GS 450 Global Studies Seminar & Portfolio
Professor Thorburn
December 1, 2007
Capitalism: A Window of Opportunity?
The transition from one socio-economic system to another will inevitably benefit some individuals and groups at the expense of others. In our modern capitalist society, many have struggled to reach "The Emerald City", only to find themselves more excluded from enjoying the benefits of global capitalism than they were before. Others have simply rejected this system altogether. While capitalism has ignited improvements in technology, power, and wealth for many, there has also evolved out of it social and economic unrest (peasant protest, rebellion, and resistance), destruction of the environment (due to population, technology, and consumption), and an increase in the division between rich and poor. It has, no doubt, transformed the way people have lived over the last five centuries.
Capitalism evolved from the Age of Exploration. Starting in the 1400's, as technology became more advanced, as well as the discovery of new and better shipping routes, merchants acquired the ability to get to their destinations in faster time. As a result, Europeans in particular began acquiring a taste for new products introduced to them. People from one part of the globe were being introduced to products from other parts of the globe. Technology played a significant role in this transformation: "Through technology, both capital and ideas move around the world quickly. Goods and services become readily available any place at the same time. Cross-border competition is facilitated and encouraged and alternative international networks are established" (HIS 320 Web Reading). As the demand for products increased, merchants simultaneously sought an increase in profit.
In addition to the expansion of global trade in the 1400s, the Industrial Revolution also played a significant key turning point and "transformed the world and human societies as did no other event in history. We cannot understand the events, issues, and problems of today's world without understanding the hows and whys of the industrial revolution" (Robbins, xv). Actually, before the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the mode of production had already changed in certain parts of the globe. For example, paper money was first established in China,
| cotton paper stamped with a government seal This became the means of exchange between merchants. Paper money also allowed the state to control the flow of money in and out of the country. Precious metals, such as gold and silver, could not be used by foreigners in trade, so foreign traders were forced to exchange their gold or silver for paper money, which they then exchanged for gold and silver when they left. Because they had usually purchased Chinese commodities to sell elsewhere, they usually left with less gold and silver than when they arrived. (Robbins, p. 69) |
Paper money was later established in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. In addition to the advent of paper money, another precursor to industrialization was the transformation of luxury consumer items into necessities.
Luxury items had to be transformed into necessities for this new system to work. If the new consumers were made to feel they had to have a certain commodity, they would be more likely to buy the good. A good example of this is the story of sugar, but in order for sugar to be transformed from a luxury good to a necessity, there needed to be a compliant work force.
Plantation slavery in the Americas and the Atlantic slave trade were so important to the global expansion of capitalism because slaves "were a major form of investment" (Robbins, p. 77). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the legal basis for wealth in Africa revolved around the idea of the transfer of ownership of people (Robbins, p. 77). Because of the importance of sugar, gold, silver, and cochineal, slaves were in high demand as workers in the Atlantic Islands and the Americas. Economically, the growth of the modern global economy was substantially stimulated by the slave trade connecting Africa, Europe, and the Americas because "the triangular trade between Europe, Africa, and the New World, was one of the most lucrative aspects of the mercantile economy" (HIS 320 Web Reading).
| This new system transformed traditional African inter-tribal wars into three hundred years of devastating slave wars - wars that introduced Europe's increasingly advanced military technology in the fray and fed the Atlantic triangular trading system's ever increasing demand for plantation slaves: The development of plantation economies in the New World which were dependent on imported slave labor as their principal productive power, brought large parts of Africa, inland from Dakar to the Congo, into the historical process of world capitalist development. (GLS 430 Lecture) |
In addition to the human costs, another negative aspect of sugar was the destruction to our environment. As sugar was turned into a necessity, forests had to be cleared to plant the sugar. Wood or fossil fuels were used in processing, which, in turn, affected the environment in a destructive manner. These patterns have proved to be environmentally unsound (Robbins, p. 211). The same can be said about the history of beef. "Livestock breeding has been indicted for even greater environmental damage than sugar production, largely because of the vast amount of land needed to raise cattle. More than one third of the world's grain harvest is used to feed livestock" when it could be used to feed people (HIS 320 Web Reading).
