Rentier capitalism

The emergence of a standing army in seventeenth century Europe is one of the first stark contrasts between the Renaissance and “modern times.” Before standing armies, lords retained and raised troops on their own volition or at the request of their king or pope. Under absolute monarchs, armies were raised and then continually maintained under one banner as a stalwart projection of power and as protection for the state. The troops were needed at all times in the modern era, not just during times…

cycle of poverty. Although fear of any socialist reforms crippled the country in the twentieth century, the popularity of current European socialist countries have those suffering in the United States beginning to consider a socialist economy. While capitalism emphasizes money and individuals owning enterprises and production, socialism puts the majority of its emphasis on its people, cumulatively owning production and distribution (Archer). However, the majority of the country stays true to the…

There are an abundance of theories as to the notable disparity and relationship between countries of Latin America, and the developed nations of North America, As well as other third world nations around the globe. One such theory is dependency. This theory born in the late 1940 's was a counter to the development theory of modernization. At its core dependency theory examines the historical trends of said countries to explain why they fail to compete both economically and socially with others.…

immigrants poured into the nation. The Gilded Age is a term coined by writer Mark Twain in The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873), a book satirizing an era of serious social problems when a veneer of refinement covered the brutal realities of industrial capitalism (Doc 2). “The amazing achievements of this period were like a thin gold layer that covered many unresolved social issues” (Keene…

Nike is a text-book example of modern free trade markets and advanced capitalism – and not necessarily in a good way. The company has been doing aggressive outsourcing since the 1970’s and it has been directed mainly towards Asian countries. These days Nike has over 900 contract factories which employ over a million workers in about 45 different countries. The numbers illustrate Nike’s wide outsourcing, which is bound to create challenges. Through-out its history, Nike has been accused of…

On March 31st, 1854, officials from the United States and Japan signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening Japanese ports to trade with the United States, as well as the West, after being closed off to foreigners since 1683 (“Treaty of Kanagawa signed with Japan”). While this was just the first step of the globalization process, the complex mechanisms of globalization continue to shape Japan today. After World War II, due to Japan’s rapid growth, the country emerged as a major global player and…

toward this capitalist economy because they are under the impression that such an economy is the most advanced a nation could possibly become. A popular type of economy that currently coexists with capitalism is a gift-giving economy. Though now they exist in a kind of symbiotic relationship, someday, capitalism or some other similar type of market economy will eventually take over, simply so that the people and their economy can better interact with the rest of the world on a global level. In…

Throughout history, humans have been using political ideals as a means to gain power and keep people from living in complete chaos. In the course of human history, we have seen political ideologies evolve in ways that have propelled nations to greatness and in the same way plunged nations and civilizations into ruin. However, many of these ideologies, in idealized societies would be able to flourish and sustain the populations with minimal complication. I believe that of the ideologies that we…

through the industrial revolution, the movement out of feudalism ceased to improve for those who lacked capital or property ownership. During feudalism there was multiple levels of social stratification. However, under the burgeoning new system, capitalism, there was only two social, and economic groups – the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx summed…

Marx’s belief in the political economy as an evil, in the tying together of the politic and the monetary is inherently anti-capitalist; capitalism being a system which demands structure, division and to Marx and Engels’ derision, commodification of the self. M.C. Howard and J.E. King in The Political Economy of Marx, reinforce the prevalent idea in Marx and Engels’ commentary that there is…