I wrote: > >It's capitalist competition that encourages reinvestment in > economic might.
Doug: > Well, yeah, I knew that. Where'd it come from in the first place? > Where'd the urge for primitive accumulation itself come from? it's the battle between the English king and the lords which seems to have been a major part of it. The king was trying to become absolutist, while many of the lords resisted, tried to limit the power of the king, and/or tried to become king themselves. When the king succeeded (and when lords lost military power in wars with each other), the lords increasingly lost their political functions and powers. They couldn't rely on "traditional" feudal methods to provide the surplus-product that would allow them to live the lives of luxury to which they'd become accustomed -- or to rearm and join the fray. So some started trying to get a surplus by throwing the small-holders off the land (using force and violence, natch) and then producing for the market, which (by luck) favored products of England, using the newly-created proletariat. that's too short. There were lots of elements of luck involved. But I hope it will do for now. Jim Devine
