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Knowledge in Economics History

In which ways do you think these different schools of Indian historiography could be faulted for ‘common elitism’?

There are various approaches that comprise Indian historiography. Some of these approaches are the nationalist, imperialist, communalist, the Marxist, and the Cambridge school of thought. The ways in which these diverse schools share a ‘common elitist approach’ is due to the fact that historians of these schools consisted of the middle class that was educated by the British. This statement is supported by Sumit Sarkar, who says that “ The basic pattern was of an English-educated ‘ middle-class’ reared by British rule, engaging in various renaissance activities, and eventually turning against their masters and so giving birth to modern nationalism- out of frustrated selfish ambitions, ideals of patriotism, and democracy derived from Western culture, or natural revulsion against foreign rule, the imputed motive in each case depending on the viewpoint of the scholar” ( Sarkar, p. 4). As we will see in this essay, another way in which these schools share a common elitist approach is because all of them are targeting the common masses of the Indian population. We will be looking at the approach of the Cambridge school of thought through the works of Anil Seal. He emphasized the notion that there were competition and collaboration among the Indian elite at the time. They were in competition amongst themselves as they all jockeyed for a higher position of authority, while at the same time they collaborated with the British in an effort to make that happen, thus creating vertical alliances rather than horizontal alliances. We get to know this as Anil Seal informs us that “What seems to have decided political choices in the localities was the race for influence, status, and resources. In the pursuit of these aims, patrons regimented their clients into factions which jockeyed for position. Rather than partnerships between fellows, these were usually associations of bigwigs and followers. In other words, they were vertical alliances, not horizontal alliances.” ( Seal 1973, p. 323) What Anil Seal is emphasizing when talking about vertical alliances over horizontal alliances is that alliances were not formed amongst the same class, such as landlord with the landlord, or educated with educated, but were instead formed across classes such as Brahmin with non-Brahmin, and educated with not educated. The Cambridge school also laid focus on the idea that the main motive behind the leader of the nationalist movement was not patriotism but were instead thoughts that were selfish and concerned only the elite themselves and not the masses. Sumit Sarkar clearly states that- “ The further assumption that patriotism was no more than a rationalization of extremely narrow and selfish motives like job frustration created a picture not to different really from that drawn by…..”( Sarkar, p. 5) and “ The leaders of the movement, that is to say the people who created it require a careful analysis, for in their ambitions must lie its causes.” ( Sarkar, p.7) Valentine Chirol was a historian who wrote about Indian nationalism through the imperial perspective. According to him, imperialism in India brought about a transition in an attempt to shift the society from a traditional society to a more modern one.  He also mentions that the already educated class will readily accept that so that they could not fall back into their barbaric society.  We get to know this as Chirol says “ European science and literature flourished in the great cities of the East, where the educated classes willingly accepted and supported foreign rulership as their barrier against a relapse into barbarism” (       Chirol 1910, p.V11) Chirol also talks about how the imperial Raj found ‘its own principles perverted against its efforts’ in an attempt the show the betrayal of the English- educated middle class who turned against them and used their new found education and knowledge to influence the masses into turning against the British. The imperialists also had a very negative view of the Indian National Congress who, according to them, represented only one class- the western educated middle, and not the entire Indian population which they claimed to represent. Also, they could not even be called national in the western democratic sense as there were millions of Indians whom they regarded as untouchables and thus there could not have been popular representation in India as long as the caste system still existed. The imperialists were also supportive of the depressed castes as, according to Chirol, “the depressed castes will probably find, as in the past, their truest friends and best qualified representatives among the European members of Council, who, just because they are aliens, are free from all the influences, whether of interest or of prejudice, which tend to divide Hindu society into so many water-tight compartments” ( Chirol 1910, p.177). Christian missionaries were also brought so that they couldn’t convert these people to Christianity. By doing so, it would have resulted in the benefit of both the sections. It would give the ‘untouchables’ a proper status and would find representation which they previously could not under the Indian National Congress. It would also benefit the British as converting millions into Christianity would give them an advantage over their Indian counterparts. Indian Marxists historians have placed the blame for India’s backward economy during the 19th century on the British.  The establishment of the East India company has been credited with the start of an era of mercantilism. The term mercantilism has been used here due to the exploitative nature of the British on the Indian handicraft industry. They developed a market for Indian goods and thus brought Indian handicrafts at throwaway prices and sold them at higher prices in order to spend their own capital interests. With the industrial revolution happening in the west, and with the introduction of the mill, this could also be interpreted as a way to introduce capitalism to India. This process is also known as ‘The Drain of Wealth’. Historians such as R.P Dutt and Ramesh Chandra Dutt realized this and thus popularized this notion of the Drain of Wealth to the educated circle. Thus the educated class and the already exploited artisans became more motivated and joined the nationalist movement. Thus the Indian Marxist historians took up a stance not so different from the nationalists. One of the weaknesses of the nationalist movements was that it failed to attract the masses. This was because many of the Indian elites thought that every Indian thought of the British Raj as alien and thus wanted them gone. Even though the imperial Raj was exploitative, the local landlord and the regional elites were also quite exploitative of the lower strata of society. Thus the lower sections of the society were not only against the British but were also against the local landlords. Also, in the early 20th century, the colored glass of communalism began to show its true colors. After noticing the communal divide between Hindus and Muslims, the British adopted the ‘ Divide and Rule’ policy and sought to deepen the already existing wound. Thus even they started supporting the minority Muslims. Thus, what all these schools of modern historiography have in common and what the term ‘common elitism’ denotes is that all these schools comprised of influential and educated middle-class Indians who viewed the nationalistic movement and its historiography as ‘History from above’ more ‘History from below’. REFERENCES Sumit, Sarkar. Modern India: 1885-1947. Pearson Seal, Anil. 1973. Imperialism and Nationalsim in India: Modern Asain Studies. 7: pp.321-347 Chirol, Valentine. 1910. Indian Unrest. London: MacMillan and Co., Limited      

