Presents a foundational conception of wealth as a form of social resource, and explains the consequences for our understanding of social relations and social process. This title demonstrates the articulation of household resources in relation to wealth, and constructs a measure of the social power attributable to the holding of wealth assets.

Bell presents for the first time a foundational conception of wealth as a form of social resource, and explains the consequences for our understanding of social relations and social process. He demonstrates the articulation of household resources in relation to wealth, constructs a measure of the social power attributable to the holding of wealth assets, and presents an analytically powerful conception of balanced exchange. By observing the implications of wealth on a cross-cultural and multi-societal basis he shows how we can gain new insights into the implications of capital formation during this period of global accumulation.