Beckert, S. (2014). Empire of cotton: A global history. New York: Alfred A Knopf. 640 págs.
Abstract
Every year in Virginia, many teachers instruct students that capitalism is a system in which government stays out of the way. The author of this review, being a former high school teacher in Virginia, taught this very concept. Nevertheless, Sven Beckert tells a different story in his book Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Beckert argues that not only was the state involved in the development of capitalism, but also “the needs of nation-states were not conflicting”, meaning that in many instances capitalism intertwined with goals of the state. He uses a commodity, cotton, as a centerpiece to exemplify his point. From the onset, the reader may think they are embarking on a history of cotton, but that is not Beckert’s goal. His goal is to tell the story of capitalism, by focusing on a topicthat everyone knows something about: cotton.
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References
Beckert, S. (2014). Empire of cotton: A global history. New York: Alfred A Knopf
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