History of Ideas – Capitalism: The Views of Comte, Marx, and Durkheim

Project 1: Video/DVD Analysis: Capitalism and Comte, Marx, and Durkheim
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Project 1: Video/DVD Analysis: Capitalism and Comte, Marx, and Durkheim
Summary: “History of Ideas – Capitalism.” By The School of Life (Video)
While capitalism has become commonplace in today’s business and social life, it represents one of the complex theories of human society that have developed through history and has a set of reservations. The video provides a historical development of the concept of capitalism since 1303 in Italy with a representation of Jesus Christ getting angry with money lenders. I chose the video due to its comprehensiveness in the topic of capitalism, especially the historical elements and its support for capitalism. The pursuit of money and business, according to the teachings of Christ, separates one from a good spiritual life. This notion of the decadence of trade and money holds back the development of capitalism for centuries. However, in 1450, a book on accounting, “Summa de Arithmetica" is published to introduce the system of double-entry in bookkeeping, which later becomes the standard in all businesses. In Geneva, 1555, protestant theologian, John Calvin delivers a powerful summon emphasizing virtues such as hard work, self-denial, patience, honesty, and duty, which are valuable qualities for capitalism. In 1670, the newly founded Dutch republic becomes the first explicitly capitalist nation where hard work is revered.
In London, 1776, Adam Smith becomes successful with his book on the “Wealth of Nations” by explaining how capitalist economies grow through specialization and division of labor. In 1854, Charles Dickens opposes unrestrained capitalism in the novel "Hard Times" due to abuses of children and workers in factories. In 1999 in the United States, a capitalist body, the World Trade Organization, is dedicated to removing safeguard from industries and liberalizing markets. Anti-capitalists demonstrate to end the inequities of global capitalism. Conclusions from the video are that capitalism is highly productive, ...