Economics History +4 more

Kartik Mathur

Write an essay on the idea of history and its significance in colonial culture.

The British wanted to establish colonial historiography in an attempt to establish their rule. One of the ways they did this was by denying and degrading the already present histories of India on the grounds that it did not conform to their already existing European view of how history should be.  Then there were also British historians such as James Mill, who in his book History of British India claimed that the “backwardness can be remedied through appropriate legislation, which could be used by the British to change the stagnant nature of Indian society that had prevented its progress.”( Thapar 2002, p. 6). Irrespective of the fact that James Mill had not even visited India, his book became a trendsetter which influenced the westerners in their notion of India. There were also other theories such as Oriental Despotism and the Marxist notion of the Asiatic mode of production which portrayed India as having a single despotic ruler and also the lack of individual property. The British also thought of India a Hindu and Sanskrit civilization and thus did not consider other religions in terms of constructing Indian civilization. The British had also started to give colonial education to Bengali literati and were taught Indian history from the standpoint of the British. All this was done to create a loyal but submissive section of people. This portrayal of history provoked a serious reaction from the Indians who in turn reacted with the formation of a nationalistic approach to history and historiography. One of the reasons for this was to restore national pride and they also used this to spread anti-imperialist notions in an attempt for political integration. While James Mill’s book was ‘ the hegemonic textbook of Indian history’, “ for the first nationalist historians of India it represented precisely what they had to fight against”(  Chatterjee 1994, p. 31). The first war of independence in 1857 also played a very important role as the nationalist history also brought forth the idea of a ‘glorified past’, in an attempt to unify the nation against the British. Due to the fact that the British mainly recognized the Hindu religion when taking India into account and barely even consider other religions, the nationalist history did not only have to deal with imperial misinterpretation in historiography, but also with communal bias in history. Even the Bengali literati who were educated by the colonials had rejected the history of India that was written by the British historians. One of the ways in which Indian history was portrayed was when “A dichotomy in values was maintained, Indian values being described as 'spiritual' and European values as 'materialistic', with little attempt to juxtapose these values with the reality of Indian society” ( Thapar 2002, p. 5). There is a clear fault on this from the British side, but the entire blame cannot be placed upon them that is because “ The first three books of narrative prose in Bengali commissioned by the Fort William College in Calcutta for use by young officials of the company learning the local vernacular were books of history.”( Chatterjee 1994, p. 5) and one of those books was Rajabali by Mrityunjay Vidyalankar. His book contains an account of the Rajas or the kings that had occupied the throne of Bengal and Delhi.  According to Mrityunjay, all the rulers on earth were chosen by divine will and they will remain in that position as long as they acquire and retain the powers of dharma. As his book was being studied by British officials, their perception of India as being ‘ spiritual’ can be well founded. This could also have influenced many other historians to accommodate this view in their histories. Mitryunjay was writing down an account which at that time was in circulation among the Bahman literati. So we can say that his book Rajabali, is “ a good example of the historical memory of elite Bengali society as exemplified in contemporary scholarship” ( Chatterjee 1994, p.5). Through this example, we can see the complex relationship between the nationalist historiography and the histories that were produced by the British historians. As previously mentioned, the nationalists were using their ‘glorious past’ as a means of forming a national movement against the British. Due to some of the theories of the western perspective of India such as James Mill’s book History of British India, the notion of India as a backward, stagnant and unchaotic nation emerged which, as previously discussed, was widely used as a foundation for the perception of India by the west. This was not true as according to the nationalist historian Tarinicharan, “ although Europeans today treat Indians with contempt because of their degraded condition, Indians were not always like this, because even Europeans admit that the arts and sciences of ancient India were of the highest standard.” ( Chatterjee 1994, p. 29). All of these discoveries were of 19th-century Orientalists and thus this was very important for the construction of the nationalist history. There was another reason why the ‘glorious past’ was important. James Mill had periodized India as Hindu, Muslim, and British, in relation to Ancient, Medieval and Modern. The Medieval age was also the Dark Ages for the Europeans. Even though Indians were against the periodization, they had accepted that the concept of ancient India. Thus “ancient India had to become the classical source of Indian modernity, while the ‘Muslim period’ would become the night of medieval darkness. Contributing to that description would be all the prejudices of the European Enlightenment about Islam” ( Chatterjee 1994, p. 34) thus if the nationalist want to accept ancient India as glorious, they would have to accept the Muslim invasion as the main cause for the decline of their glorious past which could lead to the clash of different communities. There were some problems with the nationalist approach as it mostly focused on the glorified events and cultures of the Indian past but failed to recognize and also ignored the contributions of all people in the nationalist movement. This is because the educated Bengali literati now considered themselves as no different from the European bourgeois or the ‘middle class’. Thus they tried to act as a mediator between the elite class and the poor and the oppressed class.   This is where the subaltern studies approach is important. This approach was important as it showed light in the lower sections of the society such as tribes, oppressed women and peasants that have been neglected in the history of a society. Thus he focused more on the common people instead of conforming to the imperialist approach or the nationalist approach, both of them who could be considered as prejudiced elites because the protagonist of a national history should be the people and not gods and kings. Thus the 19th century can be regarded as a very important period in which was very important in nationalist historiography writing as it was at this time when the British made distorted interpretations of history and it was the nationalist goal to refute them all these combined with the revolt of 1857 played a very important role in the construction of nationalist historiography. BIBLIOGRAPHY:- Chatterjee, Partha. 1994. Subaltern Studies. New Delhi: Oxford University Press Thapar, Romila. 2002. The Penguin History of Early India. New Delhi: Penguin Books

