ECON 330 WORKERS AND THE
ECONOMY UNIT 3 SUMMARY
(Reading and Content) ATHABASCA
UNIVERSITY.
lOMoAR cPSD|19857451
Unit 3: History
Textbook Readings: Chapters 1-7 of Capitalism Book
Notes on Introduction:
- Economists care little for history until there is a crisis that may be explained by
looking at history (imagine that?)
- Book review available as an example
Unit 3 Reading Notes:
Study Questions for Chapters 1-4:
o How does Bowles define capitalism? Compare his definition with the one
Yates gives in chapter 2 of Naming the System. Do you find one definition more
convincing than the other?
o Why are there different approaches to analyzing capitalism?
o Can you think of the policy implications of pro- and anticapitalist theories,
respectively?
o Do you see a connection between the respective interests of workers and
employers and the different theories introduced by Bowles?
Chapter 1—“How to Think about Capitalism”
- Battle of Seattle: The protests and street protests between anti-globalization activists
and police which accompanied the World Trade Organization Ministerial meetings in
1999.
- Capitalism promises prosperity to all; anti-globalization argues capitalism will only bring
more poverty and give more power to corporations
- Capitalism appearsin a variety of forms across countries. Some examples follow:
- Gangster Capitalism (Russia): characterized by lawlessness and private enforcement of
contracts
- Laissez-faire capitalism (Hong Kong): The market plays a major role and government a
minimal role. Similar to market capitalism.
- Crony capitalism (Asia & Latin America): economies in which the relationship between
government and business is too close giving rise to possibility of corruption and crises by
unsound lending practices
- Red capitalism (China): countries ruled by socialist parties in which party cadres play
important roles as economic managers motivated by profit
- Merchant capitalism: Early form in which profits were made in the trading of goods
- Basically capitalism varies much across countries and time and yet has common
elements that enable just this behavior.