Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Maps
- Chronology
- An Age of Progress?
- Preface
- 1 A Century of Violence
- 2 Science, Technology, and the Acceleration of Change
- 3 Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism
- 4 Imperialism, Nationalism, and Globalization
- 5 Freedom and Human Rights
- 6 Changing Environments
- 7 Culture and Social Criticism
- 8 Values and Virtues
- 9 An Age of Progress?
- Notes
- Glossary
- Index
3 - Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Maps
- Chronology
- An Age of Progress?
- Preface
- 1 A Century of Violence
- 2 Science, Technology, and the Acceleration of Change
- 3 Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism
- 4 Imperialism, Nationalism, and Globalization
- 5 Freedom and Human Rights
- 6 Changing Environments
- 7 Culture and Social Criticism
- 8 Values and Virtues
- 9 An Age of Progress?
- Notes
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
The scientific and technological developments of the twentieth century occurred within economic or social systems such as capitalism and communism. Of the two, capitalism generated by far the most such developments. As the economist Joseph Schumpeter noted, in its search for new products, new consumers, and new markets, capitalism constantly revolutionized “the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.” He even wrote that “this process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism.” The system itself can be defined as an economic one in which means of production such as land, labor, and machinery are privately owned by individuals and businesses that produce and exchange goods and services primarily to earn a profit—in contrast, under communism the government usually owned the means of production. By 1900, countries with capitalist economies dominated the globe. Among them the United States, Germany, Great Britain, and France were the leading powers, and to a lesser extent Austria- Hungary and Russia, in both of which capitalism was at a less advanced stage of development. Although socialism/communism was advocated by the German-born Karl Marx (1818–83), no communist party was able to come to power until the communist revolution of 1917 in Russia.
Although Marx recognized the tremendous productive capability of capitalism, he also believed that it was flawed by “growing inequalities, bitter class conflict, worsening cycles of economic expansion and recession, [and] competitive and individualistic values.”
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- An Age of Progress?Clashing Twentieth-Century Global Forces, pp. 59 - 90Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2008