Economics History +4 more

Kartik Mathur

Analyzing the ideas and the beliefs that emerged out of The French Revolution

A Revolution can be defined as a radical movement that has begun in order to bring change. This change mostly occurs when the main aim of a revolution is the eradication of an old or rigid regime, in favour of a new or modified system. When discussing revolutions, one name that always seems to have a permanent presence is the French Revolution.  It can be said that the French Revolution is such a well known movement, that it almost has a hegemonic presence. One possible reason behind this could be that the French Revolution was ecumenical. This in itself makes this revolution stand apart from many of the other revolutions. For example - The American Revolution, while considered as one of the most important revolutions ever to take place, did not influence any other nations other than America itself and the nations it had direct relations with - which were France and Britain. The French Revolution, on the other hand, even though limited in a geographical sense, managed to influence much of Europe from 1780- 1840. Although that time period is known to be the home of the emergence of two major revolutions- The French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution  ( often known as the dual revolution) , this paper will only focus on the French Revolution. As the revolution, in its totality, was a broad movement covering many aspects, here the focus will be only on the major ideas and beliefs that emerged out of the revolution.  Some examples from the contemporary world will also be given, in order to explain the influence the ideas have had on the world. As previously mentioned, the ideas that emerged out of the French Revolution were extremely influential. According to Eric Hobsbawm, “ If the economy of the nineteenth century world was formed mainly under the influence of the British Industrial Revolution, its politics and ideology were formed mainly by the French.” ( Hobsbawm 1996, p.53)  One of the major ideas that were predominant during the revolution was the tripartite motto- ‘ Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’. As these three terms set the basic foundation of the French Revolution, we will start by analzying these terms individually.  The first idea to be analyzed is Liberty. It should be noted that each historical event needs to be studied within its historical context. Thus, it is important to know the background of the French Revolution before we start to interpret the ideas. France, at that time, was in deep economic crisis, and a series of bad harvests further worsened the situation.  There was extreme malnutrition among the common folk. France’s international policy at the time should also be taken into consideration, as it had just been fiscally drained due to their participation in the American Revolution.  A series of bad decisions on the behalf of the monarch, such as its involvement in someone else's revolution, turned the common people against the monarch.  Thus, we can identify that the first step towards the revolution was through the idea of liberty from oppression from the nobles and the monarch. Although in normal circumstances, the most common way in which the general public approach such an idea is through looting and banditry. But this was a special scenario. Due to an unforeseen convulsion that happened in France at the time, the people found their voice to be heard through politics. Due to this paroxysm of propaganda and elections, the people could now express their opinions on a political stage.  Due to the introduction of this new dimension, the people could now go against the nobles, with a certain civility being maintained, at the political stage. To say that the notion of liberty was never heard of before would be an overstatement. As previously mentioned, each historical event must be studied within its context.  Keeping this in mind, one business that was quite common at the time was slavery. Thus, the interpretation can be made that the notion of liberty at the time was only used in contrast to that of slavery, and that it was only during the French Revolution, that the term was added to include a legal dimension.  So, it can be said that the French were drowned in the revolutionary rhetoric of liberty. The second idea out of the famous tripartite is Equality.  This term, in modern society, is something that we often take as  a given, without fully understanding the relevance of it and how it came to be.  As previously mentioned, the common people found a new way to counter the nobles by going against them through politics.  One major idea that was formed during the revolution was the idea of a middle-class, or the bourgeoisie class. The creation of the fictional structure - The Third Estate, was one of the first steps towards gaining equality. The creation of the third estate was implemented to counter the existing first and second estates, which consisted of the clergy and the nobility respectively. The attempt of the third estate to dismiss the old feudal way of assigning votes per section (estate in this instance), instead of assigning a single votes to each individual, shows the determination and the want for equality. The first major breakthrough that the bourgeoisie attained was through laying down the Declaration of the Rights of Man And Citizen in the year 1789. The reason why this can be considered as a step towards equality is because in this manifesto, “Men are born and live free and equal under the laws, said its first article” (Hobsbawm 1996, p. 59) although when further analyzed it can be said that this particular manifesto did not offer what the lower classes wanted, which was a more egalitarian society. Thus, even though it may not mean equality in a utopian way, it was certainly an upgrade on the current situation of the public Equal representation in politics also implied that a change from the existing absolute monarchy was needed. It was then decided that the implementation of a constitutional monarchy would be undertaken. If studied within the context of the time, such a solution would be the most appropriate one. The reason why that is so, is because such a radical transition had rarely been accomplished successfully ever before. Thus, implementing a constitutional monarchy, where the powers of the monarch would be limited within a particular framework, would seem as the most rational and appropriate solution for such a major transitionv- “a constitutional monarchy based on propertied oligarchy expressing itself through a representative assembly was more congenial to most bourgeois liberals than the democratic republic which might have seemed a more logical expression of their theoretical aspirations” ( Hobsbawm 1996, p. 59) The above quote supports the previous argument. The relevance of equality in the contemporary world is widespread.  