The Origin of Capitalism
Encyclopedia
The Origin of Capitalism is a 1999 book on history
and political economy
by scholar Ellen Meiksins Wood
. It was reviewed as an "Outstanding Academic Book" by Michael Perelman
.
is an "inevitable product of human nature and technology", that arises when people start engaging in profit-seeking activities. Wood instead "focuses on conditions that allowed the market to compel people to follow its dictates or perish." Wood claims that "capitalists can appropriate workers' surplus labor without coercion" by the following means:
Wood notes that both producers and appropriators use the market to set rates of compensation both for wages and for appropriation.
The distinctive Marxist approach originates from Karl Marx
's critique of political economy
in his works Das Kapital
and Grundrisse
.
In the capitalist form of society, human labor power
is for sale in the market as one of many commodities. Goods and services, including those regarding the most basic necessities of life, are produced for profitable exchange. All the actors in a such system are driven by competition
and profit
-maximization.
Press, and then a revised edition was published in 2002 by Verso, with the subtitle "A Longer View".
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
by scholar Ellen Meiksins Wood
Ellen Meiksins Wood
-Biography:Wood was born Ellen Meiksins one year after her parents, Latvian Jews active in the Bund, arrived in New York from Europe as political refugees. She was raised in the United States and Europe.Wood received a B.A...
. It was reviewed as an "Outstanding Academic Book" by Michael Perelman
Michael Perelman
Michael Perelman is an American economist and economic historian, currently professor of economics at California State University, Chico. Perelman has written 19 books, including Railroading Economics, Manufacturing Discontent, The Perverse Economy, and The Invention of Capitalism.-Biography:A...
.
Content
One of the major points discussed by Wood is a critique of the position of the Commercialization School. The Commercialization School argues that capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
is an "inevitable product of human nature and technology", that arises when people start engaging in profit-seeking activities. Wood instead "focuses on conditions that allowed the market to compel people to follow its dictates or perish." Wood claims that "capitalists can appropriate workers' surplus labor without coercion" by the following means:
- dispossess the legally free direct producers
- control access to the means of production
- exchange labor for a wage
Wood notes that both producers and appropriators use the market to set rates of compensation both for wages and for appropriation.
The distinctive Marxist approach originates from Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's critique of political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
in his works Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
and Grundrisse
Grundrisse
The Grundrisse der Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie is a lengthy manuscript by the German philosopher Karl Marx, completed in 1858. However, as it existed primarily as a collection of unedited notes, the work remained unpublished until 1939...
.
In the capitalist form of society, human labor power
Labor power
Labour power is a crucial concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of capitalist political economy. He regarded labour power as the most important of the productive forces of human beings. Labour power can be simply defined as work-capacity, the ability to do work...
is for sale in the market as one of many commodities. Goods and services, including those regarding the most basic necessities of life, are produced for profitable exchange. All the actors in a such system are driven by competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
and profit
Profit (economics)
In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total opportunity costs of a venture to an entrepreneur or investor, whilst economic profit In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total...
-maximization.
Editions
The book was originally published in 1999 by Monthly ReviewMonthly Review
Monthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
Press, and then a revised edition was published in 2002 by Verso, with the subtitle "A Longer View".
- Wood, Ellen MeiksinsEllen Meiksins Wood-Biography:Wood was born Ellen Meiksins one year after her parents, Latvian Jews active in the Bund, arrived in New York from Europe as political refugees. She was raised in the United States and Europe.Wood received a B.A...
(1999) The Origin of Capitalism, Monthly ReviewMonthly ReviewMonthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
Press, 1999. ISBN 1-58367-000-9 ISBN 1-58367-007-6 120 pp. - Wood, Ellen Meiksins (2002) The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View, Verso, 2002. ISBN 1-8598-4392-1 ISBN 9781859843925 213 pp.