Economics Book Capitalism

Question: Discuss about theEconomicsfor Book Capitalism. Answer: Introduction Paul Bowles is a professor and founding chair in Economics in University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). He is a graduate from London School of Economics and did his Masters from Sussex. He taught at Bristol, Southampton and Sussex before moving to Canada. He is also associated with universities in China and Mexico apart from Canada. His research interests lies in globalization, capitalism and development; especially in the political development of economy in China, global monetary system and development of regional Asia. Paul published his book Capitalism for the first time in 2007. He again introduced another edition of this book in 2012. The name of the book itself throws light on the issue that has been discussed in the book. The essence of the book is a take on the idea and history of capitalism since the time Columbus discovered America. It is an unparalleled concept that is tangled with the economic systems of the world since the beginning of time. Capitalism refers to the state of the economy where the trade, industry and other economic factors are controlled by private owners of capitals, called capitalists, for their own profit, rather than by the state. Paul says in his book that, since fall of the Soviet Union, the world economy has become dominated by capitalists but till today the concept is not widely understood (Bowles). The book focuses on the concept of capitalism, both as economic system and ideology. It addresses the issues, such as, the fundamental, static features of capitalism, the reasons for variations of the idea in different places and different times; whether it improves peoples lives; global capitalism, and whether it is a natural and free system or it is unfair and unbalanced. The author also uses the insights of great thinkers and economists, such as, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, John Maynard Kynes, Milton Friedman, John Locke, James Tobin and Francis Fukuyama. The author concludes with arguments that the concepts of global capitalism have stumbled and it is leading to a recession in the economy. The book is divided into two parts; first is Analysis and Assessment and second is documents. The author has given a basic outline of the book. He has mentioned it as an historical abstract system and it has requirements and dynamics. He also mentions the ways to look at capitalism and those are: Abstractly to recognize defining features Normatively to judge strengths and weaknesses Historically to observe the variations over time and place. The author first discusses, as per several economists, various characteristics of capitalism, as a system where production takes place with the help of private property and ownership, markets exist and the profit generated is private and primary driving force of the economy (Hawken, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins). However, he also mentions that fascist countries are not always capitalist; and private property is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to be classified as a capitalist country. The author also says that market is an important part of the economy and it is a historical process. In the capitalist system, the labour market was a very essential part. The concept of labour class in a capitalist system was created at that time. The profit motive was legal and it explains the dynamism of the system (Esping-Andersen). Bowles captures the evolution of capitalist system overtime by the following ways: Dominant activity: merchant to industrial to financial capitalism. Markets nature: competitive to monopoly capitalism Ownership of firms: owner to managerial Social and technological regulation: mass to flexible production Culture and technology: mass production to consumerist late capitalism. Next, Paul Bowles analyzes the normative arguments for and against the idea of capitalism. He mentions the theories of Karl Marx and Adam Smith. He has found that their theories differ in a significant way due to the gap of the time-period when those were written (Berlin). In chapter 2, Bowles writes about the arguments of the supporters of capitalism, who thinks it is a natural and free system. In chapter 3, he writes the arguments against capitalism, which say it is unjust and unstable (Schumpeter). In the rest of the chapters, his takes on capitalism was historical. He analyzes how features and impacts of capitalism changed over time and how the meaning was different in different places and societies (Prasch). He shows that the growth and recession of capitalism was different in eighteenth century than in nineteenth century. Even the effects were significantly different in Europe and USA (Jones). He cites examples from the neoliberalism theories of Francis Fukuyama, Milton Friedman, Keynes to establish his analysis. Lastly, the author focuses on the term global capitalism. In the era of liberalization and globalization, nations got integrated. Trade and capital mobility increased. Globalization is often referred to as global capitalism. Now in every country, production takes place to earn revenue and incur profit; there are markets for each type of goods and services and those are populated by private firms; labour markets are populated by workers; and in most countries, maximum share of capital is privately owned. A country may not be capitalist itself, but when it is taking part in the global economy, then, it also acts as a capitalist (Bakker and Rachel). Finally, the author compares globalization with regionalism. In the modern century, globalization is capitalism. According to the critics, global capitalism deepens the idea of injustice and instability and that holds true for particular regions too (Piketty and L. J.). Author identified major regional blocks in Europe, United States and East Asia. After the formation of EU, the trade had increased for Europe. USA is fundamentally capitalist country. East Asia consists mainly China, who is the global leader of manufacturing. From various other sources, author cited that these regions are also following the capitalist characteristics. The capital is private, markets for goods and services and labor, profit-making motive, all indicates capitalism (Schneider). Hence, it can be said that, Paul Bowles gave a thorough discussion on the features of capitalism over time and space and its validity in the modern economy. References: Bakker, Isabella, and Rachel Silvey, eds.Beyond states and markets: The challenges of social reproduction. Routledge, 2012. Berlin, Isaiah.Karl Marx. Princeton University Press, 2013. Bowles, Paul.Capitalism. Routledge, 2014. Esping-Andersen, Gosta.The three worlds of welfare capitalism. John Wiley Sons, 2013. Hawken, Paul, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins.Natural capitalism: The next industrial revolution. Routledge, 2013. Jones, Daniel Stedman.Masters of the universe: Hayek, Friedman, and the birth of neoliberal politics. Princeton University Press, 2014. Piketty, Thomas, and L. J. Ganser. "Capital in the twenty-first century." (2014). Prasch, Robert E. "Aristotle, Adam Smith and Karl Marx: On some fundamental issues in 21st century political economy." (2013): 679-682. Schneider, Gerald. "Peace through globalization and capitalism? Prospects of two liberal propositions."Journal of Peace Research51.2 (2014): 173-183. Schumpeter, Joseph A.Capitalism, socialism and democracy. Routledge, 2013.