There is still the question  whether these words that were uttered then have the same meaning today as they did during that time. There are many instances from the modern world which shows signs of equality, especially in France. For example, the acceptance of immigrants in France can be one of the signs of equality for all. It should also be noted that France has the highest Muslim population in the western world. A sizeable number of the French population is also of African descent.  Thus we can see equality in both race and religion. The last of the iconic tripartite motto to be analyzed will be the idea of Fraternity.  Fraternity in itself means brotherhood.  The term brotherhood can be used to denote a group of people who are together because of a common aim or goal. The idea of Fraternity is what fueled the common people, thus resulting in the mass social movement that we know the French Revolution to be. This sense of brotherhood can best be exemplified by the storming of the Bastille, which occurred on the 14th of July, 1789. The Bastille was a state prison. The bourgeoisie and the common people knew that they could not attack the nobles themselves as they were still relatively powerful. What is important to note is that, “ in times of revolution, nothing is more powerful than the fall of symbols.” ( Hobsbawm 1996, p.61) The same can be said for the Bastille as well. The Bastille, although it held only seven prisoners, symbolized everything that the common masses were against, which were hierarchal, despotism and oppression from the nobles and the monarch.  Thus the seige of the Bastille, which was one of the largest organized movements within the French Revolution, was one of the key moments in the revolution which signified the eradication of enlightened despotism in France. The term Fraternity has gone through some changes, but it is still a very important concept today.  The most common use of the term fraternity is used in universities to categorize certain clubs with their own beliefs. The term has been used in relation to describing a secret sect or a group of people. For example- the most well known of the afore mentioned sects are Freemasons and the Oddfellows, who have members all over the world. This is another instance of where an idea, gaining its popularity during the French Revolution, has its influence all over the world. Another major area where the French influenced the world was through their indirect influence on various world political system. As previously mentioned, the ideas of the French revolution were ecumenical. And such is the case that many of these ideas were later adopted into many of the political systems in the contemporary world. One such instance is that of Communism and Socialism. According to its theoretical doctrine, communism means that the entire society should be owned by the community and that all the resources should be allocated according to the abilities of an individual, and not their status in the society. We can identify such a pattern emerging in the French revolution.  Communism calls for the overthrowing of capitalism, the same way the common people called for the eradication of the rigid and the old fashioned feudal laws. Through this itself we can see the emergence of the middle class or the bourgeoisie class. It can also be said that there is a certain hegemonic presence that is attached to it. It is also due to this superior presence that allowed them to allocate the resources according to their perspective. The relevance of communism in the modern world is truly extraordinary. The main aim of the Bolshevik revolution was to overthrow the Tzar authority and thus they implemented a communist society. The Cold War, which was a war between Communism and Capitalism, which influenced the world politics of the eastern world, can also be noted to be one of the major indirect outcomes of the French revolution. China, which is a communist country, is a perfect example of the influence of communism in today’s world. The last instance we will be analzying in this paper is how the sense and the belief of nationalism found a new voice during the French Revolution. There were many influential people whose voice influenced the common masses. The most famous of them was undoubtedly Napoleon Bonaparte. His military conquests done by him was not only to gain new territory, but to also spread the ideas that had emerged out of the French revolution.  The effects of this were felt not only in Europe, but world-wide.  For example- “ Ram Mohan Roy was inspired by it to found the first Hindu reform movement and the ancestor of modern Indian nationalism.” ( Hobsbawm 1996, pp. 54-55) In concluding remarks, it can be stated that the French Revolution was one of the most important revolutions in the history of the world. This was not only because it shaped the history of France, which at the time was one of the most powerful countries in the world, but also because that the ideas and the beliefs that emerged out of it were ecumenical and helped set the foundation for much of Europe and the contemporary world. REFFERENCES- Hogsbawm, Eric. 1996. The Age of Revolution. Vintage Books: New York

