Western Europe is the first civilization in which new bourgeois relations were born, gained strength and eventually won, that is, another formational shift took place - from feudalism to capitalism. They first appeared in the major trading cities of Italy (such as Florence, Genoa) as early as the end of the 14th century, in the 15th-16th centuries. spread in many countries of Western Europe: in Germany, France, England, Spain and Portugal. Over time, this process covered most of the world, but the “drawing” into it took place already in the conditions of the growing Europeanization of the world and the strengthening of ties and economic dependence of countries on each other.

Capitalism in town and country

Cities were the centers of development of bourgeois relations. A new stratum of people was formed there, consisting mainly of merchants, usurers and craftsmen. All of them had capital (the fastest way to acquire them was through trade and usury operations), which were not hidden in chests, but invested in production. Moreover, the production of a new type, more efficient, giving high profits. In this era, the workshop began to be replaced by manufactory - large-scale production, based, unlike the workshop, on the internal division of labor and hired labor. Manufactories were serviced with the help of hired labor; it was headed by an entrepreneur who owns the means of production and organizes the production process. There were two forms of manufactory: centralized (the merchant-entrepreneur himself created a workshop, shipyard or mine, he himself acquired raw materials, materials, equipment) and much more widespread - scattered (the entrepreneur distributed raw materials to homeworkers-artisans and received from them finished goods or semi-finished products). The village, the main stronghold of feudalism, was drawn into bourgeois relations much more slowly than the city. Farms were formed there, with the hired labor of peasants who lost their land, that is, they ceased to be peasants in the full sense of the word.

This process of depeasantization went through various intermediate forms, as a rule, through the transition to rent, which meant the abolition of fixed payments and rights to hereditary holdings. In the countryside, wealthy peasants, merchants, or sometimes the feudal lords themselves could act as entrepreneurs, as happened, for example, in England, where the new nobles (gentry) drove the peasants from the land and turned it into pasture for sheep, selling wool. But, as a rule, landowners preferred to keep the old order. The pace of development of capitalism depended on the rapidity of the penetration of bourgeois relations into the countryside, which was much more conservative than the city, but which produced the main part of the output. The process proceeded most rapidly in England and in the Northern Netherlands, where the flourishing of manufactories coincided with the bourgeoisization of the countryside. In that era, a new “hero of the time” appeared, an enterprising, energetic person who was able to withstand fierce competition, create capital literally from nothing. The development of capitalism was accompanied by technological progress, the destruction of traditional corporate ties, the formation of single markets - national and European. But in the XV-XVI centuries. even in those countries where bourgeois relations were successfully developing, the new way of life still existed in the “context” of feudal relations, which were still strong enough and did not want to give up their place voluntarily. The basis of capitalism was weak, so there was room for a reversal, which happened in a number of European countries. Among them were Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany.

monologue of power

In the transitional era, the alignment of forces between the government and society has changed dramatically. Their dialogue began to give way to the dictates of the king. Royal power seeks maximum centralization and independence in relation to society. A huge bureaucratic apparatus is being created (especially in France), a permanent army in the public service. The king himself issues laws, manages finances at his own discretion. Class meetings either cease to be convened altogether, or become completely dependent on the authorities. This type of monarchy is called absolute. Its appearance was possible only in a special situation, when the bourgeoisie, separated from the urban class, entered into rivalry with the nobility. This increased the maneuverability of power, expanded the space of its freedom. In addition, the formation of a single internal market required centralization, the elimination of feudal unrest. As a rule, monarchs sought to maintain a certain balance of power in society, maneuvering between opposing social strata, but at the same time remaining a form of power for the nobility. The prosperity of the country and the longevity of the monarchy itself often depended on the chosen tactics. So, in France, Henry IV (1589-1610), on the one hand, sought to support the ruined peasantry (lowered taxes, freed from arrears, forbade the sale of livestock and tools for debts), on the other hand, he encouraged the creation of manufactories and trade.

