>>> "John Woodford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 08/07 5:04 PM >>> Things like this make any volume of spam digestible. Thanks. Mark Jones wrote: > ------------ EH.NET BOOK REVIEW -------------- > Project 2000: Significant Works in Twentieth-Century Economic History > > Fernand Braudel, _Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century_, in 3 > volumes, New York: Harper and Row, 1981-84, original editions in French, > 1979. > > Review Essay by Alan Heston, Departments of Economics and South Asia > Regional Studies, University of Pennsylvania. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Fernand Braudel's _Civilization and Capitalism_ > > Fernand Braudel is associated with the influential Annales School (La > nouvelle histoire) that advocated a major break from the dominant narrative > paradigm of the early twentieth century embracing an approach to history > integrating the social sciences with a problem-focused history. Braudel is > uniformly praised as one of the most influential historians of the > twentieth century, but a hard act to follow. Braudel immersed himself into > masses of materials and emerged with plausible broad-brush stories to tell, > teaching others how to replicate this approach is problematic. While the > Annales School has made only a small dent in the economic history > curriculum in the United States, it has had much more influence on social > history worldwide and on economic history in France, Europe and the rest of > the world. Rondo Cameron (1989, p. 406) in speaking of _Civilization and > Capitalism_ says, "it contains a wealth of factual information, mostly > correct, but the brilliance of its author's rather idiosyncratic > interpretation has been exaggerated by the popular press." Whether one buys > the whole quotation, one can certainly agree with Cameron that Braudel > builds very idiosyncratic interpretations based upon a wealth of > information, often very imaginatively used. > > This essay will not pretend to cover the three volumes of _Civilization and > Capitalism_ but rather touch on some broad themes that have had influence > on our understanding of world economic history. These themes include > Braudel's emphasis on the economic condition of every-man, on a global > approach to economic and social history, and on the process of capitalism > and its geographical spread. This essay will begin with Braudel's uses of > capitalism, and then take up themes from the volumes of _Civilization and > Capitalism_. > > Before dealing with capitalism, some background on Braudel's career is > needed. Many consider _The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the > Age of Philip II_ (1966 English translation) published in France in 1949 as > his defining work. Braudel began this research in 1923 at age twenty-one > and it was envisaged as his doctoral dissertation and was to concentrate on > the policies of Philip II in the form of a conventional diplomatic history. > Braudel taught secondary school in Algeria from 1923 to 1932 and then lived > in Brazil where he taught at the University of Sao Paulo from 1935 to 1937. > During this period he kept up with developments in Paris including > establishment of Annales in 1929 by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre. The long > gestation period of this impressive work undoubtedly had much to do with > how different was the final product from the original design. Braudel says > that he began to see the sense of writing a history of the Mediterranean > world in discussions with Febvre circa 1927 but that he did not find models > upon which to build. And then in 1934 he began to find quantitative data on > ship arrivals and departures, cargoes, prices and other economic data that > he felt would be the bricks and mortar of an economic and social history of > the Mediterranean. By 1939 he had an outline of what he wished to say, but > he was captured by the Germans in 1940 and was imprisoned for the next five > years where amazingly he wrote the first draft of _The Mediterranean_ > totally from memory. _The Mediterranean_ focuses on the history of one > world region in a wide-ranging intellectual breakthrough, involving the > geographic setting, transport and communications, urban and hinterland > developments, trade, empires and more political themes. > > In 1950 his mentor, Lucien Febvre, asked Braudel, who was then teaching at > the College of Paris, to contribute a volume to a series on world history. > This series was to feature a volume on "Western Thought and Belief, > 1400-1800," that Febvre would prepare while Braudel would focus on the > development of capitalism over the same period. Febvre died before he could > complete his volume. Braudel succeeded Febvre in 1956 at the Ecole Pratique > des Hautes Etudes where he headed the Sixth Section, history. Braudel took > responsibility for preparation of what became a three-volume series and was > sole editor of the _Annales_ during its most influential period. Braudel > published the first volume of _Civilization and Capitalism_ in 1967, and it > was translated as _Capitalism and Material