“Capitalism is also incapable of promoting sustainable development, not because it encourages technological advances that are capable of straining the earth's resources but because the purpose of capitalist production is exchange value not use value, profit not people.”, The Essential Verso Undergraduate Reading List, Bill Gates Picks 5 Good Books for a Lousy Year. Submerged in the aqueous, the only horizon of its world, to even consider that there might be an alternative would be unintelligible, let alone thinkable. very clearly stated actually I translated this book into Chinese and published. Surprisingly readable for a work of Marxist history and historiography. Wood not only contested this view, but her synthesis of Brenner with E.P. Instead, Wood argues that capitalism was brought about by and under very specific historical circumstances in England, in particular, the imposition of market. Read preview. I had only just discovered Wood when she died, and had some passionate sharing about her writings with a friend and it was like discovering a band no one had hear of. Rather, it is a late and localized product of very specific historical conditions, which required great transformations in social relations and in the relationship between humans and nature. Wood begins by criticizing what she terms the “commercialization model” that structures the vast majority of historical accounts of capitalism’s development. Its point is to refute claims that capitalism is both natural and inevitable, because, By now its something of a cliché to say of a fish that when asked, it simply wouldnt know what water is. London: Verso. A mini mind bomb that will forever adjust my thinking. Typi cally, these … Historical economics/sociology at its best, and written in accessible prose. Please try again later. The transition from feudalism to capitalism is often viewed as the result of a gradual and rising progress of technology, urbanization, science and trade The relatively recent change from a primarily agricultural society of petty producers to society of commodity production and market dependence required a change in the social relations at the heart of the society. In this original and provocative book Ellen Meiksins Wood reminds us that capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor is it simply an extension of age-old … This book starts off with critiquing the supposedly (I say supposedly only because I know very little on the origins of capitalism) contemporary and widely prevalent notion that capitalism as it developed was an inevitable and natural consequence of progressively complex tendencies and increased development of trade and commerce. Capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor is it simply an extension of age-old practices of trade and commerce.In this original and provocative book Ellen Meiksins Wood reminds us that capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor is it simply an extension of age-old practices of trade and commerce. vii, 138. Furthermore, such historicization requires us, scholars, to underscore the uniqueness and contingencies defining the "capitalist" turn. While undertaking this task, she pays close attention to centuries-long discussions among the scholars of capitalism and also the developments in property relations, state structures, and land tenure, as well as intellectual discussions as these developments occurred. Rather, it is a late … Wir verwenden Cookies und ähnliche Tools, um Ihr Einkaufserlebnis zu verbessern, um unsere Dienste anzubieten, um zu verstehen, wie die Kunden unsere Dienste nutzen, … Wood, instead, sees capitalism as a distinct product of specific circumstances (the creation of the market imperative, land enclosure, and agriculture). Many Marxists after Marx have made the same assumptions as liberals about the natural development of capitalism out of feudalism as if it were an innate process of development to economics. I was able to sympathize with him to an extent. The author traces links between the origin of capitalism and contemporary conditions such as ‘globalization’, ecological degradation, and the current agricultural crisis. By carefully studying the tenets of capitalist transformation in England, she goes on by defining what the most prominent buzzword of the 20th century, "capitalism", meant and how it could be defined in social and economic terms. Meiksins Wood, in this book, proposes a new understanding along these lines. Capitalism seems always to be there, somewhere; and it only needs to be released from its chains - for instance, from the fetters of feudalism - to be allowed to grow and mature. Furthermore, such historicization requires us, scholars, to underscore the uniqueness and contingencies defining the "capitalist" turn. Course. The following review by Teo Ballvé is from the website Territorial Masquerades (link provided): This book does what it sets out to do, which is interrogate the common sense history of capitalism (which tends to present it as progressive or inevitable) and shows how the rise of capitalism was dependant on historical context and events in England in particular. Rather, it is a late and localized product of very specific historical conditions, which required great transformations in social relations and in the human interaction with nature.This new edition is substantially revised and expanded, with extensive new material on imperialism, anti-Eurocentric history, capitalism and the nation-state, and the differences between capitalism and non-capitalist commerce. The Origin of Capitalism - Wood.pdf - THE ORIGIN OF CAPITALISM A Longer View \u2022 ELLEN MEIKSINS WOOD This edition first published by Verso 2002 \u00a9 Ellen The content of the book is probably deserving of three stars, but Wood's writing lacks clarity making it a much more difficult read than it could be otherwise. or in another version the population development in western Europe meant growing divisions in the labour market and growth of cities, and with that growth of trade. Biography. I was also heavily distracted by animal crossing so who knows how much I missed. The origin of capitalism by Ellen Meiksins Wood. Absolutely fascinating, concise, and convincing account of the agrarian origins of capitalism. Wood reviews various origin stories of capitalism, noting that they seemingly all take capitalism as the natural end after feudalism (still excited to read Perry Anderson's origin stories tho). Rate it * You Rated it * 0. By Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origin of Capitalism. Very good if a little repetitive. In this work, Meiksins Wood makes the original argument that capitalism was not nascent in ancient or feudal societies. For Ellen Meiksins Wood, its capitalism that is our water: soaked to the bone in market imperatives, our imagination has been so stunted that not just capitalism, but even what came before - and what might came after - largely remain. By. 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