The policy of improving the country's economy and maintaining the balance of power continued under Cardinal Richelieu (in fact, he ruled the country from 1624 to 1642). The absolute monarchy found itself in a more difficult position in England, where the drawing of the countryside into bourgeois relations was especially stormy and led to great upheavals. In this situation, the Tudors supported new processes (provided benefits to merchants, encouraged colonial conquests, ensured the cheapness of hired labor with laws against vagabonds), but at the same time tried to stop them. Protecting the workshops, they hampered the growth of manufactories, forbade fencing, which damaged agriculture and undermined social stability in the country. As a result, the desire of the state to regulate the economy rather quickly ended in a crisis of power and a revolution. Spain gives us another example, where the absolute monarchy remained extremely conservative, did not support crafts and trade, but, on the contrary, stifled cities with taxes, focusing mainly on the nobility. As a result, the manufactories that had already appeared in Spain withered, trade declined, the economy fell into decline, and Spain, despite the huge influx of gold from the colonies, turned into one of the most backward countries in Europe.

Conditions for the emergence of capitalism

Why did bourgeois relations spontaneously originate precisely in Europe? After all, in other civilizations there were opportunities for the emergence of capitalism, for example in China, and especially in Japan. Although science has not yet given exhaustive answers to these questions, it is still possible to single out some special features of the Western European version of civilizational development that opened the way for the "European miracle". Western Europe was the direct heir of the Greco-Roman world, a world with an unusually high level of development of commodity-money relations for antiquity, with the right to unregulated property, with an orientation towards an active creative personality. The emergence of capitalism would not have been possible without urban communal movements. In the city, which was winning self-government and independence from the state, a stratum of people was formed with free capital, which gave birth to the future bourgeoisie. The formation of active estates defending their rights forced the state to cooperate with them. The possibilities of putting pressure on society, on economic processes, of course, remained (and were used), but they were still limited. The position of the church in relation to economic issues and commerce was also important. Since the 13th century she softens her doctrines about those occupations that have traditionally been considered "impure". Condemning usury, the church did not condemn bills, pledges, investments. This led to the fact that trade in the public mind gradually received "citizenship rights", and after the Reformation it began to be considered a very worthy occupation.



2. Conditions for the emergence of capitalism in Europe.

Why did bourgeois relations spontaneously originate precisely in Europe? After all, in other countries there were opportunities for the emergence of capitalism, for example, in China and especially in Japan. And although today science has not yet given exhaustive answers to these questions, it is still possible to single out some special features of the Western European version of civilizational development.

Firstly, Western Europe was the direct heir of the Greco-Roman world, a world with an unusually high level of development of commodity-money relations for antiquity, with the right to unregulated property, with an orientation towards an active creative personality.

Secondly, the emergence of capitalism would not have been possible without urban communal movements. In the city, which won self-government and independence from state power, a stratum of people (the third estate) was formed, having free capital, which gave birth to the future bourgeoisie.

Thirdly, the formation of active estates defending their rights forced the state to cooperate with them. The possibilities of putting pressure on society, on economic processes, of course, remained (and were used), but they were still limited.

And finally, the position of the church in relation to economic issues and commerce was also important. But since the thirteenth century she softens her doctrines about those occupations that have traditionally been considered "impure". Condemning usury, the church did not condemn bills, pledges, investments. This led to the fact that trade in the public mind gradually received "citizenship rights", and after the Renaissance and the Reformation (the Renaissance) began to be considered a very worthy occupation.

Regions of pan-European cooperation.

Western Europe is the first civilization among the countries of the world in which new bourgeois relations were born, gained strength, strengthened and, in the end, triumphed, i.e. there was a formational shift from feudalism to capitalism.

For the first time, bourgeois relations appeared in the large trading cities of Italy (such as Florence, Genoa), as early as the end of the 14th century, but then there was a socio-economic regression, i.e. backward movement, change for the worse.

In the XV-XVI centuries. bourgeois relations spread in many countries of Western Europe. Starting from Holland and England, they moved to Florence, and then to Spain, Portugal, Germany. Over time, this process covered most of the world, but “drawing” into it took place already in the conditions of the growing Europeanization of the world and the strengthening of ties and economic dependence on each other.