Economics History +4 more

Kartik Mathur

Do ideas inaugurate world history

When exploring the question, ‘if ideas inaugurate world history’, we have to assume that this certain ‘idea’ belongs to a larger congregation of people with the same ideology. If there is a large assemblage of people who share the same motive to bring change to a particular systemin an attempt to overthrow it, we can say that this could be regarded as a revolution. Although this does not answer the aforementioned question, we can say that the emergence of ideas from revolutions inaugurate world history. In this essay, we will attempt to examine the above statement while taking examples of the Industrial Revolution and the French revolution. A revolution can be regarded as a mass social or political movement with the intention to overthrow or modify a previous regime with a new one. In the case of both the French and the Industrial Revolution, the common masses were actively involved. The mass struggle of the common people and the peasants against the aristocratic and elite classes in a revolution can be associated as a classic eschatological struggle between right and wrong, or good and evil. A revolution is mostly limited in a particular geographical location. What set the French and the industrial revolution apart was that the outcome of these revolutions brought upon a new world order.  If we take the instance of the French revolution, the ideas and the politics that arose out of that period have been incorporated by the majority of the world. One of the ideas that emerged out of this revolution was that of liberty. During the latter years of the 18th century, there was material discontent and impoverishment in France. The worst affected were the common people. The result of this socio-economic crisis, in ordinary circumstances, would have been rioting but only for a short period of time. But, due to a large-scale convulsion that took place during France at that time, combined with propaganda and elections, a new political dimension was added to the people’s voices. On a political stage, with the backing of the masses, the idea of liberty became an expectation. The thought of liberty from hierarchal despotism was unheard of anywhere in the world at that time. Eric Hobsbawm puts it best when he says “They introduced a tremendous and earth-shaking idea of liberation from gentry and oppression“(Hobsbawm 1996, p. 61). Thus, we can say that the common people were drowned in the revolutionary rhetoric of liberty. It should also be noted that when we mean the notion of liberty was never unheard of before, it  was meant in terms of slavery. Up until then, liberty was only used to describe in contradiction to slavery. Thus the common people gained a more legal interpretation of the term liberty during the revolution. Another political decree that has been adopted by many governments around the worldis that of popularsovereignty. As the common people have elected representatives to run their government, they are answerable to the people and that the government is sustained by the people. This decree was a major paradigm- shift in the political sphere. This is because,before the revolution, many kings claimed to have been chosen by God itself to rule, thus giving them a sense of divine power that cannot be challenged by anyone. This shift from ruling due to the backing of God to ruling due to the backing of the people was first seen during the French revolution. Hobsbawm informs us that “A constitutional monarchy based on a propertied oligarchy expressing itself through a representative assembly was more congenial to most bourgeois liberals than the democratic republic which might have seemed a more logical expression of their theoretical aspirations; though there were some who did not hesitate to advocate this also.( Hobsbawm , 1996, p.59) He also says that- No doubt the French nation, and its subsequent imitators, did not initially conceive of its interests clashing with those of other peoples, but on the contrary, saw itself as inaugurating, or taking part in, a movement of the general liberation of peoples from tyranny.( Hobsbawm 1996, p. 59)  The prospect of overthrowing the king and establishing a constitutional monarchy was seen by many as the first step to establish a democratic or even an egalitarian society. The rise and fall of Maximilien Robespierreand the Jacobin club are examples of political sovereignty as the government was overthrown even after it was elected by the people. There are many other ways in which france influenced the world. Oen such instance is that of anti-clericalism. The separation of the state from the church was   previously never experinecd before and thus due to this, many lands and holding that were in the power of the church were given back to the people. The church were also excempted from paying the tax when they occupied the lands, so this in  fact made some more cash inflow for the common people. Another major area where the French influenced the world was through their indirect influence on various world political system. As previously mentioned, the ideaas of the French revolution were ecumenical. And such is the case that many of these ideas were later adopted into many of the political systems in the contemporary world. One such instance is that of communism. According to its theoretical doctrine, communism mans that the entire society should be owned by the community and the all the resources should eballocated according to the abilities of an individual, and not their status in the society. We can identify such a pettern emerging in the French revolution.  