Preface: S.R. Epstein (1960–2007) and the Guilds

PREFACE

Preface

PREFACE

The Economics of Guilds

O ccupational guilds have been observed for thousands of years in many economies: ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; medieval and early modern India, Japan, Persia, Byzantium, and Europe; and nineteenth-century China, Latin America, and the Ottoman Empire. Guilds were most prevalent in manufacturing. Almost all urban craftsmen were guilded and, in parts of central and southern Europe, many rural ...

Preface Preface

Large software projects involve a number of people who have to collaborate and coordinate their efforts in order to assure that the work progresses according to plans and that the individuals work with the same goal in mind. However, contemporary development tools traditionally offer little support for groups and hence do little or nothing to help avoiding these problems. Based on a number of e...