Analysis Of Braudel's Market Life

Braudel has two categories when he is talking about exchange relationships within the market, type “A” being market life, and type “B” being capitalism. Market life or free market, is more involved with smaller scale trade. Braudel talks about it being more visible, but it has no pure dominant force. One thing market life does have, is a direct link between production and consumption within a society. It is easier to regulate if there is competition but, no real competition is necessary but the competition that is in market life is equal and fair competition. Due to the visibility nobody will be able to rise to the top and dominate the entire market. Braudel claims that market life builds on the material life and that market form of exchange
The state has a place in capitalism and it helps to regulate it, even tho it is controlled by private owners who make the profit. Unlike market life, capitalism is focused more on the creation of wealth and ownership of capital and maximizing profits. Capitalism prays on opportunities made by the market life. According to Braudel, capitalism can come down because of the access to money it has and during that time it will find a part of market life to capture and gain more and more profits. Capitalism can come and go from market life as they please, come in to make profits and once their profits start to get low they come out of market life. Braudel states that the ultimate goal for capitalism is to form a monopoly, Braudel views it as the
That example would be the instance where two small companies gave a good and service for exchange of another good or service. An owner of a small contracting company and an owner of a small concrete company were both building large supply sheds next to their business over the summer. Both owners were good friends and have worked together on projects before and on this particular job they decided they would give each other the job of helping build one anothers sheds. Instead of charging each other for the good and service they provided, they just exchanged the good and service. The concrete company paid for both the sheds they were building, while they knew the contracting companies paid for their share of the work. To me this is the perfect example of market life, because it is small scale and in an area that isn’t big enough for the possible capitalist companies of concrete and contracting work and instead of trying to maximize the profits from the work the received one