Communsin calls for the overthrowing of capitalism, the same way the common people called for the eradication of the rigid and the old fashioned feudal laws. The emergence of the middle class also helped them allocate resources accordingly. The relevance of communism in the modern world is truly extraordinary. The main aim of the Bolshevik revolution was to overthrow the tzar authority and thus they implemented a communist society. The cold war, which was a war between communism and capitalism, which influenced the world politics of the eastern world, can also be noted to be one of the major indirect outcomes of the French revolution. China, which is a communist party, is a perfect example of the influence of communism in today’s world. If France influenced the rest of the world with its ideas and politics, then Britain influenced the world with its new economic structure and social framework. The industrial revolution was seen as a major breakthrough, both in the social and economic spheres. According to Hobsbawm- For the first time in human history, the shackles were taken off the productive power of human societies, which henceforth became capable of the constant, rapid and up to the present limitless multiplication of men, goods,and services. This is now technically known to the economists as the 'take-off into self-sustained growth'. No previous society had been able to break through the ceiling which a pre-industrial social structure, defective science and technology, and consequently periodic breakdown, famine,and death, imposed on production.( Hobsbawm 1996, p. 28) The industrial revolution brought upon a shift from the existent agrarian and feudal society to an industrial society. .As industries would require a lot of investment, in terms of both time and material, only the very rich were able to maintain industries. This new economic method, which involved private ownership of land and of the production with the sole motive of making a profit, would be known as capitalism. This method would go on to be adopted by much of Europe during the 20th century. The profit gained from a rapidly expanding economy would only increase through the process of mercantilism. The prospect of connecting Britain with the world market led to one of the most important inventions to come out of the revolution, which was the introduction of railways. This new railway system transformed the entire capital goods industries. Its ability to transport tons of goods and materials over a relatively short period of time was nothing short of remarkable. In fact- “No innovation of the Industrial Revolution has fired the imagination as much as the railway, as witness the fact that it is the only product of nineteenth-century industrialization which has been fully absorbed into the imagery of popular and literate poetry. Hardly had they been proved technically feasible and profitable in England (c. 1825-30), before plans to build them were made over most of the Western world, though their execution was generally delayed.”( Hogsbawm 1996, p. 44) “The reason was doubtless that no other invention revealed the power and speed of the new age to the layman as dramatically; a revelation made all the more striking by the remarkable technical maturity of even the very earliest railways.”( Hogsbawm 1996, p. 44) Not only did transportation become much more efficient, but the railways also opened Britain to foreign trade and investment. Although the expansion of the railway system to the rest of Europe happened much later on, it unquestionably opened the world to a new era of globalization. As we can see from this essay, the revolutions that occurred in France and Britain in the latter stages of the 18th century and the 19th century respectively played a key role in developing ideas that have made the modern world as it is now. We can also see how the enlightenment period that happened in Europe during that time helped to develop new political ideas. Thus, we can conclude by stating that even though a revolution might be restricted to a particular geographical location, the logic that was involved and the ideas that developed out of it do not fall under the same restriction. REFFERENCES- Hogsbawm, Eric. 1996. The Age of Revolution. Vintage Books: New York      