In economic terms, 4 regions are clearly distinguished in Europe, each of which finds itself in a specific socio-economic situation. Within the framework of the system of pan-European interaction:

1) the region dominated by the early capitalist way of life, which most fully expressed the essence of the actual manufacturing phase of social production (England, Holland);

2) a region where this phase of social production was embodied only in a way of life that remained subordinate in the dominant feudal structure of production (France, Sweden, a number of German regions);

3) the region in which in the seventeenth century. there was a socio-economic regression compared with the sixteenth century. (Spain, Portugal, Northern Italy, Southwestern Germany);

4) a region in which serfdom relations were strengthened (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Baltic states, Russia).

Economics of Western Europe in the 16th-18th centuries. was predominantly agricultural. Agriculture was the sphere of material production where the traditions of the previous period (the Middle Ages) were the most stable.

Manual labor dominated. And against this background, capitalism appears and grows. The social factors of bourgeois development are accumulating - class and professional stratification in society, the rapprochement of the commercial and entrepreneurial bourgeoisie, the growth of the third estate.

The representatives of the rising class of the bourgeoisie were characterized by courage, energy, enterprise, assertiveness, and the ability to take risks. No wonder the era of the XVI-XVIII centuries. This is the time of the great adventurers. The bourgeoisie is selfish and calculating. Profit, profit - the main incentives for its activities.

3. Emergence of manufactories.

The formation of modern civilization was a rather complex and lengthy process, which underwent various transformations as it developed. This is a long historical period - approximately from the 15th century. and to the present, and in some countries this period has not yet ended.

The modernization process, i.e. the transition from feudalism to capitalism goes through various phases of development: early industrial (XIV-XV centuries), middle industrial (XVI-XVIII centuries), late industrial (XIX century) and post-industrial (XX century).

At the early industrial stage of the development of the bourgeoisie, there is a long gradual formation of new social institutions and elements of the bourgeois formation, there is an accumulation of initial capital, there are manufactories (manufacturing) - the first signs of capitalism.

Cities were the center of development of bourgeois relations. A new stratum of people (the third estate) was formed there, consisting mainly of merchants, usurers and craftsmen. All of them had capital, the shortest way to the acquisition of which was opened through trade and usurious operations. These capitals were not hidden in chests, but invested in production. Moreover, in the production of a new type, more efficient, giving high profits.

In this era, the handicraft workshop began to be replaced by manufactory. Manufactory is a large capitalist enterprise based, in contrast to the shop, on the internal division of labor and hired labor. Manufactories were serviced with the help of hired labor; it was headed by an entrepreneur who owns capital, the means of production. Manufactories, the primary forms of capitalist enterprise, appear already in the 14th-15th centuries.

There were two forms of manufactory: centralized (the merchant or entrepreneur himself created a workshop, shipyard or mine, he himself acquired raw materials, materials, equipment) and much more common - scattered manufactory (the entrepreneur distributed raw materials to homeworkers-artisans and received from them a finished product or semi-finished product).

The emergence of manufactory meant a significant rise in the productive forces of society. Its technical basis was still the use of the same tools as in handicraft production.

Later, more or less complex technical devices for those times began to be used in manufactories to use the energy of water and wind. Shafts, gears, gears, millstones, etc., driven by a water-filled wheel, were used in flour-grinding and groats, for papermaking, in sawmilling, in the production of gunpowder, for drawing wire, cutting iron, driving a hammer, etc.

In the manufacturing era, profound changes take place in the economic life of society, a catastrophic breakdown of the old economic life, the old picture of the world.

The main advantage of the manufactory was that it was a large-scale production and created opportunities for a narrow specialization of labor operations as a result of the technical division of labor. This helped to increase the output of products by hired workers by several times in comparison with the craft workshop, where all operations were carried out mainly by one master.

But until machines were invented, capitalist production was doomed to remain only a mode in the system of the feudal economy.

Farms.

The village, the main stronghold of feudalism, was drawn into bourgeois relations much more slowly than the city. Farms were formed there, with the hired labor of peasants who lost their land as a result of transformations, i.e. ceased to be peasants in the full sense of the word. This process of depeasantization went through various intermediate forms, as a rule, through the transition to rent, which meant the abolition of fixed payments and rights to hereditary holding of land.

