essay on capitalism
33
The General Crisis of the European Economy in the 17th Century
IN THIS ARTICLE I WISH TO SUGGEST THAT THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY
passed through a " general crisis " during the 17th century, the last phase of the general transition from a feudal to a capitalist economy.
Since 1300 or so, when something dearly began to go seriously wrong with European feudal society1 there have been several occasions when parts of Europe trembled on the brink of capitalism. There is a taste of " bourgeois " and " industrial" revolution about 14thcentury Tuscany and Flanders or early 16th-century Germany.
Yet it is only from the middle of the 17th century that this taste becomes more than a seasoning to an essentially medieval or feudal dish. The earlier urban societies never quite succeeded in the revolutions they foreshadowed. From the early 18th century, however, " bourgeois " society advanced without substantial checks.
The 17th century crisis thus differs from its predecessors in that it led to as fundamental a solution of the difficulties which had previously stood in the way of the triumph of capitalism, as that system will permit. In this article I propose to marshal some of the evidence for the existence of a general crisis, which is still disputed by some, and to suggest an explanation of it. In a subsequent article
I propose to discuss some of the changes it produced, and how it was overcome. It is very probable that a great deal of historical work will be done on this subject and period in the next few yars. Indeed, lately historians in various countries have tentatively suggested something like that " general check to economic development" or general crisis with which this paper deals.1 It may therefore be convenient to take a bird's eye view of the field;, and to speculate about some sort of working hypothesis, if only to stimulate better ones, or further work.
Evidence for a general crisis
A good deal of evidence for the " general
The General Crisis of the European Economy in the 17th Century
IN THIS ARTICLE I WISH TO SUGGEST THAT THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY
passed through a " general crisis " during the 17th century, the last phase of the general transition from a feudal to a capitalist economy.
Since 1300 or so, when something dearly began to go seriously wrong with European feudal society1 there have been several occasions when parts of Europe trembled on the brink of capitalism. There is a taste of " bourgeois " and " industrial" revolution about 14thcentury Tuscany and Flanders or early 16th-century Germany.
Yet it is only from the middle of the 17th century that this taste becomes more than a seasoning to an essentially medieval or feudal dish. The earlier urban societies never quite succeeded in the revolutions they foreshadowed. From the early 18th century, however, " bourgeois " society advanced without substantial checks.
The 17th century crisis thus differs from its predecessors in that it led to as fundamental a solution of the difficulties which had previously stood in the way of the triumph of capitalism, as that system will permit. In this article I propose to marshal some of the evidence for the existence of a general crisis, which is still disputed by some, and to suggest an explanation of it. In a subsequent article
I propose to discuss some of the changes it produced, and how it was overcome. It is very probable that a great deal of historical work will be done on this subject and period in the next few yars. Indeed, lately historians in various countries have tentatively suggested something like that " general check to economic development" or general crisis with which this paper deals.1 It may therefore be convenient to take a bird's eye view of the field;, and to speculate about some sort of working hypothesis, if only to stimulate better ones, or further work.
Evidence for a general crisis
A good deal of evidence for the " general