ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by describing the spread of capitalism from England to the United States and Europe, and the horrible conditions that characterized capitalism of the mid-1800s. It provides an example of an infant industry promotion strategy. The chapter explains the components of historical materialism, Karl Marx’s method of analysis, and examines this method to the evolution of economic systems. It utilizes the concept of surplus value to analyze the functioning of a capitalist economic system. The chapter explores Marx’s views on competition and commodification using specific examples from history and from modern capitalism. In the capitalist system of the mid-1800s there were two main social classes, the capitalists who owned the means of production and the workers who were forced to sell their labor. In addition to the commodification of labor, another particularly glaring example is the commodification of holidays and major societal events.
