The West
Topics • Intellectual history • Economic history • Political history • Religious history
Intellectual History
Renaissance • Foundations • Greece and Rome • Economic recovery • Ideas and pressures from Muslims • Competition • Growing middle class
Renaissance • Secularism • Fed by Crusades, Black Death, usury • Humanism
Scientific Revolution • Foundations • Greek and Roman science • Secularism • Key ideas • Rationalism • Empiricism • Progress
Enlightenment • Foundations • Scientific Revolution • Liberalism (which comes from good times, and Renaissance) • Key ideas • Social science • Progress
Capitalism • Money and markets = good • Supply and demand will work • Let market set prices, everything will work out • Laissez faire – minimum government interference • Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations
Socialism • Capitalism creates injustice and economic imbalance • Markets benefit the rich, but someone has to be poor if there will be rich • Government should redistribute money for people’s needs • Active in economy • Significant welfare
Communism • Capitalism is super evil! • It exploits the workers and turns them into nothing • All history is the history of class struggle • Inevitably, the proletariat will revolt against the middle class • Then, we’ll have a wonderful world where there is no private property • From each what he can, to each what he needs • Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto
Economic History
Post-Classical Trade • Crusades • Stimulates demand for Eastern goods • Reconnects W. Europe to Silk Road • Profit • Italian traders as middle men of Mediterranean • Leads to • Secularization and Reformation (complaints about usury) • Renaissance: money to spend on art
Colonial Empires • Reasons for outreach: • merchants looking for profits • fear of Muslim empires • need for gold to pay for Asian imports • Technology enabled exploration: • better ships • compass, maps, etc. • cannons (military advantage)
Trade Imbalances • Exploit colonies • Take all, give back almost none • Exclusive trade • Ship silver to China • Europe still the periphery • Cut out Muslim traders in the middle, so more profit but still no exports
Mercantilism • Economic philosophy of competitive European states • Core ideas • Self-sufficiency • Hoard bullion (gold and silver) • Zero-sum game • Causes/reinforces creation of empires
Commercial Revolution • Commercial Revolution • more trade, more merchants and markets • Inflation and colonial trading companies brought profits, stimulated manufacturing • Ordinary people gained as well as the rich, more simple goods and luxuries
Industrial Revolution • Shift to factories and machines, not hand-made crafts • Changes economy – no more guilds, now low-skilled workers valuable • Very capitalistic – find the cheap labor to keep costs down, make a lot and sell it back to the workers!
World Wars • World Wars hurt economic production • Kill workers • Destroy farm land • Shift focus of production • Cause inflation
Depression • Speculation and unstable loans • Booming 20s were a charade • Inflationary pressures • Stock market and banking collapse • Loss of confidence, stop in spending • Deflation – no spending, no hiring • Protectionism as failed response
Post-WWII • Consumer society • We see things, we want things, we buy things, then we buy other things • Multinational culture • Shift to service economy • Factories are in the third world now because Western workers are expensive • Welfare states created in most of Europe, less in the US
Political History
Absolute Monarchs • Take complete control of society and economy • Divine right of kings • Monopoly of force • France, Spain, Prussia, Russia
Parliamentary Monarchs • Share power with parliament • Usually need to raise taxes, give power to nobles in exchange • Does not include lower classes • England, Netherlands
French Revolution • Total political shift • Middle and lower classes work together • Mass participation (in government and war) • First European nation to grant mass voting rights • Spreads liberal ideas
Liberal vs. Conservative • Liberals say • Individual rights are good • People all deserve freedom • Enlightenment was cool • Conservatives say • Let’s not change things (don’t fix what ain’t broke; the devil you know…) • Things are this way for a reason: rich people got rich because they are smart
Germany and Italy • Prussia modernizes a military machine; Bismarck guides it to victories over German princes, France, Austria; becomes independent • Cavour and Garibaldi mobilize a nationalist following to kick out the foreigners and uniteItaly
Fascism • Extreme government control of economy, denial of rights and voting, nationalism and militarism • Effective in response to depression that must be solved by government spending • Germany, Italy (also Japan) • Pretty much always will be evil
International Organizations • Europe has moved beyond internal conflict to increasing cooperation • At least, conflict between countries • Examples • League of Nations • United Nations • NATO, European Union
Religious History
Reformation • Martin Luther and John Calvin • Complaints • Catholic church too distant from people • It uses Latin, people don’t • Priests don’t talk to people • Church too much into money • Collects and spends for luxury • Sells indulgences • Usury isn’t a sin, its profit! • New doctrine • Faith alone, not faith and good works
