With its roots in history and eyes on the future, this solid book gives students a balanced perspective of why our economic society is the way it is and where it may be headed by tracing its development from the Middles Ages to the present. Showing that today's economic problems cannot be understood unless we have an understanding of how they first arose, it explores the catalytic role past economic trends and dynamics—particularly capitalism—have played in creating the present challenges we face, and offers suggestions on how we may deal with them most effectively.