Before Adam Smith Flashcards
What does the book emphasize overall?
Historical contexts in which social theories were created
Ideology & morality of thinkers that came up with the theories
-Different views on capitalism throughout histroy
What are the key characteristics of capitalism?
- Existence of free market of commodities (with exchange value)
- Existence of capitalist class that owns the means of production which allows them to appropriate the surpluses of production
- Existence of working class that cannot own any means of production as is hence obliged to sell its labour in order to survive
- Individualistic, maximizing, acquisitive behaviour due to competition (between capitalists) and consumerist behaviour
What were the key characteristics of feudalism?
- Hierarchical: king –> religious & secular lords –> other vasalls –> serfs
- Customs: serfs & vasalls provided food, labour, money to lords and in exchange received protection & land
- Economy: manors as basic economic unit and guilds of merchants in towns
- Trust based on customs and traditions as opposed to contracts and laws
What forces started to change feudalism and what did these lead to?
-Agricultural innovations: 3 field system –> stronger & more horses –> better transport & agriculture
-Transport innovations: wagon,carts, horses
Implication: (1)urban concentration & rural-urban specialisation which boosted manufacturing output. (2)Distance trade
What was one of the main factors that led to the dissolution of feualism in western europe?
Commerce which was boosted thanks to better transportation & agricultural techniques and the concentration of manufacturing in cities to export. The greater growth of the ruling class in the west (vs. the east) demanded greater productivity
Where did commerce start to develop first and what were its implications?
It started developing close to the North & baltic seas and the Adriatic & Meditarrenan seas in the 14th and 15th century. These cities started having annual trading fairs and eventually became year round trading cities. The implications were the creation of more moder ways of socioeconomic organisaiton around contracts, credit, currency exchange etc.
Through what system did merchants started owning the means of production and hence becoming “merchant-capitalists”? What were the key implications?
Putting out system - System by which merchants, due to the increased need for productivity, started buying raw materials for producers and eventually owned everything (facilities, machinery etc.) and only allowed producers to sell their labour. These were prevented from mobilizing upwards by guilds and apprenticeships. These 2 features (control of production & working class) marked the appearance of capitalism
What are some examples of early stage capitalism and how successful were they?
13th century Flanders, 14th century Florence, 15h century England. The first 2 developed into rebellions due to class struggles of inequality whereas the latter didn’t mainly because the working class was ruralized and hence could not effectively organize.
What was an indication that capitalism had been created?
The determinant of who would do what task, how would he do it, and whether a worker could find work was determined no longer by customs and tradition but by the search fo profit and the market
How did capitalism started to invade the rural manor? What were the implications?
Landlords started getting greedy and renting out their land to sefs. However, after the black death and 100 years war land became cheap and labour expensive (scarce). They tried to restablish the labour obligations of serfs leading to the Peasant revolts between 14 to 16th century.
Historically, what has been the usual result of fundamental socioeconomic change?
Revolts & opposition because the change necessarily leads to a dissolution of the privileges of the ruling class .
What were the 4 most important sources of accumulation of capital during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
(1) Increase trade and commerce
(2) Enclosure movement that boosted the textile in industry
(3) Price inflation (due to the early bullionist period) that increased price of goods while wages didn’t keep up
(4) Putting out system
How did the emergence of the nation states supported the capitalist cause?
In the 15th century, England, Spain & France were finally being unified and the monarchs that led received their riches from merchant-capitalists and started giving them greater freedoms from the feudalist ruling class.
What is mercantlism?
In its early form it was called bullionism and was characterized by the incentive of the inflow of precious metals and retention of them through govt. restrictions. As it progressed, it became more about the creation of a favourable balance of trade by incentivizing exports and disincentivizing imports (tariffs, trade monopolies, )
How did early mercantlists viewed price and profits?
Price determined during exchange (emphasis on exchange vs production) and profits created through the control of supply. Less supply = greater prices = greater profit. Hence appearance of state monopolies