Life, 1400-1800_ in 1973. Volume > II, _Les Jeux de l"Echange_ and volume III, _Le Temps du Monde_, were > published in France in 1979; volume II was translated and published as _The > Wheels of Commerce_ in 1982 and volume III as _The Perspective of the > World_ in 1984, a year before his death. (When the three-volume set was > prepared, Volume I, _Les Structures du Quotidien: Le Possible et > L'Impossible_, was a substantially rewritten version of the 1967 edition > and was published in France in 1979. The English translation, _The > Structures of Everyday Life: The Limits of the Possible_, was published in > 1981. That translation followed the form of the original translation, > _Capitalism and Material Life, 1400 - 1800_, incorporating new materials > and changes. In the text, Volume I will be referred to as _Capitalism and > Material Life_.) > > A number of centers that focus on aspects of his work were begun during > Braudel's lifetime. Immanuel Wallerstein was instrumental in establishing > the Fernand Braudel Center at Binghamton University (SUNY) in 1976. Their > journal, _Review_, begun in 1977, explores a variety of issues relating to > the evolution of capitalism, and the study of world systems, about which > more below. The Fernand Braudel Institute in Sao Paulo is a think tank that > has a strong social dimension to its studies. The economic history emerging > from these centers is likely to emphasize the impact of capitalism on the > social structures of society and the dependencies involved in the evolution > of a worldwide economy over the past five hundred years. > > 1. Capitalism > > Braudel emphasizes that capitalism is something different from the market > economy, a distinction that should be kept in mind in understanding > _Civilization and Capitalism_. In lectures in 1976, he said, "...despite > what is usually said, capitalism does not overlay the entire economy and > all of working society: it never encompasses both of them within one > perfect system all its own. The triptych I have described--material life, > the market economy, and the capitalist economy--is still an amazingly valid > explanation, even though capitalism today has expanded in scope." > (_-Afterthoughts on Material Civilization and Capitalism_, p. 112) Whether > or not one agrees with Braudel, this is his explanation of the order of the > three volumes moving from the lower level of the daily material life of > everyman to the market economy to the highest level of capitalism. It is a > structure of thinking that is rather alien to trends in economic research > that seek to explain the behavior of households, markets and business firms > using similar economic models, a point discussed further below. > > What is capitalism? For Wallerstein capitalism is a system built upon the > international division of labor in which the core of the resulting world > system prospers, if not at the expense of the others, at least relative to > others. A familiar enough theme from the recent Seattle World Trade > Organization protests. While Wallerstein took inspiration from Braudel, > this is not what Braudel means by capitalism. Braudel viewed the capitalist > economy as in the above paragraph, namely as something above everyday > material life and the operation of markets. Capitalism takes advantage of > high profit opportunities generated by linking markets into a world > economy. Braudel distinguishes between _the_ world economy and _a_ world > economy, a distinction that is not felicitous, but as one searches for > alternatives, such as "regional economy" for a "world economy," it seems > better to stay with his language. > > For Braudel a world economy features a core capitalist city whose > commercial and financial spread may be well beyond national political > boundaries. However, for Braudel there may be several world economies > operating at the same time, and for each there will be a dominant core > city. Capitalism may utilize an international or larger spatial division of > labor but the hegemony of any particular core city for a world economy will > wax and wane over time. Further, Braudel believes there have been > capitalist worlds from the Italian city states or earlier, whereas > Wallerstein's analysis relies more on a Marxian progression from feudalism > to capitalism. Further, Wallerstein treats the political empires like Rome, > the Ottomans or the Mughals as non-capitalist systems while Braudel would > be inclined to see in them some capitalistic features. He says, "...I am > personally inclined to think that even under the constraints of an > oppressive empire with little concern for the particular interests of its > different possessions, a world-economy could, even if rudely handled and > closely watched, still survive and organize itself, extending significantly > beyond the imperial frontiers; the Romans traded in the Red Sea and the > Indian Ocean, the Armenian merchants of Julfa, the suburb of Isfahan, > spread over almost the entire world; the Indian Banyans went as far as > Moscow; Chinese merchants frequented all the ports of the East Indies; > Muscovy established its