This Introduction explo r es the o r igins of capitalism a nd questions whether it did indeed o r iginate in Europe. It examines a distinctive stage in the development of capitalism that began in the 1980s, in o r der to understa nd wh ere we are now a nd how capitalism has evolved since. The book discusses the crisis tendencies of capitalism--including the S.E. Asian banking crisis, the collapse of the Russian economy, a nd the 1997-1998 global financial crisis--asking whether capitalism is doomed to fail. In the end, the autho r ruminates on a possible alternative to capitalism, discussing socialism, communal a nd cooperative experiments, a nd alternatives proposed by environmentalists.