In the countryside, wealthy peasants, merchants, or sometimes the feudal lords themselves could act as entrepreneurs. This happened, for example, in England, where there was a process of so-called enclosures, i.e. the forcible driving of peasants from the land in order to turn it into a pasture for sheep, whose wool was sold.

The pace of development of capitalism depended on the rapidity of the penetration of bourgeois relations into the countryside, which was much more conservative than the city, but produced the main part of the output. This process proceeded most rapidly in England and the Northern Netherlands, where the flourishing of manufactories coincided with the bourgeoisization of the countryside.

In England and Holland in the XVI-XVII centuries. an intensive bourgeois restructuring of agriculture took place; a large capitalist lease was approved while maintaining the noble land ownership of landlords (landlords). In these countries, the introduction into practice of new types of agricultural tools (light plow, harrow, seed drill, thresher, etc.)

Bourgeois progress in agriculture provided raw materials and the influx of labor into industry, because. the peasants, left without land and not finding work in the countryside, went to the city.

The development of capitalism was accompanied by technological progress, the destruction of traditional corporate ties, the formation of single markets - national and European.

In this era, a new “hero of the time” appeared, an enterprising, energetic person who was able to withstand competition, create capital literally from nothing.

BUT in the XVI-XVII centuries. even in those countries where bourgeois relations were successfully developing, the new way of life still existed in the “context” of feudal relations, which were still strong enough and did not want to voluntarily give up their place.

The base of capitalism was rather weak, so there was room for a reversal, which happened in a number of European countries. Among them were Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany.

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The prerequisites for the transition from the feudal mode of production to the capitalist one were created in the era of the Late Middle Ages, during the period of the initial accumulation of capital.

The term "capitalism" comes from the late Latin word for "head". The word itself appeared quite a long time ago, back in the 12th-13th centuries. to denote "values": stocks of goods, masses of money bearing interest. The word "capitalist" is later, appears by the middle of the 17th century. to mean "owner of money". The term "capitalism" appears even later. This concept has its own clear content. In relation to property, it signifies the dominance of private ownership of the instruments and means of production, of land, of labour. In relation to the freedom of the individual, capitalism knows no non-economic forms of dependence. In cultural and ideological terms, capitalism is based on liberal secular values. It was the presence of these features that made capitalism different from traditional feudalism.

The late Middle Ages are characterized by two stages in the development of capitalism: commercial capitalism and manufacturing capitalism. The main forms of organization of production were simple capitalist cooperation and complex capitalist cooperation (manufactory). Simple capitalist cooperation was a form of cooperation of homogeneous (identical) concrete labor. This form of cooperation appeared a long time ago, but only capitalist freedom - personal and material freedom - made this cooperation a ubiquitous phenomenon.

From the middle of the sixteenth century manufacturing is gaining ground. Manufactory is a relatively large capitalist enterprise based on the division of wage labor and handicraft technology. Manufactories could not arise within the framework of the guild organization of production with their prohibitive statutes regulating the production process. Therefore, the first manufactories appeared in the countryside on the basis of crafts. Manufactory emerged from simple cooperation. Later, the forms of organization of production became more complicated. In the XVI-XVII centuries. there were not many manufactories. Existing in a feudal environment, manufactories were persecuted both by the workshops and by the state.

In parallel with the emergence of manufactory production, the process of capitalization of agricultural relations was going on. Large owners began to lease land to peasants or wealthy townspeople. The initial form of such a lease was sharecropping (renting land for temporary use). The sharecropper paid rent in the form of a certain share of the harvest. The sharecropping rent was of a semi-feudal character. In England, sharecropping gave way to the capitalist form of entrepreneurship - farming. The farmer also rented land, but gave a fixed amount of money as payment for this. In the future, he could buy the land and become its owner. Such an organization of labor was not typical in medieval Europe. In France, not to mention Germany, Italy, Spain, the development of capitalism in agriculture proceeded much more slowly.

