ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the formation of capitalism, many Chinese and Japanese writers ignore the business protection by statutory and customary law. In doing so they create an impression that capitalism could be made up by merchants alone. From Venice to the Dutch Republic to England, we can see that it is by no means easy for a nation to abandon its medieval background to fabricate a capitalist system. From Weber's work, it can be observed that under the general topic of capitalism, thought is closely linked with religion, jurisprudence, and economy. In this view Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke have made considerable contributions to the formation of capitalism. Renaissance polity had the ingredients of capitalism; it also had those of 'communism' and 'national socialism'. The observation provides an explanation for the formation of capitalism in England, not as a conclusion derived from the study of the civil war, nor from the study of land tenure itself.
