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A History of Global Capitalism: Feuding Elites and Imperial Expansion

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  • Sambit Bhattacharyya

    (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom)

Abstract

The global order is in a state of flux. The established post-cold war rules of commerce are unravelling. Trade wars and threats of unilateral trade restrictions are becoming common practice when it comes to relations between great power economies. Therefore, we are witnessing the gradual demise of the old politico-economic order but the new is yet to be born. Witnessing the rapidly changing landscape of international relations deeply influenced my desire to catalogue the events and find an explanation. The uncanny similarity between the past and the present also encouraged me to search for an explanation that can stand the test of time. This quest of analyzing economic and political history from a long run perspective lies at the heart of this book. Without running the risk of oversimplification, the book emphasizes the role of economic factors in great power conflict, hot or cold. Therefore, a common error would be to view this as another attempt of offering unidimensional explanation to a multidimensional and complex phenomenon. It is anything but. As the creator of this ambitious project, I am acutely aware that the trajectory of human history is the resultant vector of a combination of factors many of which are extremely complex. Therefore, caution is exercised wherever possible to limit the risk of oversimplification while interpreting historical events. Nevertheless, it is perhaps prudent to acknowledge right at the outset that omissions are inevitable. They are in no way deliberate.

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  • Sambit Bhattacharyya, 2020. "A History of Global Capitalism: Feuding Elites and Imperial Expansion," Working Paper Series 1020, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:sus:susewp:1020
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