About this episode
The episode explores the origins of capitalism from a geographical perspective, focusing on dispossession and violence as foundational elements of economic systems.
Hello Interactors, Fall is in full swing here in the northern hemisphere, which means it’s time to turn our attention to economics and economic geography. Triggered by a recent podcast on the origins of capitalism, I thought I’d kick off by exploring this from a geography perspective. I trace how violence, dispossession, and racial hierarchy aren’t simple externalities or accidents. They emerge out of a system that organized itself and then spread. Capitalism grew out of dispossession of land and human autonomy and became a dominant social and economic structure. It’s rooted in violence that became virtuous and centuries later is locked-in. Or is it? EMERGING ENGLISH ENCLOSURES The dominant and particular brand of capitalism in force today originates in England. Before English landlords and the state violently seized common lands back in the 1300s, economic life was embedded in what historian E.P. Thompson called “moral economies”.(1) These were systems of survival where collective responsibility was managed through custom, obligation, and shared access to resources. Similar systems existed elsewhere. Long before Europeans arrived at the shores of what is now called North…
People in this episode
Host: Brad Weed
Topics covered
- economics
- economic geography
- capitalism
- dispossession
- racial hierarchy
- moral economies
- collective responsibility
Keywords
- capitalism
- economic geography
- dispossession
- racial hierarchy
- moral economies
- collective responsibility
- violence
Mentioned in this episode
Places: England, North America, Andean, West Africa, Haudenosaunee
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