Reactions in a Land of Pathos
Richard Wright - 1954
Wright's exploration of African independence captured its emotional and political stakes.
41. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870–1914
Eugen Weber - 1976
Weber's study of modernization offered a model relevant to African social transformations.
Works from Latin America
42. Open Veins of Latin America
Eduardo Galeano - 1971
Galeano's critique of exploitation became a seminal text for Latin American leftist movements.
43. Left Behind
Sebastian Edwards - 2010
Edwards' analysis of Latin America's stagnation influenced regional development debates.
44. The Economic History of Latin America
Victor Bulmer-Thomas - 1994
Bulmer-Thomas' history clarified Latin America's global economic role, shaping regional studies.
45. The Land of Open Graves
Jason De León - 2015
De León's study of migrant deaths exposed the human cost of U.S.-Mexico border policies.
46. The Jakarta Method
Vincent Bevins - 2020
Bevins' account of U.S.-backed purges revealed their lasting impact on Latin America.
Works from Central Asia
47. Empires of the Steppes
René Grousset - 1939
Grousset's history of nomadic empires illuminated Central Asia's global influence.
48. The Making of the Kazakh Nation
Bakhytnur Otarbaeva - 2016
Otarbaeva's study of Kazakh nation-building highlighted post-Soviet identity formation.
Works from Other Regions
49. The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem
Benny Morris - 1988
Morris' analysis of the 1948 Palestinian exodus shaped Israeli-Palestinian conflict debates.
50. Things Fall Apart
Paul Mattick - 2011
Mattick's Marxist critique of capitalist crises offered a lens for economic instability.