C

Lecture 7

Ellen Meiksins Wood: An Opposing View of Markets and Globalization

What is Meiksins Wood’s argument

  • Prof’s argument: capitalist economy - market economy, labour…

    • Investment in cash crops system

  • Wood’s argument: relationship between producers and capital is what’s important

How is her theory different than Wallerstein's?

  • Capitalism: when the actual producers don’t own the means of production, surplus they make is taken through market mechanism (not coercion)
  • Most of the population purchases their necessities on the market
  • Important in the relations in rural England→ 1st emerges here
  • This relationship is determinative of what capitalism is - Marxist perspective
  • 15th century

How does her different concept of capitalism affect her view of globalization?

  • Spanish + Portuguese: snatch and grab → no investment

    • Imperial expansion was not motivated by capitalism because it hadn’t happened yet; not what motivated them

  • England

    • Ireland: land reforms → profit motive + investment in production
    • Development of agricultural production

Ideology and Social Action

What is ideology?

  • Different definitions

  • All definitions share some patterns

    • Ideas
    • Reason why these ideas exist
    • Connects to general social group
    • Stabilizes society
    • System of beliefs/thoughts

  • Systems developed so that we interact with the world

  • Intentionally constructed ones

    • Ex: legal ideology

  • Ones that exist in a Darwinian situation, society-wide

    • Ex: patriarchal worldview → allowed men to maintain their positions of power

What is ideology critique?

  • Talk about theory on 2 grounds:
    • Theory is false, doesn’t represent the world correctly
    • Here is its social function
    • Track how social functions change = really useful

How does it work, what should you focus on?

  • Ideas about what is good or bad
  • Reflect views of the dominant social group

Ideology and Globalization

Some examples of ideologies that helped with building the modern, globalized world

  • Theory of property

  • Imperial glory

  • Free trade - mercantilism

  • Economic thought

  • Dehumanization of Indigenous people

  • Wood's criticism of Locke:

    • Locke’s theory of property: apply moral right to property after you mix your labour with it. If they do not doing this → no right to their land
    • Very advantageous for a market economy
    • Social role: okay to take the land
    • Ideology of improvement!!
    • Reflection of the status quo and stabilizes what empires are doing
    • Not the bad guy

Examples:

  • Shariah bank systems: take medieval concept and apply it in the modern world

    • Organize the economy of Islamic world → have a purpose

  • Slave ideology in the U.S.

    • Dred Scott Case
    • Judges wanted to reinforce the system of racial domination

  • ^^Paper^^: what ideas and ideologies were used to advance globalization

    • What about this ideology gives you an advantage