1. On the books: the markets we make by law
Coming into being: in praise of markets
Me and mine: property, the first market
Lex non scripta: the laws we don't make, or, the common law
I am my brother's keeper: cooperatives
Trust: how we cooperate to compete
Staking claims on the mind: intellectual property
Little commonwealths: corporations and the state that creates them
The future of corporations
2. Infrastructure: the markets we make by hand
From highways to health care: progress through infrastructure
Making places
The great nineteenth-century train robbery
A socialist paradise: the American road system
Waiting for a train station
What we did before: path dependence and markets
Police and prisons: freedom, security, and democracy
Why don't you make me? Government and force
3. Seeding the fields: the markets we make in our minds
Common tongue, common culture, common markets
4. The markets we build abroad
By your bootstraps: developing countries and markets
Last night upon the stairs: international law
5. Looking forward: making better markets
Conclusion: Making better markets
Afterword: My own story: a circuitous journey.