In the countries of the irreversible development of capitalism, technical and economic progress changed the social and political image of states.

Here the traditional stratification of society was actively changing. The third estate, the bourgeoisie, strengthened its capabilities.

The term "bourgeoisie" comes from the French word "burg" - "city". Linguistically, the bourgeoisie are the inhabitants of cities. However, it would be wrong to associate the emergence of the bourgeoisie only with the evolution of medieval townspeople. The bourgeoisie consisted of various strata: nobles, merchants, usurers, urban intelligentsia, wealthy peasants.

With the development of the bourgeoisie, a class of hired workers took shape.

Changes in the economy, social and political spheres led to the strengthening of the dictate of the state, to the strengthening of absolutism. Absolutist regimes were of various types (conservative, enlightened, etc.)

According to F. Braudel, the violence of the state was a guarantee of inner peace, the safety of roads, the reliability of markets and cities.

In the middle of the II millennium AD. e. even in the most advanced countries for that time, feudal relations still continued to dominate. The specific forms of economy in different feudal countries - in China, India, Japan, Korea, Central Asia, the countries of the Arabic language, Russia, Germany, Italy, France, etc. - were very different. The remnants of pre-feudal structures - slavery and primitive communal relations - have been preserved in these countries to an unequal degree. Medieval towns reached varying degrees of development. However, in all these countries of the Old World, which stretched from the Pacific in the east to the Atlantic in the west, the main, most characteristic features of production relations were basically identical.

Up to the indicated time, small-scale farming of peasants continued to dominate in the countryside, working on land that was the property of the feudal lords, and who were dependent on the latter. This small peasant economy in some countries was combined with the large-scale lordly economy of the feudal lords themselves, based on the exploitation of the gratuitous corvée labor of feudally dependent peasants. In the cities of most of the feudal countries of Asia, North Africa or Europe, small-scale artisans dominated, having their own means of production and working to order or for the market, mainly for a limited local market. These artisans were in one form or another, directly or indirectly dependent on the feudal lords and exploited by them.

In the XIV-XV centuries. in the most advanced feudal countries, individual links in this system of small-scale production, entangled in the nets of feudal exploitation, are already beginning to disintegrate. In some of these countries (Italy, Flanders) the first, sporadically breaking out shoots of new, capitalist relations appear.

In the XVI century. in the development of mankind there is a turning point. In a number of Western European countries, the process of disintegration of feudalism begins. The small farms of the direct producers begin to collapse. The means of production are concentrated in the hands of a new class, the class of capitalists, while the direct producers themselves are transformed into personally free people, but forced to live by selling their labor power. Under the conditions of the disintegration of the feudal economy, large-scale production, social in its form, based on the exploitation of wage labor, that is, already capitalist production, is taking shape.

What caused this economic upheaval in Western Europe? The entire experience of the history of mankind, generalized in the Marxist theory of social development, shows that such economic upheavals are always associated with profound shifts in the field of material production, in the state and nature of the productive forces. That was the case in this case as well.

The period preceding the emergence of capitalism was a time of relatively rapid economic development for the Middle Ages in Western European countries. In the XI-XV centuries. feudal relations in these countries, despite the severity of exploitation, nevertheless opened up certain opportunities for the direct producers - peasants and artisans - to develop their own small economy. Peasants and artisans in Italy, France, Germany, England and other countries, materially interested in the results of their labor, in the course of their daily labor activities accumulated production experience, improved tools of labor, improved production technology, thereby contributing to the development of productive forces. By the beginning of the XVI century. this development led to profound changes in the sphere of material production. Production technology became more complex, requiring more and more urgently the transition from small-scale production to large-scale production. Along with the progress of technology, the social division of labor grew and deepened. These shifts, along with the expansion of the domestic and foreign markets, were the main cause of the indicated economic upheaval in Western Europe in the 16th century.

The development of technology by the beginning of the XVI century.