ascendancy over the mighty periphery of Siberia in > record time" (_Perspective of the World_, p. 55). Braudel's position would > clearly find support in Mancur Olson's work. > > One further point on capitalism concerns its origins. Wallerstein seeks the > origins of the capitalist world system in the feudal breakdown of the > agrarian society of Northern Europe in the sixteenth century. Braudel is > less concerned with questions of origins, but would certainly place a > European world economy much earlier, perhaps in fourteenth-century Italy. > Braudel is equally uncomfortable with Max Weber and any attempt to tie > capitalism to the Protestant reformation (see Stanley Engerman's essay in > this project). Again, his first line of attack would be to point to all of > the developments in the Italian city states that long pre-dated Luther and > Calvin. > > One point deserves further mention, namely the emphasis that Braudel gives > to the ebb and flow of world economies over time and space. There is an > element of Joseph Schumpeter's creative destruction in Braudel's view of > the process but with a spatial spin. Schumpeter saw new innovations > involving new entrepreneurs replacing older businesses along with their > technologies and labor force. For Braudel the slowly shifting boundaries of > world economies have two important implications. First, some areas never > become involved with a world economy and their economic level remains very > low. And second, some areas that were in a world economy, and were perhaps > a core city, lose their place as boundaries of world economies change over > time. > > 2. Capitalism and Material Life > > Braudel and the Annales School represented a reaction to traditional > narrative history with its emphasis on major actors, usually political or > economic elites. More problem-oriented social and economic history has been > mainstream for such a long period that present-day readers are unlikely to > see anything revolutionary in Braudel's work. However, in Volume I the > chapter headings at that time were themselves a statement, beginning at the > lowest level of economic and social organization. > > Braudel begins Volume I of _Civilization and Capitalism_ with a discussion > of world population during the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries, including > an evaluation of the reliability of the numbers and a description of the > balance of peoples around the world. Beginning his study with counting all > of humanity, Braudel starts off with a global view, involving the rich and > the poor, and all regions of the world. He takes on social classifications, > like civilized and barbaric, providing an overview of global social > divisions. Public health receives major emphasis throughout but certainly > the importance of the education of mothers on the health of children does > not find its way into Braudel's treatment. It is a man's world and although > his wife, Paule, was an important contributor to his research, one has to > look hard in Braudel for that half of humanity. > > Braudel follows population in _Capitalism and Material Life_ with chapters > on the major categories of consumer expenditure, bread and cereals, other > foods and drink, and clothing and housing. These chapters, enriched with > appropriate illustrations, include the diets of the poor, food fashions of > the rich, the lack of furnishings of the homes of the poor and middle > classes, and the increasingly elaborate interiors of the more affluent. The > treatment of fashion and necessity in clothing is wide ranging. While much > of this is based on the research of others, it is an extraordinary > synthesis of materials from many sources and it is good reading. > > The focus on everyday life in _Capitalism and Material Life_ represents a > concern shaping many areas of study after 1950, a movement from the study > of elites to those of more ordinary people. This entered archaeology, as > excavations moved from the palaces and temples to remains of foods, bones, > and the dwellings of the poor, or lack thereof. Braudel's emphasis thus fit > very well into much Marxian history and with a view that capitalism grew at > the expense of the lower classes. The following quotation referring to > Naples is in his chapter Towns and Cities, and is from one of several > sketches of cities of the era. It gives the tone of Braudel's treatment of > income inequality. > > "Both sordid and beautiful, abjectly poor and very rich, certainly > gay and lively, Naples counted 400,000, probably 500,000 inhabitants on the > eve of the French Revolution. It was the fourth town in Europe, coming > equal with Madrid after London, Paris and Istanbul. A major breakthrough > after 1695 extended it in the direction of Borgo de Chiaja, facing the > second bay of Naples (the first being Marinella.) Only the rich benefited, > as authorization to build outside the walls, granted in 1717, almost > exclusively concerned them. As for the poor, their district stretched > out from the vast Largo del Castello, where burlesque quarrels over the > free distribution of victuals took place, to the