O capitalism it is an economic system based on private property, capital accumulation and the pursuit of profit. The attainment of profit and the accumulation of capital within capitalism takes place through private ownership of the means of production, which can be manifested by the possession of land or large installations that allow the production of a certain merchandise.
Capitalism emerged in a very long process, which began in the historical transition to the Modern age and in the development of mercantilism, understood by many as the initial stage of commercial capitalism. The consolidation of this economic system took place in the nineteenth century, with the development of industry through the Industrial Revolution.
Accessalso: The three phases of capitalism throughout history
Origin of Capitalism
It is a process that lasted for several centuries. Some historians consider that the development of capitalism began in an embryonic and gradual way with the disintegration of feudalism, in the 14th and 15th centuries, in the transition period of the Middle Ages for the Modern Age.
Although, even with the end of the feudalism, European society has continued to be rural, and the economy largely agrarian and dependent on the work of the peasants, new forms of economic and social organization have initiated transformations. significant. This embryonic moment of capital became known in theory Marxist like "primitive accumulation of capital”.
This accumulation was, therefore, the entire period from the dismantling of the feudal mode of production to the rise of industry. In this, the emergence of new economic and social practices led to the development of mercantile economic practices and the emergence of a new social group — the bourgeois.
Its stabilization and accumulation of capital for centuries allowed this group to invest in capitalismindustrial — phase considered as the solidification, in fact, of capitalism as an economic system. This led to profound changes in the political and social fields as well. The phase of primitive capital accumulation, called by many commercial capitalism, ended with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, at the end of the 18th century.
see more: Imperialism - a practice developed with the consolidation of capitalism
Industrial Revolution
THE Industrial Revolution was the period of great economic development that resulted in the industry rise. It happened in a pioneering way in England, by a combination of factors, which we will highlight below.
First, we can consider that, in England, there was a considerable prosperity of the mercantile class, causing the accumulation of capital there to be accentuated. Another important factor was that the mercantile development English, allied to the country's development as a colonial power, guaranteed the improvement of the manufacture, the embryonic stage of the industry.
The consolidation of salaried work there he created, albeit precariously, a body of people able to absorb goods produced in an industrial process. THE greatamount of labor was another relevant factor, given that this availability was due to the increase in agricultural production, which ensured population growth.
Much of this population lived in the landscommon, in common use in England, which reproduced, in part, some characteristics of feudalism, but that gave the peasants a certain freedom, as they were not tied to a system of bondage. The taking of these lands from the peasants, through the fences, meant that a multitude had to leave the countryside and, as the only way of survival, sell your workforce.
The availability of workers thus guaranteed cheap labor so that industries could grow. The permanence of a large number of unemployed people was another fundamental mechanism within this process, as the existence of this group had the function of press wages down. Thus, the owner of capital was able to maximize his profit.
With the Industrial Revolution, the machines gained fundamental importance, as they ensured increased production. In addition, the transformations in social relations were visible, as a polarization between bourgeois and proletarians (dispossessed workers). These ended up subordinating themselves to those, since they needed employment to survive and had no means of production.
As mentioned, English industry developed with the financing of the bourgeois enriched with commercial capitalism. The first modality that appeared with the Industrial Revolution was the industrytextile. Her production was carried out by machines capable of weaving several threads at once.
So, as this area prospered, other activities began to emerge in England. There was also considerable development in displacements from the emergence of railways. Other industrial modalities were born to meet the demands of this area.
From the end of the 18th century until the end of the 1840s, there was some growth. However, historian Eric Hobsbawm considers that the 1850s is that it guaranteed the presence of capitalism, since it experienced a significant leap in industrial production. Hobsbawm also says that it was when capitalism stopped being a reclusive system in the English context and expanded internationally|1|.
This expansion is expressed by the numbers brought by the historian|2|:
The production of cotton products between 1850 and 1860 was 1,300 million yards, while from 1820 to 1850 the same production was of 1,100 million yards, that is, the production of the 1850s was superior to anything that had been produced in the three decades. above.
The number of cotton machines grew by 200,000 in the 1850s.
Belgium doubled its iron production between 1851 and 1857.
Between 1851 and 1857, 115 stock companies emerged in Prussia. Until that decade, there were 67 companies of this type in the region.
O world trade increased by 260% in the period from 1850 to 1870.
Another indication, demonstrated by Hobsbawm, who points to the consolidation and internationalization of capitalism on the European continent, was the adoption, to a large extent, of the free market economy, which gave a strong incentive to the expansion of the industry.
Also, some laws dating back to the feudal period and mercantilist, as the one that guaranteed the existence of guilds (corporations that agglomerated and had manufacturing workers), ended, and laws against usury (accumulation of money/capital) have been repealed|3|.
know more: Main events related to the Second Industrial Revolution
Characteristics of Capitalism
Among the main characteristics of capitalism are:
Defense of private property: the capitalist system advocates that the State must guarantee the right to private property to all. The development of capitalism only happens when the holders of the means of production are guaranteed private ownership, thus, they they are only holders of the means of production because they have the guarantee of ownership of their properties and other goods that are included in it.
search for profit: capitalism is a system that strives to guarantee profit. Therefore, the objective of everyone who owns the capital and the means of production is to obtain as much profit as possible through their economic activity.
Salaried work: if the holder of the means of production seeks profit within capitalism, he will only obtain it if he manages to exploit the labor of those who have nothing but their workforce. Therefore, those who have nothing will sell their own strength to receive financial compensation that will allow them to survive. It is through this wage labor that workers will be able to consume the goods produced by capitalism.
Criticism of Capitalism
Capitalism is the majority economic system in the world today. Even so, he receives some criticism, mainly for two aspects: the existence of crises that affect the economy from time to time and the picture of social inequality that he helped to bring about.
Social inequality
Recent critiques have shown that social inequality within capitalism is out of control and considered one of the greatest threats to social progress. A 2019 study showed that 2153 billionaires have a wealth that corresponds to 60% of the planet's population|4|.
Brazil is no exception to this scenario, since is the seventh most unequal country in the world. It is second only to six African nations: South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Central African Republic, Lesotho and Mozambique. In addition concentration of income here is the second worst in the world, second only to that of Qatar. In Brazil, 1% of the population concentrates around 28.3% of all the country's wealth. If you want to know more about this evil that plagues the entire planet, read our text: Social inequality.
Economic crisis
![The 1929 Crisis was the worst economic crisis in the history of capitalism. [1]](/f/169a48fbc022993636781827ad312925.jpg)
The economic evolution in capitalism was historically marked by recession cycles that created uncertainty and led many people to unemployment and, in the most extreme cases, to lose everything they owned.
In theory Marxist, it is understood that the crisis is something immanent in capitalism and that periods of great prosperity will necessarily be followed by periods of economic downturn. In history, the great economic crisis was the one that happened in 1929 and became known as great depression. The most recent economic crisis to hit the world was the of 2008.
Grades
|1| HOBSBAWM, Eric. the era of capital: 1848-1875. Rio de Janeiro: Peace and Earth, 2014. P. 60-61.
|2| All these statistics are taken from: HOBSBAWM, Eric. the era of capital: 1848-1875. Rio de Janeiro: Peace and Earth, 2014. P. 61-67.
|3| Idem, p. 69-70.
|4| Global inequality is out of control, study says. To access, click on here.
Image credits
[1] Everett Historical and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher