Angry Planet ‘Capitalism Is a Series of Regime Changes’
Dec 12, 2025
Sven Beckert, a Harvard historian and author, delves into the extensive legacy of capitalism in his insightful discussion. He emphasizes that capitalism is not static but a series of regime changes driven by crises and opportunities. Beckert intriguingly positions cotton as a gateway to understanding global economic history, while also tackling the evolving roles of technology and AI. He asserts that capitalism's adaptability allows it to continue evolving, yet warns that the chaos of regime shifts carries both peril and promise.
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Capitalism Defined By Capital Accumulation
- Capitalism's core is privately owned capital invested to generate more capital, not just markets or trade.
- This logic is expansive and adapts across places like 12th-century Aden, 19th-century South Carolina, and modern Shenzhen.
Cotton's False Promise Of Lasting Power
- Southern slaveholders believed cotton gave them global political power and were partly right about cotton's importance.
- Beckert notes capitalism's flexibility allowed far more cotton production later without slave labor, undermining that political bet.
No Single Birth — A Long Emergence
- Capitalism has no single birthday; its merchant logic spread slowly over centuries and merged with industrial production after 1800.
- The Industrial Revolution accelerated capitalism into a recognizably modern, productivity-driven system.
