The pioneering and still relevant Marxist studies of the transition from feudalism to capitalism in this collection are, with one exception, published in English here for the first time.

Before his better-known work on Marx's theories, Henryk Grossman wrote about the economic history of Galicia, the Polish province annexed by the Habsburgs, drawing on very extensive primary research. His later, devastating critique of Max Weber's argument about Protestantism and the rise of capitalism is also included in this volume.