Economics History +5 more

Kartik Mathur

Give an account of the theories that explain the transition to capitalism. To what extent was capitalistic development a global phenomenon?

The theory of capitalism emerged during Europe during the 16th-18th centuries. This concept of capitalism can be used as a framework to work with in order to understand the economic changes that occurred in countries such as England and France and eventually the rest of Europe during that period. The oncoming of capitalism can be identified as a shift from feudalism, which can be considered as the predominant economic structure existing during Europe at the time. Although the process of transition has been of great interest to historians alike, there is no one particular theory that can explain the course of the development of capitalism. For the sake of brevity, three theories will be explained that showcase the transition to capitalism. The theories in question were put forward by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Max Webber respectively. There are also many theorists who have branched out, using those three theories as a foundation. Some of those theories will also be mentioned in this essay. This essay will also delve into the impact that capitalism has had on the world. As this transition had occurred while other major developments were taking place in Europe at the time, events such as the Industrial Revolution have also been taken into consideration when analyzing the impact of capitalism on the global world. Adam Smith attempts to explain the transition from feudalism to capitalism by focusing on the individualistic tendency for self-improvement and the self-betterment of their conditions in the society they live in. According to Smith, this tendency can be expressed by the willingness “to truck, barter, and exchange” ( Holton 1985, p. 35) The phrase ‘ trucking propensity’ can also be used to describe this tendency. He claims that the emergence and the development of the ‘commercial society’ can be credited to an increase in the division of labor and an increase in capital. This increase in resources would be a result of the frugal nature and of individuals. According to R.J Holton, “Smith argued that the development of the division of labor and 'commercial society' should be regarded as unintended consequences of such behavior.” ( Holton 1985, p. 35) thus we can say that Smith regarded the transition to capitalism as an incidental event Smith also emphasized the importance of ‘moral sentiments’, such as justice and ethics, as according to him, without these principles, the society would enter into economic dystopia or chaos. Thus, Smith’s theory does not only focus on the economic factors such as capital and division of labor but also attempts to accentuate the relevance of social factors in the development of the ‘commercial society’.        The Marxist perspective on the transition to capitalism lays its foundation in the capitalist mode of production. This theory bases its focal point on the importance of wage-labor in a society. The relationship between a wage-laborer and a capitalist can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, the society in the process of transition must have a legal framework which allows a worker to sell his labor in exchange for either money or some other good or commodity. Secondly, the capitalist individual who is purchasing the manual labor from the worker must be able to make a profit on the goods produced, in comparison to the money spent in acquiring the manual labor in the first place. Thus, “The extraction of this 'surplus value' from wage-laborers under conditions of competition between capitalists, is what constitutes the fundamental dynamic of the capitalist system” ( Holton 1985, p. 65). In Marxist theories, the transition can be identified as starting from the 16th century.. A factor that needs to be considered is that during that time period, the notion of mercantilism was emerging, which would result in the expansion of trade and would also result in the growth of towns. Yet, Marx was critical of the inclusion of mercantilism in the transition to capitalism. One reason behind this critique could be because the entire concept of mercantilism lay outside the process of production and thus was not included in wage-labor, which is central to the Marxist theories. Also, through trade and commerce would only involve the labor making commodities, “Yet for capitalism to emerge he saw it as necessary not simply for products to assume a commodity-form, but also for labor itself to take on the nature of the commodity, i.e. to become saleable as labor-power” ( Holton 1985, p. 71). While examining Adam Smith’s theory with that of Karl Marx, a few differences can be identified. Unlike Smith, who centralized the