With the creation of capitalism, several things had to change. First, the belief, as stated above, that trade and consumption were a "source of well being" had to be established. Without a demand for products, this new system would not work. Secondly, there emerged not only the consumer, but the laborer, the capitalist, and the nation-state. In order for the new system to work, more weight needed to be placed on the creation and importance of money. These were new steps in history. Because the establishment of the ideals of consumption was at the core of the creation of capitalism, the laborer was needed in order for there to be products to consume. Nation states
| guaranteed ownership of private property and the means of production and provided support for disciplining the workforce. The state also had to provide and maintain the economic infrastructure - transportation, communication, judicial systems, education, and so on - required by capitalist production. The nation-state must regulate conflicts between competing capitalists at home and abroad, by diplomacy if possible, by war if necessary. The state plays an essential role in creating conditions that inhibit or promote consumption; controls legislation that may force people off the land to seek wage labor; legislates to regulate or deregulate corporations; controls the money supply; initiates economic, political, and social policies to attract capital; and controls the legitimate use of force. (Robbins, p. 108-109) |
In addition to the role of nation states, economies needed to grow in order for this new system to work. According to Robbins, "the prime directive of capitalism is that it must maintain economic growth" (p. 4). Thus, economic growth was an important factor in the creation of capitalism. "Failure to maintain growth would threaten the economic, social, and political foundations and stability of our entire society" (Robbins, p. 4). Economic growth was necessary in order for people to have the ability to buy more, for employers to pay more, and for capitalists to profit more (Robbins, 6-7).
What was gained from this new culture? Capitalism has ignited improvements in technology, power, and wealth. As stated earlier, starting in the 1400s, new technology allowed merchants to transport more goods faster from continent to continent. It also allowed exposure to items never heard of before. "If, as global merchants in 1400, we were searching for ways to make money, the best opportunities would be in long-distance trade, buying goods in one area of the world and selling them in another" (Robbins, p. 68). For example, items such as silk, jewelry, honey, ginger, boots, gold and silver, were being introduced to Europeans from other parts of the globe. "It was the era of discovery and conquest, of the voyages of Columbus, of efforts to find alternative routes to China and the East Indies" (Robbins, p. 75). As a result, Europe expanded into an international market system (Robbins, p. 77). Life was good for many people, but there was unrest in others.
While technology was benefiting those in Europe and the United States, production and distribution practices were being questioned in other parts of the world, as well as from within Europe and the United States. Rebellion and protest are endemic to the culture of capitalism because while this type of economy may benefit some, "it can also disrupt the lives of others" (Robbins, p. 308). For example, through the latter half of the 1840s, Europe was engulfed in working-class rebellions. Revolution and violence spread from country to country, signifying the turbulent mood of Europe at the time. These rebellions also became rebellions against constraint between profit-hungry landlords and land-hungry peasants.
Since 1400, capitalism has been on a long run of developing from conquest to colonialism, as well as new rounds of colonialism disguised in trade agreements and trade barriers. More recently, the people of Chiapas called the new imperialism "the beast". They refer to coffee, beef, honey, and corn as being "bled" from the region.
| Chiapaneco blood flows as a result of the thousand teeth sunk into the throat of the Mexican Southeast. Chiapas loses blood through many veins: Through oil and gas ducts, electric lines, railways, through bank accounts, trucks, vans, boats, and planes, through clandestine paths, gaps, and forest trails. This land continues to pay tribute to the imperialists: petroleum, electricity, cattle, money, coffee, banana, honey, corn, cacao, tobacco, sugar, soy, melon, sorghum, mamey, mango, tamarind, avocado. (HIS 320 Web Reading) |
In other words, as those in the periphery provided the natural resources which allowed the core to develop, they were often left behind and unable to compete in the world market. Other movements have evolved as a direct result of the culture of capitalism, such as the Pullman Strike, the Chipko Movement, and the Mau Mau Rebellions, all anti-systemic struggles against the detrimental effects capitalism had imposed on them collectively.
