Rise of Capitalism before the 20th Century in Historical, Analytical, and Conceptual Terms

Capitalism Before the 20th Century
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Capitalism Before the 20th Century
Understanding the history of capitalism is important as it helps in understanding how this economic practice has evolved over the years. There is overwhelming evidence to show that capitalism became institutionalized as a viable economic practice between the 16th and 19th centuries. The institutionalization happened in Europe but later spread to other parts of the world. Although some elements of capitalism existed in the ancient world, it was not until the aforementioned period that capitalism became a conspicuous way of running the economy. Before the 16th century, the most commonly practiced economic system was feudalism. At the time, people used to be mainly guided by religion and moral principles in doing business and in other day-to-day activities. The religious and moral principles would not have permitted a capitalistic economic system. The industrial revolution changed the story. During the revolution, capitalism became an important economic system in Britain and other parts of Europe.
Capitalism began to spread from Europe to other parts of the world in the 19th century. It gradually started to become the main form of economic system in other parts of the world. It is important to note that although it was the main economic system, it was not exclusive. Factors such as colonialism and the emergence of new technologies helped in imparting capitalistic ideas to other parts of the world. When Britain colonized America in the 19th century, they brought with them capitalistic practices. Later in the century when America gained independence, capitalism remained the main economic system practice in America. Although capitalism has some advantages, it brought several ills especially in the process of governance. There arose some tycoons who would control almost the entire economic system (Robbins and Dowty). These tycoons would ensure that they have the support of top government officials. Consequently, they were able to spread their capitalistic practices unperturbed. Although established in the 19th century, this practice is still common among many countries in the modern days.
There were several key dynamics about capitalism before the 20th century. First, capitalism was only concentrated in a few global centers. Unlike in the contemporary society where capitalism is ubiquitous, capitalism was mainly practiced in Europe and America before the 20th century. At the time, capitalism arose as a system for private ownership of the means of production. The means of production included land, factories, and any other means facilitating production in the industrial era (Robbins and Dowty). The owners of the means of production were considered private and would hir...