AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
The Exploitation of Madeira and the Rise of Neoliberalism
This chapter explores the exploitation of Madeira for sugar production by Portuguese settlers and the subsequent collapse due to resource depletion, shaping the early capitalist model. It delves into the concepts of terra nullius and John Locke's justification of land ownership through labor mixing, which laid the foundation for capitalism and slave ownership. The chapter also touches on the emergence of neoliberalism as a response to the conflict between capitalism and democracy, its spread in the mid-20th century, and how it disenfranchises certain groups while promoting the interests of the wealthy.