Mercato, their fief, > facing the Paludi plain that began outside the ramparts. They were so > crowded that their life encroached and overflowed on to the streets. * > These ragged poor numbered at the lowest estimate 100,000 people at the end > of the century" (Volume I, p. 532). > > Here in the midst of a description of impoverishment in Naples we also have > imbedded an estimate of the homeless as 20 to 25 percent of society, a > typical quantitative illustration that Braudel uses to great effect. He > also tells us that the rich have the political power to live in more > desirable locations, nothing new there. It is not surprising that Marxist > historians would find much to like in Braudel, but there is very little > ideological in his writings. > > In fact, Braudel is much more interested in putting the everyday life of > all peoples in perspective by comparisons of 1400 to 1800 and to > contemporary levels of living. Braudel admired Simon Kuznets' work on > national income but does not appear familiar with concepts like urban > versus rural versus national growth rates, and his career predates the > development of poverty weighted growth rates. But one senses from his > discussions of material life that Braudel would have found these > comfortable constructs with which to work. He also suggests that he would > have liked to use cliometrics in the analysis of his period but that there > were not adequate data. However, Braudel would have probably wanted to > build up social and national accounts rather than deal with behavioral > models. > > 3. The Wheels of Commerce > > It is curious that Volume I devotes chapters to Money and Towns and Cities, > which seem much more the subjects of Volume II, _The Wheels of Commerce_. > However, Braudel looks at money as an indicator of the degree of > monetization of societies and the complexity of their economies. And as we > have noted, the increase in towns and cities during the 1400-1800 period > meant an increasing number of poor making their material life in urban > areas. On the other hand, this curious treatment may only reflect the > evolution of _Civilization and Capitalism_, in which _Capitalism and > Material Life_ was fairly self contained and appeared thirteen years > earlier than the remaining volumes. > > _Wheels of Commerce_ moves from markets to capitalism and society. Although > Braudel does not use the language, he is concerned with the development of > institutions, ideology and social norms. He offers a justification for > employing the term capitalism, noting that it was not a term used by Marx, > only his followers. Capitalism for Braudel involves not only the use of > capital but also its position at the apex of material life. As discussed, > it is this aspect of Braudel that has had a large influence on those > associating the expansion of capitalism and world systems as necessarily > intertwined. > The first chapter of _Wheels of Commerce_ is called the Instruments of > Exchange, by which Braudel means the types of markets in which exchange > took place; it is followed by a chapter on Markets and the Economy. The two > may only be separate because together they are the length of an average > book. Braudel deals with local commodity markets serving surrounding > villages and market towns serving their hinterland, as well as wholesale > and financial markets. Markets for financial instruments including bourses > and exchanges, as well as credit institutions like banks, are also > discussed. Bourses, after the Hotel des Bourses in Bruges where early > meetings of merchants took place, also dealt in wholesale commodity trade, > especially for articles like pepper, cotton, tea and the like. For Europe > the 1400-1800 period sees the development of exchanges in Amsterdam and > London that while subject to bubbles, also provided a basis for financial > intermediation for even small investors. > > In treating the development of markets Braudel gives emphasis to the > geography of markets, and his treatment is often imaginative, though not > terribly systematic. He analyzes the frequency and density of fairs and > markets in England and France. He gives more cursory treatments of other > parts of the world, though both India and China receive their fair due. G. > William Skinner's treatment of Chinese market towns and cities is discussed > in terms of the hexagons of Walter Chrystaller and August Losch. Here > Braudel argues that the size of the hexagon embracing different size market > towns varies inversely with the density of population (II, pp.118-19). He > then applies this to puzzles in French history about the varying boundaries > of pays, which he argues may well have been due to changing population > densities over time--a rather nice cross-section, time-series application. > > Braudel asks questions about markets that are fundamental but often not > treated systematically. When do wholesale markets emerge? What leads to the > establishment of year-round shops versus occasional markets and fairs? Why > did the number of shops proliferate during the 1400-1800 period? When are > peddlers really agents of wholesalers and when are they petty traders? > Braudel concludes that the expansion of markets was stronger in England > than in France, though he does not probe further into why this may have > been so. And he argues in terms of his view of hierarchy, that the > development of capitalism was interdependent with the expansion of > exchange. He also notes that France and particularly China had > administrations that constrained the expansion in markets and hence the > amount of capitalistic development. > > How do markets relate to each other? One way they are integrated is through > the activities of the same firm, most typically in this period, an extended > family firm. Braudel examines these connections mainly in Europe. The > extended family firm was a common practice of merchants from India, China > and the Middle East, some of which are discussed by Braudel. While he > recognizes the importance of business families in extending the boundaries > of any world economy, this also poses a puzzle in some of the diasporas > that Philip Curtin has described so well. > > For example, in Asia, which in 1400 contained more than half of world > population, income and wealth, there was an established pattern of trade > prior to European incursions involving intersections of an East Asian world > economy that was linked to an Indian world economy stretching from Malacca > in the Malaysian Peninsula to Calicut and Cambay in Western India. This in > turn joined with what Braudel terms an Islamic world economy extending from > the East Coast of Africa through the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Turkey and > Persia. However, when Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut in 1498, it was not > the core city of an Indian world economy, nor is it obvious that there was > such a core city. Vijayanagar was a major South Indian empire at this time > but its ability to expand northward was constrained by the presence of the > five hostile Bahami kingdoms. The Mughal empire only emerges after 1526. > Calicut is itself ruled by the Zamorin, a Hindu ruler whose state was > physically quite small, and who did not have territorial ambitions. As > Braudel notes, the proportion of Arabs, Indian Muslims, Hindus, and Chinese > among the actual merchant groups and shippers varied over the centuries. > Diasporas like Malacca and Calicut were home or branch office to Arabs, > Armenians, Chinese, Hindus, Bohras, Khojas and similar Muslim groups, Jews, > Malays and others. The activities of these traders seem to fit Braudel's > model of high profit seekers linking smaller markets. However, the claim > that these Asian world economies of the fifteenth and earlier centuries > involved core cities seems strained. Even after the Mughal, Ming, Ottoman > and Persian empires were established, it is problematic. > > The remaining chapters of _Wheels of Commerce_ deal with the development of > capitalism and the role of the state in markets and in establishing > monopolies including a lengthy treatment of the activities of the merchant > trading monopolies in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Braudel's treatment of > society is a wide-ranging social and political analysis including > discussions of hierarchies, revolts and the state and social order. Braudel > does not use the terminology, "social norms," but in a section > "Civilizations do not always put up a fight" (II, p. 555) he certainly > explores their importance. He says, "When Europe came to life again in the > eleventh century, the market economy and monetary sophistication were > 'scandalous' novelties. Civilization, standing for ancient tradition, was > by definition hostile to innovation. So it said no to the market, no to > profit making, no to capital. At best it was suspicious and reticent. Then > as the years passed, the demands and pressures of everyday life became more > urgent. European civilization was caught in a permanent conflict that was > pulling it apart. So with a bad grace, it allowed change to force the > gates. And the experience was not peculiar to the West." > > 4. The Perspective of the World > > In his very ambitious last volume, Braudel deals with long cycles, the > emergence of various world economies, historical problems in measuring GDP > per person, the colonial economies and the industrial revolution. It is > certainly successful in one of its aims, to treat the economic history of > the 1400-1800 period as a story of the world, not simply Western Europe. > There are rich discussions of Africa, the Americas, and Asia balancing well > the perspective of the colonizer and the colonized. In his essay on Max > Weber, Engerman (p. 5) places Weber and Braudel, along with David Landes, > Joel Mokyr, Douglass North, Nathan Rosenberg and others as scholars dealing > with the "perceived uniqueness of the Western European economy." Let me > close this essay by arguing that while Braudel has a lot to say about > developments in Western Europe, he did not see a simple explanation of the > causes of growth in the West, nor did he think this was the most > interesting question to explore. > > The uniqueness of Western European experience has certainly been taken as > the phenomenon to be explained by many economic historians. Writers like > Weber not only looked at European evidence in the Protestant Reformation > but also offered explanations of why the religions of other societies, such > as India, were less conducive to growth. Braudel is not at home with Weber, > nor does he seem to give great importance to institutions like private > property, contract, and the like. In fact, he does not seem to accept even > the premise that there is something unique to be explained about the > development of capitalism in Europe. > > It might be argued that this is because of Braudel's idiosyncratic view of > capitalism. Let me again quote Braudel; > > "Throughout this book, I have argued that capitalism has been > potentially visible since the dawn of history, and that it has developed > and perpetuated itself down the ages. (III, p. 620) ... It would however be > a mistake to imagine capitalism as something that developed in a series of > stages or leaps--from mercantile capitalism to industrial capitalism to > finance capitalism, with some kind of regular progression from one phase to > the next, with 'true' capitalism appearing only at the late stage when it > took over production, and the only permissible term for the early period > being mercantile capitalism or even 'pre-capitalism'. In fact as we have > seen, the great 'merchants' of the past never specialized: they went in > indiscriminately, simultaneously or successively, for trade, banking, > finance, speculation on the Stock Exchange, 'industrial' production, > whether under the putting-out system or more rarely in manufactories. The > whole panoply of forms of capitalism--commercial, industrial, banking--was > already employed in thirteenth century Florence, in seventeenth-century > Amsterdam, in London before the eighteenth century"(III, p. 621). > > Here Braudel strongly sees in his period and earlier the same business > forms that exist today and to which others attribute the uniqueness of > Western European experience. > > However, the following quotation perhaps illustrates where Braudel imparts > his own special view of capitalism. He says, > > "The worst error of all is to suppose that capitalism is simply an > 'economic system,' whereas in fact it lives off the social order, standing > almost on a footing with the state, whether as adversary or accomplice: it > is and always has been a massive force, filling the horizon. Capitalism > also benefits from all the support that culture provides for the solidity > of the social edifice, for culture--though unequally distributed and shot > through with contradictory currents--does in the end contribute the best of > itself to propping up the existing order. And lastly capitalism can count > on the dominant classes who, when they defend it, are defending themselves. > Of the various social hierarchies--the hierarchies of wealth, of > state power or of culture, that oppose yet support each other--which is the > most important? The answer as we have already seen, is that it may depend > on the time, the place and who is speaking" (III, p. 623). > > Braudel has a number of elements of Schumpeter in his view of world > economic history, in particular long cycles and creative destruction. One > of his important insights shared by many others who stress uneven or > unbalanced growth is that world economies have changing borders and that > there are often areas not included in any world economy. Indian software > programmers are writing for Oracle in Bangalore while other areas of India > (and many other world areas) are as yet unaffected by the information > technology revolution. Most large countries have special development > programs for backward areas, of which many have had flourishing histories, > such as natural resource-rich Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh in India, the > seat of the Mauryan Empire and the birthplace of the Buddha. > > However, Braudel departs sharply from Schumpeter in how he views the > capitalist entrepreneur. For Braudel the monopolistic character of > capitalism is the key element of privilege and the link between the state > and society. He says, > > "The rise of capitalism in the nineteenth century has been > described, even by Marx, even by Lenin, as eminently, indeed healthily > competitive. Were such observers influenced by illusions, inherited > assumptions, ancient errors of judgement? In the eighteenth century, > compared to the unearned privileges of a 'leisured' aristocracy, the > privileges of merchants may perhaps have looked like a fair reward for > labour; in the nineteenth century, after the age of the big companies and > their state monopolies (the Indies companies for instance) the mere freedom > of trading may have seemed the equivalent of competition. And industrial > production (which was however only one sector of capitalism) was still > quite frequently handled by small firms which did indeed compete on the > market and continue to do so today. Hence the classic image of the > entrepreneur serving the public interest, which persisted throughout the > nineteenth century, while the virtues of laissez-faire and free trade were > everywhere celebrated. The extraordinary thing is that such images should > still be with us today in the language spoken by politicians and > journalists, in works of popularization and in the teaching of economics, > when doubt long ago entered the minds of the specialists..."