Economic History Partial One

What are the two main changes the industrial revolution brought to our world

1. Technological advancements

2. Labor intensive economies changed into machine based economies

Why did the West industrialize first (Overview)

The conditions for growth in the early modern period were fundamentally different in Western Europe in terms of:

1. Social Structure

2. Political Institutions

3. Science and culture

4. Demography

5. Economic Incentives

What are the main topics that explain the difference in social structure in western europe

• Karl Marx’s theory of capitalism

• Property and labour relationships

What are the stages in Marx’s schematic account of historical development

1. Primitive communism

2. Slave society

3. Feudalism

4. Capitalism

5. Socialism (Predicted)

Explain the origin of capitalism

• The origin of capitalism was set in motion by capital accumulation, which happened due to:

  • Dispossession of the peasant class, which meant there was a free propertyless working class

  • The existence of mercantile capital due to surplus extracted from the colonial trading system

Explain what Marxist theory attributed the path of eocnomic development to

• Marxist theory contended that property and labour relations are what determine the path of economic development

  • The medieval economy was based on serfdom, and so it limited labor mobility and capital markets

  • And so the modern economy, which was based on industry and commerce, could only develop with capital institutions like free markets and a landless working class

Critiques on the Marxist theory of capitalism

• Vibrant trade in medieval cities has already demonstrated capital features

• Serfdom was not a “blanket of tradition”

  • Markets existed, and peasants responded to commercial opportunities

  • Serfdom was flexible: Landlords demanded tribute in kind, money, or labor