From: "=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Jo=E3o_Paulo_Monteiro?=" <jpmonteiro-AT-mail.telepac.pt>
Subject: Re: M-I: bust
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:01:32 +0100




> I'll let you have the last word by asking yet another question - why
> Europe? Why did capitalism happen there, and colonialism with it?
> 
> Doug
> 

Let me take a shot at this question.

Europe has gone through a profound political crisis in the late Middle Age.
There was plague, wars, etc. The ruling classes of the time suffered a very
pronounced weakening of their control of the situation, economically,
politically and ideologically. Big artisans in the cities and the merchants
began to move through the breach. There was a shift in the dominant
relations of production and this created the conditions for a technological
revolution. Then, diallectically, all this began to have a snowball effect.
It was kind of an historical jackpot.

There were other civilizations (arab, indian, chinese, etc.) comparatively
stronger at the time, but they were also more stable and their ruling
classes - which had a firmer grasp of the situation - wanted it that way.  


Joćo Paulo Monteiro




     --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---