Another example of protest came in the form of a letter. In a "Letter to a King" in 1613, a native Andean from Huamanga in the southern Peruvian Andes attempted to unfold the truth about the colonization of his people. Guaman Poma was a Peruvian prince who wrote this letter about 40 years after the fall of the Incan Empire to the Spanish (SOC 328 Web Reading). Guaman describes the daily hardships of life under colonialism with the Spanish conquistadores who came from Spain to colonize and enslave the indigenous Americans. The contribution he has made through this letter has opened the door to dialogue on issues of freedom, liberty, and modern political and social organization. Guaman Poma's work contradicts the idea that the Europeans brought civilization and political organization to the Incas, and ultimately includes hundreds of pages "documenting and denouncing Spanish exploitation and abuse" (SOC 328 Web Reading). What was Poma's ultimate goal? "Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's aim was to seek the reform of Spanish colonial governance in order to save the Andean peoples from the destructive forces of colonial exploitation, disease, and miscegenation" (SOC 328 Web Reading). What predated Europe's intervention was actually a thriving Inca social and economic organization. Achievements of Inca civilization prior to colonization were vast. For example, "the 19,000 miles of roads and tracks that extended throughout their empire provide some indication of their engineering skill. Machu Picchu remains, to this day, one of the architectural wonders of the world" (Benton & Di Yanni, p. 222-223).
Core countries have profited immensely not only from resources in peripheral regions, but from labor in the periphery as well. Today, sweatshops have replaced the slave labor of the past. Women and children primarily work in sweatshops because, historically, they found themselves in strange surroundings due to being uprooted from their land. As third-world countries attempted to industrialize, laborers moved from rural areas to cities to obtain wage labor, only to find themselves being exploited. The Mexican maquiladora workers' struggle for better pay and conditions is a prime example of exploitation, but pales in comparison with those associated with the numerous illegal sweatshops around the world. This clip of what life is like in a border town exposes the harsh conditions under which workers must function. Most workers are in a constant struggle to earn a decent life for themselves and constantly live in fear. Exploitation occurred in core countries as well. For example, workers at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City were unable to escape a fire because they were locked inside. The incident at the Triangle Waist Company exposed the harsh conditions workers faced in light of capitalism:
| The fire at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City, which claimed the lives of 146 young immigrant workers, is one of the worst disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. This incident has had great significance to this day because it highlights the inhumane working conditions to which industrial workers can be subjected. To many, its horrors epitomize the extremes of industrialism. The tragedy still dwells in the collective memory of the nation and of the international labor movement. The victims of the tragedy are still celebrated as martyrs at the hands of industrial greed. (The Triangle Factory Fire) |
While migrants to cities are often met with inadequate working conditions, cities continue to grow. Poverty and poor working conditions are the result. Sweatshops are related to the culture of capitalism today. Historically, as long as there was a product to be made, there was a risk of exploitation. Much of the wealth in developing cities is controlled by foreign firms, so core nations benefit, leaving third-world cities behind.
Commodity fetishism had become another negative aspect of capitalism. "Capitalism has been characterized as a black box whose purpose it is to convert money into more money, to take monetary investments and convert them into profits and interest. They place money in banks, stocks, or other investments and expect to get more money back without ever questioning the process through which this conversion occurs" (Robbins, p. 63). Commodity fetishism relates to the issue of sweatshops because "by attributing animate life to money, by speaking of it as if the money itself produces money, we mask and hide the actual manner in which money begets money -- the exploitation of labor, land and people" (Robbins, p. 44).
As various regions of the world are coerced into capitalism, market externalities are so often overlooked when one considers market factors. "The language used often helps hide negative market externalities. We speak of 'malnutrition' rather than 'starvation', somehow implying that it is the fault of the victim. Deadly riots, massacres, and genocides are blamed on 'ancient hatreds', whereas the underlying economic factors are obscured or ignored. 'Environmentalists' are labeled a 'special interest group' rather than properly 'concerned citizens'" (Robbins, p. 143). It appears that while capitalism benefits some, it simultaneously marginalizes so many others, particularly evidenced in the language we use.