By the beginning of the XVI century. in all the main branches of industrial production, handicraft tools were radically improved and various improvements were introduced into production technology. The most significant by the beginning of the XVI century. there was progress in the mining and manufacturing industries of Western European countries. The progress of handicraft technology was also observed in the textile industry, which at that time occupied the first place in a number of industrial productions in terms of its prevalence. Between the 11th and 13th centuries. a manual wheeled spinning wheel was invented, which received in the XIV-XV centuries. widely used in Western Europe. In this spinning wheel, spinning was carried out by means of a spindle, set in motion by a wheel, which was turned by an artisan. Until then, in Western Europe, the most primitive method of spinning was retained with the help of a single spindle, rotated directly by the fingers of the hand. At the same time, the horizontal loom spread, taking the place of the more primitive vertical loom. At the end of the XV century. a self-spinning wheel is introduced, that is, an improved manual spinning wheel, in which, with the help of a wheel rotated by a spinner, not only spinning is carried out, but also the winding of the manufactured thread. In addition to these basic tools of labor in textile production, handicraft tools used for various auxiliary operations in the production of fabrics are being improved - combs and cards for combing wool, tools and devices for finishing cloth, etc. The technique of fullering is changing especially strongly. Initially, felting of cloth was done with hands or feet from the 11th-12th centuries. fuller mills appear, in which this operation is carried out by heavy wooden hammers set in motion by a water wheel.

An important event in the development of the textile industry was the beginning of the widespread use of a new type of fiber - silk. In ancient times, fabrics in Europe were made from wool and linen. At the end of the early Middle Ages, from Byzantium and the Arab countries, sericulture and the production of silk fabrics penetrated into Italy, where in the XI-XIII centuries. relatively large centers of this type of industry, new to Europe, arise (especially Lucca, Venice, and later Florence). Silk-weaving production also spread in France, Spain, and individual cities of Germany and reached significant development by the 16th century. The production of cotton fabrics is also developing.

Mine in section. Engraving from G. Agricola's book "On Metals" 1556

In some industries, technological progress has gone even further, going beyond the improvement of handicraft technology. The improvement of handicraft tools was combined in them with the use of various mechanical devices and even primitive machines, driven by the muscular strength of a person, the power of animals and the power of wind or falling water. , a water wheel was used. Various mechanical devices and primitive engines have been used even more widely in mining, metallurgy, metalworking, shipbuilding, construction, and some other less significant industries.

In the mining industry in the XV-XVI centuries. much more complex than it was before, mechanical devices for the construction and operation of mines are widely used. The German scientist and engineer Georg Bauer, better known by the Latinized name Agricola, describes in detail the already relatively complex mining equipment of his time (first half of the 16th century). He talks about carts for transporting ore, moving noisily along a road with a wooden track, about mechanisms for pumping water from great depths and lifting ore up, set in motion by the power of animals (horses) or the force of falling water, about ventilation installations, about crowds for crushing ore, etc. It is interesting to note that Agricola describes a machine in which, thanks to a complex transmission system, one water wheel drives three different actuators - a crusher for crushing ore, a mill for grinding and agitators. However, such a machine was obviously a rarity, as Agricola himself calls it "one of a kind". The creation of this more advanced mining equipment made it possible to arrange deep mines and develop previously inaccessible layers. It was a real revolution in mining.

In metallurgy, instead of small furnaces, in which iron was directly recovered from ore in the so-called raw-blowing method, from about the 14th century. began to build larger forges, already reaching 2-3m in height. These forges were equipped with bellows driven by a water wheel, while earlier small bellows were used, most often hand or foot bellows. Due to the large size of these hearths and the large force of the air stream blown into them, the combustion temperature in the hearths increased significantly, and the ore began to turn into a liquid, rather than a pasty mass, as in the cheese-making process. At first, they did not know what to do with such a molten mass, which turns into cast iron when cooled. They saw it as a kind of waste product, only increasing costs and making the product more expensive, but not suitable for any useful application. Later, however, it was noticed that by subsequent remelting and removal of carbon from cast iron in special furnaces, iron can be obtained from it. Since that time, they began to consciously strive to obtain cast iron from ore in order to further obtain iron and steel from it. So the forges turned into blast furnaces and a reworking process was developed, which in its main features has been preserved to this day. This made it possible to immediately obtain large masses of steel and iron, which could not be achieved with the raw iron method. Thus, the blast furnace and the reworking process marked an even more important technical revolution than the one that took place in mining.