(III, pp. > 628-9). > > These closing quotations from Braudel restate his view that everyday > material life and operation of markets proceed at one level while > capitalism carries on at a higher level above the others. Further Braudel > sees capitalism as closely related to the political elites of the world > economy in which they are operating. While Braudel's view of the world > economy is shared by many Marxist historians it is also consistent with the > writers like John Kenneth Galbraith and Mancur Olsen, with whom I sense > more affinity. > > 5. Conclusion > > One cannot write an economic history of the world of the last five hundred > years and not at least list Fernand Braudel in your bibliography. But how > well does Braudel stand up today? My answer would be very well indeed at > several levels. Landes (1998, xvii) introduces his recent book with an > account of the inability of contemporary medicine in 1836 to save Nathan > Rothschild, the richest person in the world at the time, from death by > blood poisoning. Braudel put medical advances and public health practices > up front in _Capitalism and Material Life_ as critical to the improvements > in economic well being of the world in the early modern period, clearly a > theme shared with Landes and many others. He likewise saw the importance of > historical demography to our understanding of development of the global > economy. > > Related to these demographic themes is Braudel's concern with how health > and material well being were distributed. He saw the great inequalities > generated in world economies, and thought it important to describe them. He > documents inequalities in both the distribution of private and public goods > and services and sees systems of privilege as part of past and present > economies. And while he would have liked a more equitable world, this is > not a major theme in _Capitalism and Civilization_. A major theme that has > contemporary resonance is the uneven development of different geographic > regions of the world, and the lack of convergence of world economies, and > more particularly the persistence of regions that have never been part of a > world economy, or were part of a world economy in the past, but not at > present. > > Braudel's distinction between markets and capitalism is probably least > likely to make it into mainstream economic history, yet in many ways it > also has a very contemporary ring as we move towards becoming one world > economy. It is not hard to imagine Braudel finding analogies in this period > for phenomena like "not in my backyard" or the internet. In today's world > of mega-mergers that need support by one or more nation states, of > Airbus-Boeing battles and of Microsoft anti-trust actions, the Braudel > perspective of the world fits surprisingly well. The importance of being > first when there are declining costs, learning by doing, or other scale > factors that provide barriers to entry into markets are not foreign to the > world that Braudel describes. Often, as in the case of the trading > companies, monopoly was based upon government support as in the cable > industry today, and much of the capitalism that Braudel describes is > related to retaining government support or preventing government > interference. > > References: > > Braudel, Fernand. 1966 (English translation, 1972-73). _The Mediterranean > and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II_. New York: Harper and > Row. > > Braudel, Fernand. 1977. _Afterthoughts on Material Civilization and > Capitalism_. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. > > Cameron, Rondo. 1991. _Economic History of the World_. New York: Oxford > University Press. > > Curtin, Philip. 1984. _Cross-Cultural Trade in World History_. London: > Cambridge University Press. > > Galbraith, John Kenneth. 1967. _The New Industrial State_. Boston: > Houghton-Mifflin. > > Landes, David S. 1998. _The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So > Rich and Some So Poor_. New York: W.W. Norton. > > Olson, Mancur. 2000. _Power and Prosperity: Outgrowing Communist and > Capitalist Dictatorships_. New York: Basic Books. > > Schumpeter, Joseph. 1942. _Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy_ . New York: > Harper and Brothers. > > Copyright (c) 2000 by EH.NET. All rights reserved. For permissions, please > contact the EH.NET Administrator ([EMAIL PROTECTED]; Telephone: > 513-529-2850; Fax: 513-529-3308) > > -------------- FOOTER TO EH.NET BOOK REVIEW -------------- > All EH.Net reviews are archived at http://www.eh.net/BookReview > > _______________________________________________ > Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist -- _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
