The origins of capitalism and the "rise of the West"

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Title:

Author:

Mielants, Eric.

ISBN:

9781592135752

9781592135769

Personal Author:

Mielants, Eric.

Publication Information:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2007.

Physical Description:

x, 241 p. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Perspectives on the origins of merchant capitalism in Europe -- Orthodox Marxism -- Brennerism (or the Brenner approach) -- The modernization theory -- World-systems analysis -- The inter-city-state system of the Middle Ages -- Tentative conclusions -- The political economies of China and Europe compared -- The Chinese socioeconomic revolution during the Sung dynasty (circa 900-1280) -- China and the Mongols -- Ming China and Europe : divergent paths -- Conclusions vis-âa-vis European capitalism -- The political economies of South Asia and Europe compared -- Trade and commodity flows in the South Asian region -- States and state structures in South Asia -- The strategies of elites in South Asia and Europe -- The impact of the perilous frontier -- Conclusions -- The political economies of Western Europe and Northern Africa compared -- Northern Africa and the Sudanic states (circa 1200-1500) -- North African cities, states, and the balance of power in the Mediterranean -- Conclusions -- Conclusion : Was the Western-European city-state in the Middle Ages a European miracle?

Subject Term:

Capitalism.

Civilization, Western.

Electronic Access:

Table of contents only http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip075/2006037484.html

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168023665983	330.9401 M631.O 2007	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

In this study, Eric Mielants provides a novel interdisciplinary interpretation of the origins of modernity and capitalism in particular. He argues that contrary to popular thinking, the Rise of the West should not be analyzed in terms of the Industrial Revolution or the colonization of the New World, but viewed from long-term developments that occurred in the Middle Ages. A fascinating overview of different civilizations in East Asia, South Asia, and Northwestern Africa is provided and systematically compared and contrasted with Western Europe. This book addresses some of the major debates that have recently unfolded in world history, comparative sociology, political economy, sociological theory and historical sociology.a Mielants indicates how many existing theories (such as Marxism, World-Systems Theory and Smithian Modernization Theory) have suffered from either Eurocentric or limited temporal and spatial analyses, which prevents them from a complete understanding of why the origins of capitalism and citizenship emerged in Western Europe."