Listen free for 30 days

  • The Mystery of Capital

  • Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else
  • Written by: Hernando de Soto
  • Narrated by: Bob Souer
  • Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (10 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Mystery of Capital cover art

The Mystery of Capital

Written by: Hernando de Soto
Narrated by: Bob Souer
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $27.83

Buy Now for $27.83

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

A renowned economist's classic book on capitalism in the developing world, showing how property rights are the key to overcoming poverty.

"The hour of capitalism's greatest triumph," writes Hernando de Soto, "is, in the eyes of four-fifths of humanity, its hour of crisis." In The Mystery of Capital, the world-famous Peruvian economist takes up one of the most pressing questions the world faces today: Why do some countries succeed at capitalism while others fail?

In strong opposition to the popular view that success is determined by cultural differences, de Soto finds that it actually has everything to do with the legal structure of property and property rights. Every developed nation in the world at one time went through the transformation from predominantly extralegal property arrangements, such as squatting on large estates, to a formal, unified legal property system. In the West, we've forgotten that creating this system is what allowed people everywhere to leverage property into wealth. This persuasive book revolutionized our understanding of capital and points the way to a major transformation of the world economy.

©2000 Hernando de Soto (P)2019 Tantor

What listeners say about The Mystery of Capital

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking but

It was occasionally repetitive/ redundant beyond value, in my opinion and for my preference anyway.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!