Mode of Production in the History of Economic Thought by E. Hunt - Book Report/Review Example

Economic History: Mode of Production According to Hunt economic systems were critically analyzed in regard to the mode of production that dominated the productive and distributive activities in the society. As such, different activities were witnessed in feudalism, mercantilism and capitalism which demonstrated the changes that were taking place. Feudalism In his book, Hunt (8) articulates that feudalism could be termed as the ancient economic theory because it existed at time when the western Roman Empire broke away from Europe to witness what was known as the Medieval period or the middle ages. It was at about this time when Europe was left without any laws and protection they previously had, thus creating a situation that needed laws for the society to continue effectively. As a result, there emerged a feudal hierarchy that consisted of two main groups of people namely: the serf also known as peasant and the manor. These two groups co-existed through mutual understanding, obedience and application of customary laws in both social and economic lives. On one hand, the manorial system that( comprised of a lord, an overlord and a continuous hierarchy that had the king as the overall individual) had the sole responsibility of ensuring that the serf (peasant) received protection that was most important at the time. Nevertheless, this special protection from what was termed as the government of the day did not come freely as it was expected to be reciprocated at some point. On the other hand, the serf were expected to return the favor through money, food, labor power and other variables that were dimed appropriate at time. Of most important is that the main source of economic activity was agriculture, which was mainly done by the serf. Additionally, the system of justice and administration was easily manipulated by how well a relationship was between serf and the lord. Finally, it is during this mode of production where religion gradually emerged through the Catholic Church although most of these individuals continued practicing customary laws until the mode of production was replaced by capitalism (Hunt 10). Mercantilism Apparently, the emergence of initial phase of this mode of production was confirmed towards the end of the medieval period in feudalism. During this period, the trading of gold and silver was at its highest and as a result there was acute shortage of the same. In order to solve the issue, Bullionist policies were designed to ensure that these commodities continually flowed into the country but would not be easily exported. Spain was one of the countries that applied the policies for a long period of time, where rules were imposed to ensure that the gold was not sold at all means. One of the stun penalties that were applied comprised of a death penalty to any individual who dared to export or smuggle gold. Nevertheless, these sanctions did not last long due to the ever-growing pressure in the trade and as such traders were capable of bribing corrupt officials and continued trading in secrecy. Soon after, the government came up with a new strategy where trading monopolies were created to ensure that trading between countries were made more competitive as compared to the past. Other changes witnessed during this period were prohibition of some commodities in the market and imposing of higher duties to commodities in the market in order to discourage further trading. In a general sense, this mode of production attempted to allow individuals have their own means of production as it came to an end. Capitalism According to Hunt (4), capitalism is one of the modern economic theories that were discovered by a philosopher known as Adam Smith. Basically, capitalism emerged when the society was desperate for a source of economic empowerment that was necessary in maintaining the society. As such, individuals who were involved in this mode of production ensured that were two separate groups of people: who included those owning capital and those who provided labor power. Owning capital in capitalism meant that there was power and influence noticeable by the rest of the society. For instance, capital was capable of maintaining a particular factory through providing raw materials necessarily for production and further purchasing labor power. Conversely, those who provided labor power were compelled to do so in order to earn a living and have good social life. Consequently, ownership of capital could be through a group of people or an individual where privatization was considered. In most cases, there was minority ownership of capital and majority in labor power provision. Hunt (41) argues that it is imperative note that capitalism has four distinctive features that are constant. Firstly, the modern economic theory is mainly concerned with the production of market oriented products which are meant to generate capital. Secondly, most capitalism revolves around privatization of ownership of means of production. Thirdly, a higher percentage of the population is only present when the majority made the decision to sell labor power in the market. Finally, there is presence of individualism, acquisition and behavior maximization of issue that is practiced by most individuals in this theory. Major social and historical events that had an impact in the three modes of production Destruction of the power of church It is worth noting that during feudalism the Catholic church had an enormous role in the society that entailed coming up with strategies that were mean to assist most of the peasant who did not have any source of employment or better still lacked land for farming. Instead, the state made attempts of taking the position and power of the church by arguing that they would take over the general welfare of the society and as such sought to solve the issue of employment which had become rampant (Hunt 15). As a result, programs were organized in favor of ensuring that certain standards pertaining to production and marketing had been put in place to create avenues for employment. As such, the desire for full employment compelled the government towards the idea of monopoly, where rights were granted to ensure inventors were encouraged to do more on inventions and build new and more industries that would eventually create employment. Moreover, individuals were encouraged to own means of production and embrace industrial revolution which had begun taking shape especially in England and Scotland. General economic development As soon as the capitalism mode of production conquered both feudalism and mercantilism as the most preferred mode of production, there were notable developments in most economies across Europe. To begin with, there was a wide spread of commerce and competition growth that was witnessed in numerous states resulting to a drastic reduction in commodity prices varying from different regions and nations too. Major profit reduction was noted during this period. Secondly, the impact of profit reduction led to the integration of capitalist control for both commerce and production processes. Apparently, this drastic change emanated from the experience of the merchant on one end and those of the laborers on the other. Finally, there was the movement from agrarian revolution to the industrial revolution. For instance, during feudalism the main economic activity was agriculture which was mostly practiced by the serf and was later exchanged as favor to manorial system. The industrial revolution took shape during capitalism after it was realized that most of the raw materials from the farms could be processed to come up with more and better products (Hunt 17). Formation of states In contrast to the past century particularly feudalism where was no much political activities the mercantilism and capitalism practiced more concentration in political, social and economic aspects of the society to the extent of coming up with official states that were less communal. These states realized that to maintain their function they had to improve their economic activities and as a result, discovered more reliability on capitalism than other modes of production since it had more impact on various state economies as compared to the previous mode of production. Moreover, most splits in Europe resulted to self- governance as opposed to previous regimes where laws and regulations were shared (Hunt 43). Emergence of classes in the society Apparently, the emergence of classes in the society gradually grew during capitalism. Initially, some groups of individuals in the society felt that they would own industries as individuals or otherwise. These individuals had sources of raw materials which they used in their industries to manufacture products that would later be used by the society. As such, they were seen to have a great impact in economy as they further provided employment, thus they were considered as the dominant class in the society. Another class that emerged in the society was the subordinate class which comprised of the majority in the society. These individuals had responsibilities of providing labor power and a human face to the industries which were very imperative at the time. However, due to their class they would only provide labor and later use the wages their received to purchase the products they had contributed in manufacturing. In the general sense, those were the main classes in the society although there later emerged a working class that consisted of those who specifically provided labor power although it had other sub classes such as middle class, upper class among others (Hunt 43). Work Cited Top of Form Hunt, E K. History of Economic Thought: A Critical Perspective. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe, 2002. Print. Bottom of Form Read More