HISA04H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Unemployment Benefits, Trade Association
HISA04'
May'9th,'2018'
Lecture'1'
Capital!–!money!that’s!available!to!invest!to!make!more!money!!
• Or!any!asset!that!can!be!turned!into!money!that!can!be!used!to!invest!
o Example:!sell!your!house!for!cash!money,!etc.!
!
New!York!Times!Article!-!2013!
• Mentions!how!capitalism!is!a!course!all!over!
• It’s!a!broad!topic!–!both!spatially!(globally)!and!temporally!(over!time)!
Problems:!
o This!topic!prioritizes!northern!and!western!Europe!–!because!that’s!the!classic!
capitalism,!and!early!scholarship!was!
o Ideologically!–!it!is!a!European!idea!
What!we!want!to!do?!
o Think!globally,!add!to!it,!not!totally!diminish!Europe!
• Author!suggests!that!the!economic!crash!of!2008!prompted!many!scholars!to!rethink!the!
narrative,!particularly!of!American!capitalism,!but!to!also!rethink!how!we!study!capitalism!
o Crash!was!unexpected!!
o Scholars!began!to!pose!the!question!of!the!relationship!between!democracy!and!
capitalism!!
§ Democracy!here!also!means!egalitarian!distribution!of!opportunities,!
goods,!services,!access!to!things!we!take!for!granted!(ex.!Healthcare),!
employment!insurance,!etc.!
• Learning!to!think!historically!
!
Fulcher!Reading:!Chapter!1!
• Merchant!capitalism!!
o British!East!India!Company!–!trade!for!spices!with!India!
o Giant!profits!to!be!made!by!a!small!group!of!merchants!
o Large!amounts!of!money!had!to!be!invested!in!order!to!make!the!trade!in!spices!
§ Ships!
§ Crews!–!skilled!and!unskilled!
§ Other!European!nations!also!wanted!spices!–!so!now!you!had!to!militarize!
the!British!ships!
o It’s!all!about!taking!something!scarce!and!transporting!it!from!one!place!on!the!
globe!and!moving!it!to!England!
§ Not!about!production!–!not!about!buying!plants,!and!hiring!labor!to!make!
these!spices!
§ Trade!in!commerce,!not!in!production!
• Industrial!capitalism!
o Investment!in!factories,!mills,!labor!force!
§ Including!child!labor!to!keep!costs!down!
o Before!this!period!there!wasn’t!a!line!between!work!and!play!–!now!there!is!a!
distinct!difference!between!work!time!and!leisure!time!
Document Summary
Capital money that"s available to invest to make more money: or any asset that can be turned into money that can be used to invest, example: sell your house for cash money, etc. New york times article - 2013: mentions how capitalism is a course all over. It"s a broad topic both spatially (globally) and temporally (over time) Problems: this topic prioritizes northern and western europe because that"s the classic capitalism, and early scholarship was. Democracy here also means egalitarian distribution of opportunities, goods, services, access to things we take for granted (ex. Other european nations also wanted spices so now you had to militarize the british ships. It"s all about taking something scarce and transporting it from one place on the globe and moving it to england. Not about production not about buying plants, and hiring labor to make these spices.
