European Guilds

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This analysis explores European craft guilds over eight centuries, from the Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, highlighting their controversial role in the economy. Guilds were often seen as efficient institutions ensuring quality and skills but also faced criticism for excluding competitors, manipulating markets, and stifling innovation. The book examines thousands of guilds that shaped European economies from 1000 to 1880, using vivid examples and economic reasoning to weigh their benefits against their costs. It features perspectives from guild masters, journeymen, apprentices, and customers, while also addressing the struggles of marginalized groups—women, migrants, Jews, and others—who sought work but were often targeted as competitors. While guilds provided essential services and regulated quality, they also restricted access to affordable goods and apprenticeships for outsiders, and blocked innovations that threatened their interests. Ultimately, guilds thrived not because they corrected market failures or served the public good, but because they benefitted members and political elites. By delving into the inner workings of guilds across centuries, the analysis reveals how exclusive networks and privileged institutions can shape the economy, for better or worse.