Here, Lachmann offers an explanation for the origins of nation-states and capitalist markets in early modern Europe. He compares regions and cities within and across England, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands from the 12th through 18th centuries,

Capitalists in Spite of Themselves is a compelling narrative of how elites and other classes made and responded to political and religious revolutions while gradually creating the nation-states and capitalist markets which still constrain our behavior and order our world. It will prove invaluable for anyone wishing to understanding the economic and social history of early modern Europe.

1. Something Happened
2. Feudal Dynamics
3. The Limits of Urban Capitalism
4. State Formation
5. A Dead End and a Detour: Spain and the Netherlands
6. Elite Defensiveness and the Transformation of Class Relations in Britain and France
7. Religions and Ideology
8. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography