1. Evolution of Capitalism
And the Social Responses

2. Capitalism An economic system Also a cultural system
Characterized by innovation and investment to increase wealth
Also a cultural system
Rooted in the need of private investors to turn a profit

3. Supply and Demand Supply High Demand Low = $
Supply Low Demand Low = $$
Supply High Demand High = $$
Supply Low Demand High = $$$$$$

4. Mercantilism
The process of making money from selling finished products
Merchants would often borrow money to buy the goods they need to produce the product which would be sold for a profit
Monarchs and nations would pull resources out of their colonies to support this money making venture

5. Middle-Ages Most people were farmers Most of the rest were nobles
Small fraction were merchants
Guilds awarded royal charters dominated trade and labour and there was little to now competition

6. Age of Exploration/Exploitation
Western European countries gained access to new lands and valuable new resources
Initially only monarchs could afford to fund expeditions
Soon merchants began to pool their money together to fund their own expeditions – the beginnings of Joint-Stock companies

7. Mercantile Capitalism
Merchants began to become wealthier but there are still only a few capitalists
Most people are still peasant farmers with no interest in buying luxury goods
Supplies are growing but demand is moderate because only a few nobles can afford to buy the goods

8. Mercantile Capitalism
Created many unintended evils such as slavery and the decimating of Aboriginal societies for land
Most Europeans were unaware and little was done
Abolition movements began to gather momentum
Slavery would eventually be outlawed
Olaudah Equiano

9. Industrial Capitalism
An economic system that relies on investment of capital in machines and technology that are used to increase production of marketable goods
Spurned on by the Industrial Revolution
Innovations in technology meant that products could be produced on a larger and faster scale
Costs to production fell
Products could be sold for less
More people could afford the products
More money was made by the merchants

10. Industrial Capitalism
Developed first in Britain
Britain’s advantages
Dominant power on the seas
Good money off of trade with its colonies
Tea, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, spices, slaves
Large reserves of coal
English Civil War had removed a lot of regulations on the economy that had existed under the king – these regulations were still in place in other European countries

11. Capitalism as Culture
Idea emerged that people are both consumers and producers
For capitalism to work people need to buy stuff
The way people thought had to change
The word individual did not apply to a person until the 17th century

12. Land Enclosures
In the Middle Ages (Land)Lords made money from peasants working the land for them
In the 18th and 19th centuries landlords could make more money from animals (sheep, cattle, etc.) and found ways to kick people off their land
These landless poor made their way to cities looking for work
Created a surplus of workers for the new factory owners to exploit…kept wages low

13. Industrialization and Urbanization
City populations grew rapidly
Living conditions were horrible
Many new towns grew up around factories which in turn were built close to coal mines
The majority of the population lived in poverty, misery, and pollution

14. Industrial Era City

15. Living Conditions

16. Living Conditions

17. Living Conditions

18. Stages of Communist Takeover - Theory
Class conflict between Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat
Alienation, exploitation, miserable conditions vs. wealth & greed
Revolution Occurs
Dictatorship of the Proletariat and end to opposition
State (rulers) whither away
Communist Society will exist, an ideal classless society without private property, and free from exploitation and want