Crash Course World History: Capitalism

Introduction

• Host: John Green
• Focus on capitalism: its nature as both an economic and cultural system.
• Mention of personal anecdotes and humor to engage audience.

Overview of Capitalism

• Definition: An economic system characterized by innovation and investment to increase wealth.
• Historical Context:
  • Economic and cultural system.
  • Importance of production and industrial capitalism.

Mercantile Capitalism

• 12th Century Example: Rug merchants needing to borrow money to buy and resell rugs.
• 17th Century Innovations:
  • Joint stock companies in the Netherlands and Britain.
  • Risk management through shared ownership in trade ventures.

Industrial Capitalism

• Definition by Joyce Appleby: Relies on investment in machines/technology to increase production.
• Significance:
  • Initiated a large-scale production revolution.
  • Associated downsides: long hours, low wages, poor working conditions, child labor.

Development in Britain

• 19th Century Advantages:

  • Dominance in sea power and profitable colonial trade.
  • Civil unrest (17th-century English Civil War) led to freer markets.

• Agricultural Productivity Increase:

  • Innovations reduced food prices, freeing labor for industrial work.

• Enclosure Movement:

  • Enclosing fields that were communally used, affecting tenant farmers negatively.

Capitalism as a Cultural System

• Cultural Shift:

  • Need for profit and investment in innovation.
  • Publicizing capitalist values (e.g., Thomas Mun's writings).

• Language Evolution:

  • "Individuals" as persons and "career" beyond horse racing.

Critiques & Socialism

• Criticism of Capitalism:

  • Marx's focus on class struggle and critique of capitalism's replacement of collaboration with conflict.

• Socialist Movements:

  • Utopian vs. revolutionary socialism in France.
  • Karl Marx's ideas on class struggle and empowerment of workers.

• Practical Outcomes:

  • Labor unions and theoretical socialism (e.g., Marxian socialism).

20th Century & Beyond

• Socialism vs. Capitalism:
  • Socialism's failure to replace capitalism globally.
  • Ongoing debate on integrating socialist principles into capitalist economies.

Conclusion

• Open Questions:

  • Balancing free market and socialist principles for collective well-being.
  • Government involvement in various sectors (healthcare, education, etc.).

• Final Thoughts:

  • Industrial capitalism's role in improving material well-being.
  • The ongoing struggle between capitalist and socialist ideologies.