Blast furnaces. Engraving from G. Agricola's book "On Metals" 1556

In the metalworking industry since the XIII century. for the processing of iron began to use hammers driven by the force of falling water (Germany, Czech Republic, England). In the XIV-XV centuries. these installations - "iron mills" - spread and improved even more. The weight of individual hammers began to reach 1 ton or even more. In the XIV-XV centuries. there were also machines for the production of sheet iron and wire, also set in motion by the force of falling water.

As we can see, the widespread use of the water wheel played a major role in the development of technology of the era under consideration. The rapid spread of this primitive water engine in the XIII-XV centuries. explained by the improvement that took place at that time. Previously, the water wheel of the lower fight prevailed, that is, such a water wheel, which, with its lower part, was immersed in a stream of water. From the indicated time, the upper battle water wheel, which was installed in such a way that water fell on its upper blades, became more widespread. Such a water wheel received more energy from falling water and could do much more work. In addition, production ceases to be associated with large rivers, since diversion channels were sufficient for the operation of the overhead wheel. In addition to these cases in the XIV-XV centuries. it also began to be used in the production of paper, gunpowder, in sawmilling, etc.

The development of technology was not limited only to the sphere of industrial production. Great technical changes have also taken place in the means of transportation, more precisely, in one of its types - in maritime transport. The compass, which began to be used in Europe in the 12th century, made it possible to keep a certain course in any weather (even with a cloudy sky), and thus made long voyages on the high seas possible. In the XV century. instruments for determining the position of heavenly bodies from the deck of a ship were improved and more accurate astronomical tables were compiled (by the German astronomer Regiomontanus), which further facilitated long-distance sea voyages. At the same time, a new type of sea ship was created (in Portuguese, caravel), which was distinguished by greater mobility and the ability to maneuver than the bulky and clumsy ships of the previous era.

Indisputable, although not as fast as in industry, the progress of technology took place in agriculture. The data at our disposal on the development of agricultural technology in the XI-XV centuries. very scarce. Still, they are sufficient to assert that progress has also been observed in this area. Due to the uprooting of forests and the drainage of marshes during the XI-XV centuries. in Western Europe, the area of ​​cultivated land was significantly expanded. Land use systems that were advanced for their time became more widespread. If by the beginning of the period of the XI-XV centuries. in many countries of Western Europe, the slash, shifting system and two-field system were still often encountered, but now everywhere, with the exception of the most northern countries, they are being replaced by three-field systems. In the most developed agricultural regions (for example, the Netherlands and England) in the 16th century. there is already a transition to even more advanced land use systems - multi-field and fallow grass sowing. The use of fertilizers is expanding. In the peasant economy, the number of agricultural implements is increasing. In particular, in connection with the successes of metallurgy, the number of metal tools is increasing and their quality is improving.

The picture of technical progress in the feudal countries of Western Europe of the period under review would be incomplete if we did not say anything about the numerous inventions and discoveries in those areas of material culture that do not directly relate to the sphere of economic activity. At this time, a huge turning point of world-historical importance occurred in the development of military technology. In the XIV century, gunpowder began to be used for firing from cannons, and then from handguns. By the beginning of the XVI century. firearms in their various forms have already spread so much that, although they have not completely replaced the previous types of weapons, they have in any case made a real revolution in military affairs. Knightly armor ceases to be impenetrable - a bullet pierces them even from imperfect guns of that time. The stone walls of knightly castles are losing their impregnability, which can now be relatively easily destroyed by artillery. New types of troops appear - artillery and infantry armed with guns, and the heavily armed knightly cavalry loses its former combat value.

