Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism

by Robbins, Richard H.

• ISBN13: 9780205407415
• ISBN10: 0205407412
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Summary

This award-winning text explores one of the most successful cultures and societies the world has ever seen-capitalism. The Third Edition of Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism provides the reader with the anthropological, economic, and historical framework to understand the origins of global problems, why globalization and the global expansion of the culture of capitalism have generated protest and resistance, and the steps necessary to solve global problems. Up-to-date information throughout the text helps students maintain a current view of the rapidity of global change. As one reviewer writes, ";In today's world of global cultures the key to solving the problems of the future depends on understanding the cultures of today. Robbins' book spells this out in clear and easy-to-read prose. It is the one book that every college student should be required to read."; Special Features: Takes a student-oriented, problem-based approach, focusing on social problems such as hunger, poverty, environmental devastation, disease, gender issues, and social conflict. Helps students to understand the cultural roots of global problems and the changes that are necessary if these problems are to be solved. The concluding chapter, ";Constructing the Citizen-Activist,"; provides students with ways to conceptualize social activism. A discussion of economic development gives students a perspective on the problems inherent with economic development schemes (Chapter 6). New material on terrorism (Chapters 11 and 13) and slavery in the global economy (Chapter 2) addresses issues relevant to the world today. Expanded discussion of ethnic conflict and genocide (Chapter 10) and the role and meaning of money (Chapter 1, 2, 3, and 4) and privatization of the military (Chapter 4) allows for more in- depth classroom discussion. Expanded introductions to Parts I, II, and III. Also Available: Talking Points on Global Issues Reader, Second Edition by Richard Robbins. This reader contains twenty-nine readings that correspond to the chapters of the text and is designed to promote discussion and thought on global issues that have a direct bearing on our everyday lives. AVAILABLE FREE when packaged with the text using Package ISBN: 0-205-44488-1 Companion Website: This site, regularly updated by the author, offers additional readings; an extensive list of Websites on global concerns, including links to resources on countries, corporations, global media, and maps; a ";global updates"; page that features links to news stories and articles on emerging global issues; course syllabi, course assignments and exercises, discussion questions, and more! Visit www.ablongman.com/robbins3e .

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
PART I THE CONSUMER, THE LABORER, THE CAPITALIST, AND THE NATION-STATE IN THE SOCIETY OF PERPETUAL GROWTH: INTRODUCTION	1	(136)
A PRIMER ON MONEY	4	(9)
STEP 1: THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMODITY MONEY	7	(2)
STEP 2: THE SHIFT FROM COMMODITY TO FIAT OR CREDIT MONEY	9	(1)
STEP 3: THE NECESSARY CONVERSION OF NONMONETARY INTO MONETARY CAPITAL	10	(3)
CHAPTER ONE Constructing the Consumer	13	(26)
REMAKING CONSUMPTION	15	(10)
Marketing and Advertising	16	(2)
The Transformation of Institutions	18	(3)
The Transformation of Spiritual and Intellectual Values	21	(3)
The Reconfiguration of Space and Class	24	(1)
KINDERCULTURE IN AMERICA: THE CHILD AS CONSUMER	25	(10)
The Role of Children in Capitalism	25	(2)
The Social Construction of Childhood	27	(8)
EXPORTING THE CONSUMER	35	(2)
CONCLUSION	37	(2)
CHAPTER TWO The Laborer in the Culture of Capitalism	39	(26)
A PRIMER ON THE ECONOMIC ELEMENTS OF CAPITALISM	40	(5)
The Baptism of Money	43	(2)
THE CONSTRUCTION AND ANATOMY OF THE WORKING CLASS	45	(18)
Characteristics of the Working Class	45	(6)
The Growth of Overseas Assembly Plants	51	(3)
The Creation of Free Labor	54	(1)
The Segmentation of the Workforce	55	(4)
Control and Discipline	59	(3)
Resistance and Rebellion	62	(1)
CONCLUSION	63	(2)
CHAPTER THREE The Rise of the Merchant, Industrialist, and Capital Controller	65	(43)
THE ERA OF THE GLOBAL TRADER	68	(14)
A Trader's Tour of the World in 1400	68	(6)
The Economic Rise of Europe and Its Impact on Africa and the Americas	74	(6)
The Rise of the Trading Companies	80	(2)
THE ERA OF THE INDUSTRIALIST	82	(10)
Textiles and the Rise of the Factory System	85	(2)
The Age of Imperialism	87	(5)
THE ERA OF THE CORPORATION, THE MULTILATERAL INSTITUTION, AND THE CAPITAL CONTROLLER	92	(15)
The Rise of the Corporation	93	(3)
Bretton Woods and the World Debt	96	(7)
The Power of Capital Controllers	103	(4)
CONCLUSION	107	(1)
CHAPTER FOUR The Nation-State in the Culture of Capitalism	108	(29)
THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE STATE	110	(4)
The Evolution of the State	110	(1)
The History and Function of the Nation-State	111	(3)
CONSTRUCTING THE NATION-STATE	114	(9)
Creating the Other	114	(2)
Language, Bureaucracy, and Education	116	(4)
Violence and Genocide	120	(3)
THE FUTURE OF THE NATION-STATE	123	(12)
Transnationalism and Migration	123	(4)
Will Corporations Rule the World?	127	(6)
Nongovernmental Organizations	133	(2)
CONCLUSION	135	(2)
PART II THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF THE CULTURE OF CAPITALISM: INTRODUCTION	137	(156)
A PRIMER ON MARKET EXTERNALITIES: POLANYI'S PARADOX	139	(6)
CHAPTER FIVE The Problem of Population Growth	145	(30)
THE MALTHUSIANS VERSUS THE REVISIONISTS	148	(10)
The Case of India and China	149	(4)
The Issue of Carrying Capacity	153	(1)
The Ideology of Malthusian Concerns	154	(4)
DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION THEORY	158	(7)
A Primer on the Determinants of Population Growth and Decline	159	(3)
Some Examples of Demographic Change	162	(3)
POPULATION GROWTH IN THE PERIPHERY	165	(9)
Wealth Flows Theory	167	(2)
The Social Implications of Wealth Flows Theory	169	(1)
The Question of Gender and Power	170	(2)
Problems and Prospects	172	(2)
CONCLUSION	174	(1)
CHAPTER SIX Hunger, Poverty, and Economic Development	175	(31)
THE EVOLUTION OF FOOD PRODUCTION: FROM THE NEOLITHIC TO THE NEOCALORIC	176	(18)
From Gathering and Hunting to the Neolithic	177	(2)
Capitalism and Agriculture	179	(1)
The Neocaloric and the Green Revolution	180	(6)
THE POLITICS OF HUNGER 184 The Anatomy of Famine	186	(2)
The Anatomy of Endemic Hunger	188	(6)
SOLUTIONS TO POVERTY AND HUNGER	194	(11)
Economic Development	195	(4)
Foreign Aid: The Case of Russia	199	(3)
Targeting Vulnerable Populations: The Grameen Bank and Microcredit	202	(3)
CONCLUSION	205	(1)
CHAPTER SEVEN Environment and Consumption	206	(27)
THE CASE OF SUGAR	211	(6)
Sugar Origins and Production	211	(1)
Uses of Sugar	212	(1)
The Development of the Sugar Complex	212	(2)
The Expansion of Sugar Consumption	214	(1)
The Mass Consumption of Sugar	215	(1)
Modern Sugar	216	(1)
THE STORY OF BEEF	217	(11)
The Ascendancy of Beef	219	(1)
The Emergence of the American Beef Industry	219	(5)
Modern Beef	224	(2)
The Internationalization of the Hamburger	226	(1)
Environmentally Sustainable Cattle Raising	227	(1)
EXPORTING POLLUTION	228	(4)
CONCLUSION	232	(1)
CHAPTER EIGHT Disease	233	(29)
A PRIMER ON HOW TO DIE OF AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE	236	(6)
THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CULTURE AND DISEASE	242	(8)
Gathering and Hunting to Early Agriculture	242	(1)
"Graveyards of Mankind"	243	(3)
Diseases of Environmental Change	246	(4)
AIDS AND THE CULTURE OF CAPITALISM	250	(10)
How Did the Disease Spread?	252	(4)
Who Gets Infected with AIDS?	256	(3)
Who Gets Blamed?	259	(1)
CONCLUSION	260	(2)
CHAPTER NINE Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Conflict	262	(31)
THE FATE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES	265	(9)
Some Characteristics of Indigenous Peoples	266	(1)
The Process of Ethnocide	267	(7)
THE GUARANI: THE ECONOMICS OF ETHNOCIDE	274	(6)
History and Background	275	(2)
Contemporary Development and Guarani Communities	277	(3)
DISADVANTAGED MAJORITIES AND THEIR REVENGE	280	(10)
Leveling Crowds	282	(1)
Genocide as an Externality of the Market	283	(7)
CONCLUSION	290	(3)
PART III RESISTANCE AND REBELLION: INTRODUCTION	293	(114)
A PRIMER ON TERRORISM	296	(5)
CHAPTER TEN Peasant Protest, Rebellion, and Resistance	301	(28)
MALAYSIA AND THE WEAPONS OF THE WEAK	302	(7)
Malaysian Peasants and the Green Revolution	303	(2)
Fighting Back	305	(2)
Obstacles to Resistance	307	(1)
Protest and Change	308	(1)
KIKUYU AND THE MAU MAU REBELLION	309	(13)
The British in East Africa	309	(2)
The White Highlands	311	(2)
The Roots of the Rebellion	313	(2)
The Rebellion	315	(1)
"State of Emergency"	316	(2)
The Oath and the Detention Camps	318	(2)
Independence	320	(2)
THE REBELLION IN CHIAPAS	322	(6)
Poverty and Inequality in Chiapas	323	(2)
The Rebellion and the Global Economy	325	(1)
The Revolt and the Reaction of the Mexican Government	326	(2)
The Future of Peasants	328	(1)
CONCLUSION	328	(1)
CHAPTER ELEVEN Antisystemic Protest	329	(26)
PROTEST AS ANTISYSTEMIC: THE TWO WORLD REVOLUTIONS	330	(5)
The Revolution of 1848	331	(2)
The Revolution of 1968	333	(2)
THE PROTESTS OF LABOR: COAL MINERS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY PENNSYLVANIA	335	(8)
The Coal Industry and the Worker's Life	336	(3)
Worker Resistance and Protest	339	(2)
Destroying Worker Resistance	341	(2)
GLOBAL FEMINIST RESISTANCE	343	(7)
Gender Relations in the Culture of Capitalism	344	(3)
Strategies of Protest	347	(3)
ECOLOGICAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS	350	(4)
Earth First!	350	(1)
Chipko and the Tragedy of the Commons	351	(3)
CONCLUSION	354	(1)
CHAPTER TWELVE Religion and Antisystemic Protest	355	(28)
INDIGENOUS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AS PROTEST	357	(7)
The Ghost Dance	358	(1)
The Cargo Cults	359	(1)
Zionism in South Africa	360	(4)
THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE OF ANTISYSTEMIC RELIGIOUS PROTEST	364	(10)
Islamic Fundamentalism	366	(2)
Protestant Fundamentalism in North America	368	(6)
"TERROR IN THE MIND OF GOD"	374	(7)
Some Examples of Religious Violence	375	(5)
Understanding Religious Violence	380	(1)
CONCLUSION	381	(2)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Constructing the Citizen-Activist	383	(24)
WHAT ARE THE REAL DANGERS?	383	(13)
The GNP and the Construction of the Doctrine of Perpetual Growth	384	(2)
The Depletion of Natural Capital	386	(4)
The Depletion of Political Capital	390	(3)
The Depletion of Social Capital	393	(2)
Capital and Public Policy	395	(1)
CONSTRUCTING THE CITIZEN-ACTIVIST	396	(8)
Indices and Goals for Well-Being	397	(3)
The Means and Prospects for Change: Attaining Zero Economic Growth	400	(1)
Rebuilding and Maintaining Natural Capital	400	(1)
Restoring Political Capital	401	(2)
Rebuilding Social Capital	403	(1)
CONCLUSION	404	(3)
References	407	(12)
Name Index	419	(3)
Place and Culture Index	422	(2)
Subject Index	424	(8)
Credits	432