HISTORY 5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Eric Foner, Individualism, Dependent And Independent Variables
Document Summary
What"s at stake in all this effort to understand history. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Power: extent that societies, states, social classes, individuals, etc. , control their own destinies & those of others (max weber) Extremely uneven globally, within and between societies and states . A problem since about 5000 bce, when surplus agriculture & complex societies emerged . Different types of power: social, economic, political, military, cultural, religious, gender, etc. Power definitely not at all automatically legitimate . Example: consider capitalism" as a dependent variable" (something caused or conditioned by something else). You must describe it precisely, then examine what historical conditions gave rise to it explain it. Consider also that capitalism is an independent variable", which means it has a strong impact on other things. We will examine its changing character & impact in the us & worldwide since its inception in 16th century england.