Language has also helped Latin American theorists explore the effects colonization has had on underdeveloped countries. This has become known as the Dependency argument. Dependency argument criticizes Modernization Theory, "a concept whereby underdeveloped countries can and should develop in ways similar to the United States; that a combination of a democratic political regime, a capitalist economic structure and a pluralist society is the correct path to development. It assumes every country can and should simulate the US if they wish to develop" (GS 410) Gunder Frunk states that Dependency theorists began by arguing colonization had a negative effect on underdeveloped countries, "illustrating the degree to which their natural resources have been exploited and their indigenous infrastructure destroyed" (GS 410). Dependency theorists also contend that the continued economic well-being of core countries mandates that peripheral countries remain economically dependent.
The historical influence of colonialism has left third-world cities such as Bombay, and third-world countries, such as Bangladesh, dependent and disadvantaged economically to this day. This history has thus thrown third-world cities into the global arena regardless of whether they were equipped to deal with the local issues accompanying it. Workers were thrown into the world labor market as dependents and the countries become industrial dependents. For example, as the population increases, local planning has to try and catch up. Obstacles include over urbanization, minimal government spending on decreasing the gap between rich and poor, the disconnection between cities and the rest of the country, and a lack of facilities to accommodate the growing populations and economy.
While peripheral regions are playing catch-up, core regions are facing problems of their own. One of the major problems in core regions is over consumption:
| The greatest factor in environmental alteration - in the use of raw materials, the use of nonhuman energy, and the production of waste - is consumption. Because of our level of consumption, the average American child will do twice the environmental damage of a Swedish child, three times that of an Italian child, thirteen times that of a Brazilian child, thirty-five times that of an Indian child, and 280 times that of a Chadian or Haitian child. (Robbins, p. 207) |
Robbins stresses that consumption is often overlooked by consumers because it is, by far, the most difficult to change. And although there have been environmental movements encouraging people to consume less, change is unlikely because a reduction in consumption would "cause severe economic disruption" (Robbins, p. 210).
Over the last five centuries, many changes have been made in almost all parts of the world in order to accommodate this new economic system. It is difficult to find any part of the world that hasn't been in some way touched by the development of this new system. While capitalism has ignited improvements in technology, power, and wealth for some, it has systematically weakened and destroyed others. It has created social and economic unrest in Africa and South America, created peasant protest, rebellion, and resistance in many parts of the globe, and contributed to the destruction of our environment through over consumption in core countries.
Many of the world's poorest citizens have migrated to urban areas in search of a better life. In many cases, the world economy has left rural people with little choice but to leave their traditional agricultural lifestyles behind and migrate to urban centers. While urban migration sometimes works, creating opportunities for a better life, most migrants face unemployment, lack of adequate housing, and poor quality of life. Poor citizens are constantly struggling to come up with ideas on how to survive and how to improve their lives. Under capitalism, large corporations depend on the cheap labor provided by the world's poorest citizens, who are so desperate for everyday necessities.
These negative aspects of the culture of capitalism can not merely be overlooked. Capitalism has left many dispossessed. Years of colonial rule have ruined the infrastructure of countless countries to adequately compete in the world market. Core countries and industries gain greater advantages from the labor and resources of those in the periphery. After five centuries of development, many people are still excluded from enjoying the benefits of global capitalism.
References
Benton & Di Yanni. Arts and Culture. Pearson Prentice Hall. Copyright 2005
GLS 430 Web Readings & Lectures
GS 410 Web Readings & Lectures
HIS 320 Web Readings & Lectures
Porter, Philip W. & Sheppard, Eric S. A World of Difference: Society, Nature, Development. The Guilford Press, 1998
Robbins, Richard H. Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Pearson Education, Inc. 2005
Robbins, Richard H. Talking Points on Global Issues. Pearson Education, Inc., 2004
SOC 328 Web Readings & Lectures
The Triangle Factory Fire. Retrieved 11 December 2007 at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/