Capitalism is an economic growth machine, and with the collapse of socialism, it is now poised to become a truly global system. There are, however, three major questions which arise from its success.

One is whether capitalism can revolutionize the living standards of the poor nations in the way that it has done for countries in the West. If it can, the second question arises of whether the global eco-system can survive such a massive expansion of industrial output. And if and when capitalism has overcome these problems, the third and biggest question still remains: will human beings be any happier as a result?

After explaining how a capitalist system works, Peter Saunders draws extensively on the latest evidence from around the world to provide a 'social audit' of contemporary capitalism before concluding with a review of capitalism's prospects in the countries where it originated. With key elements of 'bourgeois culture' now collapsing from within, does liberal capitalism have a future in the West?