Economists, historians, political economists, and sociologists have adopted different perspectives in their analyses of capitalism and have recognized various forms of it in practice. These include laissez-faire or
free-market capitalism,
anarcho-capitalism,
state capitalism, and
welfare capitalism. Different
forms of capitalism feature varying degrees of
free markets,
public ownership, obstacles to free competition, and state-sanctioned
social policies. The degree of
competition in
markets and the role of
intervention and
regulation, as well as the scope of state ownership, vary across different models of capitalism. The extent to which different markets are free and the rules defining private property are matters of politics and policy. Most of the existing capitalist economies are
mixed economies that combine elements of free markets with state intervention and in some cases
economic planning.
Market economies have existed under many
forms of government and in many different times, places, and
cultures. Modern industrial capitalist societies developed in Western Europe in a process that led to the Industrial Revolution. Capitalist economies promote economic growth through accumulation of capital, however a
business cycle of economic growth followed by recession is a common characteristic of such economies. (Full article...)
Norwich Market (also known as Norwich Provision Market) is an
outdoor market consisting of around 200
stalls in central
Norwich, England. Founded in the latter part of the 11th century to supply
Norman merchants and settlers moving to the area following the
Norman conquest of England, it replaced an earlier market a short distance away. It has been in operation on the present site for over 900 years.
By the 14th century, Norwich was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in England, and Norwich Market was a major trading hub. Control of, and income from, the market was ceded by the monarchy to the city of Norwich in 1341, from which time it provided a significant source of income for the local council. Freed from royal control, the market was reorganised to benefit the city as much as possible. Norwich and the surrounding region were devastated by plague and famine in the latter half of the 14th century, with the population falling by over 50%. Following the plague years, Norwich came under the control of local merchants and the economy was rebuilt. In the early 15th century, a
Guildhall was built next to the market to serve as a centre for local government and law enforcement. The largest surviving mediaeval civic building in Britain outside London, it remained the seat of local government until 1938 and in use as a law court until 1985. (Full article...)
David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British
political economist. He was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with
Thomas Malthus,
Adam Smith, and
James Mill. Following his estrangement from his father he started a successful business as a
broker with the support of Lubbocks and Forster, an eminent banking house. Although already successful as a broker, he made the bulk of his fortune as a result of speculation on the outcome of the
Battle of Waterloo, using methods which today would result in prosecution for
insider trading and
market manipulation. Prior to the battle, Ricardo posted an observer to convey early results of the outcome. He then deliberately created the mistaken impression the French had won by initially openly selling British securities. A market panic ensued. Following this panic he moved to buy British securities at a steep discount. The Sunday Times reported in Ricardo’s obituary, published on 14 September 1823, that during the Battle of Waterloo Ricardo "netted upwards of a million sterling", a huge sum at the time. Following this trading coup, he retired. He purchased
Gatcombe Park, an estate in
Gloucestershire, now owned by
Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. He was appointed
High Sheriff of Gloucestershire for 1818–19.
Some years into retirement Ricardo became keen to enter
Parliament and in August 1818 he secured Lord Portarlington’s borough for £4,000, as part of the terms of a loan of £25,000. As a result, Ricardo entered the
House of Commons, representing Portarlington, an Irish rotten
borough. He was 47 years of age. His record in Parliament was that of an earnest reformer. He held the seat until his death four years later.
Ricardo argued that there is mutual national benefit from
trade even if one country is more competitive in every area than its trading counterpart and that a nation should concentrate resources only on industries where it had a
comparative advantage, that is in those industries in which it has the greatest competitive edge. Ricardo suggested that national industries which were, in fact, profitable and internationally competitive should be jettisoned in favour of the most competitive industries. Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage assumes the existence of an
industry and
trade policy at a national level. Although he did not presume here that business decisions are or should be made independently by entrepreneurs on the basis of viability or profit, he knew that merchants engage only if it is profitable for them to do so. (Full article...)
The question is always who controls the existing bureaucratic machinery. And such control is possible only in a very limited degree to persons who are not technical specialists. Generally speaking, the highest-ranking career official is more likely to get his way in the long run than his nominal superior, the
cabinet minister, who is not a specialist.
Though by no means alone, the
capitalistic system has undeniably played a major role in the development of
bureaucracy. Indeed, without it capitalistic production, could not continue and any rational type of
socialism would have simply to take it over and increase its importance. Its development, largely under capitalistic auspices, has created an urgent need for stable, strict, intensive, and calculable administration. It is this need which is so fateful to any kind of large-scale administration. Only by reversion in every field -political, religious, economic, etc.- to small-scale organization would it be possible to any considerable extent to escape its influence. On the one hand, capitalism in its modern stages of development requires the bureaucracy, though both have arisen from different historical sources. Conversely, capitalism is the most rational economic basis for bureaucratic administration and enables it to develop in the most rational form, especially because, from a fiscal point of view, it supplies the necessary
money resources.
Along with these fiscal conditions of efficient bureaucratic administration, there are certain extremely important conditions in the fields of
communication and
transportation. The precision of its functioning requires the services of the
railway, the
telegraph, and the
telephone, and becomes increasingly dependent on them. A socialistic form of organization would not alter this fact. It would be a question (cf. ch. II, sec. 12) whether in a socialistic system it would be possible to provide conditions for carrying out as stringent a bureaucratic organization as has been possible in a capitalistic order. For socialism would, in fact, require a still higher degree of formal bureaucratization than capitalism. If this should prove not to be possible, it would demonstrate the existence of another of those fundamental elements of
irrationality- a conflict between formal and substantive rationality of the sort which
sociology so often encounters.
Image 4Gustave Doré's 19th-century engraving depicted the dirty, overcrowded slums where the industrial workers of London lived. (from History of capitalism)
Image 13Decaying hedges mark the lines of the straight field boundaries created by a Parliamentary Act of Enclosure. (from History of capitalism)
Image 14Map of a
medieval manor. Notice the large commons area and the division of land into small strips. The mustard-colored areas are part of the demesne, the
hatched areas part of the glebe. William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 01923 (from History of capitalism)
Image 22The
gold standard formed the financial basis of the international economy from 1870 to 1914. (from Capitalism)
Image 23The economic model of supply and demand states that the price P of a product is determined by a balance between production at each price (supply S) and the desires of those with
purchasing power at each price (demand D): the diagram shows a positive shift in demand from D1 to D2, resulting in an increase in price (P) and quantity sold (Q) of the product. (from Capitalism)
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