On Conspiracies | Penguin Great IdeasThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. Machiavelli is one of the

Pioneers of Capitalism offers a panoramic account of the early history of capitalism

these pieces stretch the boundaries of language and literary form

In Land Power

she found herself entranced each morning by the sight of clothes strewn about

Every word and gesture made headlines and garnered controversy

Drawing on Sufi traditions and practices

from the traditional to the speculative—the Vietnam Memorial in Washington

the slowdown in global economic growth and the inevitability of climate change

is a public intellectual and founder of the People’s Justice Party

The novellas

and Zhao Xiaoli—who share Su Li’s ambition to explain the resilience of ancient China’s political system but who contend that he overstates functionalist dimensions while downplaying the symbolic

and why they have shifted