A History of Global Capitalism
Feuding Elites and Imperial Expansion
Authors: Bhattacharyya, Sambit
Free Preview- Is ambitious in scope and original in spirit at a time of profound socioeconomic change
- Offers impressive historical sweep unmatched in the literature
- Presents a fast and reliable diagnosis of geopolitical changes with a historical focus
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- About this Textbook
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The book sets out to explore the economic motivations of imperial expansion under capitalism. This undoubtedly is related to two fundamental research questions in economic sciences. First, what factors explain the divergence in living standards across countries under the capitalist economic system? Second, what ensures internal and external stability of the capitalist economic system? The book adopts a unified approach to address these questions. Using the standard growth model it shows that improvements in living standards are dependent on access to raw materials, labour, capital, technology, and perhaps most importantly 'economies of scale'. Empires ensure scale economy through guaranteed access to markets and raw materials. The stability of the system depends on growth and distribution and it is not possible to have one without the other. However, the quest for growth and imperial expansion implies that one empire invariably comes into conflict with another. This is perhaps the most unstable and potentially dangerous characteristic of the capitalist system. Using extensive historical accounts the book shows that this inherent tension can be best managed by acknowledging mutual spheres of influence within the international system along the lines of the 1815 Vienna Congress. This timely publication addresses not only students and scholars of economics, geography, political science, and history, but also general readers interested in a better understanding of economic development, international relations, and the history of global capitalism.
- About the authors
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Sambit Bhattacharyya is a Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex, UK. He has published widely and made significant contributions to the fields of development economics, economic history and political economy. He co-edits an influential international journal on development economics. He also appeared on TV and Radio programmes and advised governments on public policy issues.
- Table of contents (13 chapters)
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Capitalism and Elite Feud: A Short Introduction
Pages 1-7
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A Unified Theory of Rent, Elite Feud, and Imperial Expansion
Pages 11-24
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Atlanticism, the Slave Trade, and the Westward Expansion of Western Europe
Pages 27-43
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The Adventures and Misadventures of Expansion in Eastern and Central Europe
Pages 45-55
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Western European Expansionism in India, China, and Indonesia
Pages 57-69
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Table of contents (13 chapters)
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Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- A History of Global Capitalism
- Book Subtitle
- Feuding Elites and Imperial Expansion
- Authors
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- Sambit Bhattacharyya
- Series Title
- Frontiers in Economic History
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Copyright Holder
- The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
- eBook ISBN
- 978-3-030-58736-9
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-030-58736-9
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-3-030-58735-2
- Series ISSN
- 2662-9771
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- XV, 239
- Number of Illustrations
- 1 b/w illustrations, 4 illustrations in colour
- Topics