importance of individuals working together in a society, Marx prioritizes that the individuals act as “free 'producers' unfettered by natural or social limits.” ( Holton 1985, p. 70). Smith also emphasizes on the importance of exchange of commodities, while on the other hand, Marx is extremely critical of the same. Many historians have also branched out on Marx's theory on the transition from feudalism to capitalism. Some of these are- (a) the 'exchange relations' perspective-reflected in the work of Sweezy and Wallerstein; (b) the 'property relations' perspective - associated with Dobb, Hilton, and Brenner;  (c) 'Marxist eclecticism'- associated with Perry Anderson. ( Holton 1985, p. 74) Max Webber focuses his theory on the ‘modern capitalist spirit’ rather than capitalism itself.  It is important to note that the ‘spirit’ that Webber focuses on, should not be interpreted in a metaphysical context, as it is instead used to describe a certain set of values. This is evident as “this 'spirit' is defined as a type of social action involving the rational calculative pursuit of profit-maximization. This mentality is associated with values such as thrift, diligence, and asceticism in 'worldly' economic affairs.” ( Holton 1985, p.104) Thus, according to Webber,  this major paradigm shifts away from the orthodox catholic church which would result in individuals engaging in trade and business in a more secular society. This could have resulted in the unintentional historical development of capitalism Another important aspect of Webber's theory was that he rejects the notion of a ‘prime mover’, which we could interpret to mean that according to him, there was no one particular course of transition and that it could have taken many routes instead of just one. Therefore, this theory is not limited to just one factor, such as technology, politics, etc, but can be a blend of two or more factors. Due to this reason, Webber's theory detaches itself from the rest of the theories mentioned in this essay as all the other theories offer only one route that explains the transition from feudalism to capitalism. As previously mentioned at the start of the essay, the notion of capitalism emerged during Europe around 16th-18th centuries. Although it was mainly confined to only a few countries, such as England and France, it quickly became the dominant economic model that it is today. The political, social and economic events that unfolded during that time period have played a very important role in the expanding of capitalism from a few countries in Europe to a global phenomenon. We will now analyze two of the events in an attempt to understand them in relation to the exposure of capitalism. The industrial revolution, which took place in England during the 19th century, can certainly be considered as one of the most important revolutions that ever took place. One of the main elements that emerged out of this revolution was the rise and the development of a capitalist society. This is evident as “It is only in the 1830s that literature and the arts began to be overtly haunted by that rise of the capitalist society, that world in which all social bonds crumbled except the implacable gold and paper ones of the cash nexus (the phrase comes from Carlyle).”    ( Hobsbawm 1996, p. 27) although the revolution in itself was limited to England in a geographical sense, its ideas and notions spread across the world. Also a colonial power, its relations with its conquered states in Africa and Asia also helped in the exposure of capitalism. An example can be India itself, as they follow a mixed economic model, which is a fusion of both a capitalist economy and a social economy. The economic policy of mercantilism, which emerged during the 16th century during Europe, may also have played a key role in capital development across the world. Driven by profit- maximization, barter exchange, and colonial expansion, the balance of trade grew as the modernized European nations established contact with other nations, and thus spread their superior ideas and notions such as capitalism. In conclusion, the transition from feudalism to capitalism can be considered ambiguous progress which has invited many historians to present their views. This essay examined the views of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Max Webber in order to get a better understanding of the transition itself and also to delve into some of the canonical texts of this particular discourse. The position of capitalism as an economic model in a global context was also explored.   REFERENCES- Holton, R.J. 1985. The Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism. Macmillan Education : New York Hobsbawm, Eric. 1996. The Age of Revolution. Vintage Books: London

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Kartik Mathur