Origins of the Modern World key terms (Intro and Chapter 1)

"The Gap"

industries increased wealth & power causing a growing gap between the wealthy and poor.

Adam Smith

supporter of mercantilism, and free trade. Said that individuals should be free.

Thomas Malthus

minister (protestant) obsessed with population (studied it and how it drove the civilization)

Max Weber

German sociologist that regarded the development of rational social orders as humanity's greatest achievement. Saw bureaucratization (the process whereby labor is divided into an organized community and individuals acquire a sense of personal identity by finding roles for themselves in large systems) as the driving force in modern society.

diffusionist

Theory of how world history unfolded

Eurocentrism

ideology or a distortion of truth and used by the west to mask its global dominance

Contingency

Powerful implication of the story line or the rise of the west

Conjuncture

Occurs when several independent developments come together in ways that interact with one another, creating a unique historical moment

Malthusian trap

People require food to survive, people driven by instinct want to have children.
1. Population grows exponetianly and food becomes scarce
2. Food becomes more expensive
3. Mostly poor classes suffer (death/diseases)
4. population decreases
5. food becomes more plentiful
6.health improves
7. repeat and start at #1

How can you avoid the Malthusian trap?

By inventing new technologies (escape route). Technology helps with birth control (prevents big population and growths)

agrarian empire

society whose culture and economy is based on farming

David Ricardo

English economist who argued that the laws of supply and demand should operate in a free market (1772-1823), made Iron Law of Wages

ethnocentrism

The belief that one's group is of central importance, tendency to judge the practices of other groups by one's own cultural standards.

Eurasia

the large landmass that includes both Europe and Asia

European miracle

Europeans had something innate and unique that made them superior to all other civilizations in terms of progress. Democracy was found in Athens, peasants were better treated, Europeans were more religiously tolerant, Europeans were biologically superior.

historical narrative

Accounts of real life historical experiences written by someone who experienced the events first hand (observer or participant)

Karl Marx

1818-1883. 19th century philosopher, political economist, sociologist, humanist, political theorist, and revolutionary. Often recognized as the father of communism. Analysis of history led to his belief that communism would replace capitalism as it replaced feudalism. Believed in a classless society.

master narrative

a historical-cultural story that reflects how a group defines itself and positions its members relative to other groups of people

polycentric world

a world with many economic and cultural centers- Europe, India, China

rise of the West

the combination of events with a Eurocentric view that brought western culture to the top

WTO (World Trade Organization)

In international body that overseas trade agreements and settles trade disputes among countries

agricultural revolution

The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

biological old regime

The material and natural conditions under which most people lived, an over-whelmingly agricultural world. 1450-1750

macroparasites

live in host but release juvenille stages outside the hosts body

nomads

having no fixed home, moving from place to place in search of food, water, or grazing land

world system

Theory developed by Immanuel Wallerstein that explains the emergence of a core, periphery, and semi periphery in terms of economic and political connections first established at the beginning of exploration in the late 15th century and maintained through increased economic access up until the present.

periphery

a boundary line; perimeter; an outside surface

black death

The common name for a major outbreak of plague that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, carrying off vast numbers of persons.