Re: CMP

From: "Carl H.A. Dassbach" <dassbach@mtu.edu>
> Capitalism is not, as Alexander asserts, simply another manifestation of
> human greed. 

 

I didn't mention greed.  I referred to capitalism as a "modern form of the endless quest for power that is characteristic of all societies".

 

I said nothing about a natural tendency to perform trade, nor did I say capitalism was rooted in human nature.  I did not say capitalism has always been with us or that it doesn't exist.  What I did say is (upon my re-reading) pretty unclear.  So I will try to clear it up.

 

I claim that a monetized economy is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for a capitalistic society.  I believe a feature of capitalism is that ambitious persons perceive that commercial activity is a useful way to gain power and "glory".  The economic conditions necessary for capitalism existed before the 15th century in Europe and elsewhere.  Sophisticated finance was carried out by the great banks in Sienna and Florence in the early 14th century on a scale greater than 15th century Italian finance.  And as Frank points out, in Asia the economic conditions were present too.

 

But this situation was not yet capitalism.  What was missing is a willingness for those at the very top of the social hierarchy to consider commerce as a worthwhile activity suitable even for a gentleman.  Compare the voyages of Cheng Ho with those sponsored by Prince Henry the Navigator.  The former was a tour de force, sort of like the US moon landing.  The latter was part of a deliberate program to try to enhance the power of Portugal using commercial means.

 

The first was simply a demonstration of a monarch's glory and is as old as the pyramids.  The second was capitalism and was something quite new.

 

Mike Alexander,  author of
Stock Cycles: Why stocks won't beat money markets over the next 20 years and
The Kondratiev Cycle: A generational interpretation
http://www.net-link.net/~malexan/STOCK_CYCLES.htm