Harvard professor Sven Beckert published a sweeping global history of capitalism after eight years of research, offering a synthetic interpretation that reframes capitalism as historically contingent rather than inevitable. Beckert’s 1,300-page study traces capitalism’s expansion from marginal medieval trade networks to a dominant modern system, and has sparked debate about narrative focus and methodology across academic reviews. The book is likely to influence history curricula, graduate seminars, and cross-disciplinary research on economic institutions at major universities. Departments may see renewed interest in global economic history and related hiring or programming shifts.