No less important in its consequences was the beginning of the production of paper and especially printing. In the XII-XIV centuries, the production of paper was borrowed from the eastern countries, which quickly replaced the very expensive writing material used in Western Europe until then - parchment, that is, leather dressed in a certain way. In the middle of the XV century. typography was invented by means of collapsible metal type. Already from the second half of the XV century. began the rapid displacement of the book, printed on paper, parchment manuscripts. Such a book was immeasurably cheaper than a manuscript on parchment, and for the first time in the history of mankind, it created the possibility of a wide dissemination of knowledge accumulated by man. Without the printed book, the entire subsequent development of culture would have been impossible.

It should be noted other inventions, no longer of such great world-historical significance, but still very important. In the XIII century. glass lenses began to be produced and glasses appeared around 1300 Around the same 13th century in Western Europe, large tower clocks, driven by the gravity of weights, began to be built. These clocks were very bulky and were placed only on large public buildings. Around 1500, small spring clocks were also invented.

All these inventions, which were not directly related to the economy, nevertheless indirectly had a very great influence on its development. They created new needs and gave rise to new industries. The widespread use of firearms sharply increased the need for iron, copper and steel, gave a powerful impetus to the development of metallurgy and led to the emergence of new branches of the metalworking industry. The invention of paper and printing gave rise to the paper industry and the printing industry. The advent of watches, especially after the invention of spring watches, led to the emergence of a new branch of production. Of great importance was the fact that these new branches of production were characterized by sophisticated technology for that time and their development greatly contributed to the overall technical progress. The development of the production of artillery pieces led to the improvement of casting techniques and the emergence of new types of machine tools (for example, a drilling machine driven by a water wheel). Watchmaking was a school in which the technique of precision instrumentation was developed: the subsequent development of the production of precision instruments was largely based on the technology created in watchmaking.

Taken together, all these diverse improvements and inventions have led to fundamental changes in the field of production technology. Productive forces of Western European feudal countries at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. enter a new, higher phase of their development.

Development of social division of labor and commodity production

These important shifts in the field of productive forces had a profound and manifold influence on the social production of the feudal countries of Western Europe. The tools of labor became more complex, especially in those industries where various mechanical devices and primitive engines began to be used. Increased labor productivity. The structure of production has changed: the volume of industrial output has increased and many previously absent branches of industrial production have emerged. At the same time, important changes took place in the nature of social production and exchange. The social division of labor grew and deepened, which found its expression in the further development of commodity production.

The social division of labor existed and played a large role in the economic life of the Western European countries until the 16th century, although its scope was very limited.

In the XVI century. with the level of productive forces reached by that time, the advanced feudal countries enter a period of a broader and more developed social division of labor in its forms. The increasing complexity of production technology in itself made it necessary for individual farms to become increasingly specialized in certain types of production activity.

The economic and social processes connected with the development of technology also acted in the same direction. In particular, the growth of labor productivity resulted in an increase in the mass of the surplus product and, consequently, in the incomes of the ruling classes and the feudal state, which showed a particularly great demand for precisely those products that were produced by urban industry (luxury items, military equipment, ships for the fleet, etc.). d.). It is clear that the further development of the social division of labor should have been a consequence of this.

At this new, higher level of the social division of labor, mining, metallurgy (both ferrous and non-ferrous), certain branches of metalworking production, shipbuilding, the silk-weaving industry, etc., achieved complete or almost complete isolation from agriculture. than before, the wool-weaving industry separated from agriculture to a degree. The linen-weaving industry, which used to be usually concentrated in the countryside, began to separate from agriculture.

The development of industry separate from agriculture naturally implied major changes in the agricultural economy as well. The share of agricultural and cattle breeding products that was intended not for the own consumption of peasants and feudal lords, but for exchange in one form or another for industrial products, increased. In other words, the commodity production of foodstuffs and raw materials for industry is growing.

Along with the growth of commodity production, its forms develop and become more complex.

Metal processing workshop. Engraving from G. Agricola's book "On Metals" 1556

The industrial production of small towns, designed for a narrow local market, continues to exist. However, the production of industrial products, based on a broader and more developed division of labor, is rapidly growing and acquiring a greater share in economic life. Some old industrial cities are developing and new industrial cities are springing up, and the export of industrial products far beyond the borders of the region immediately adjacent to the city is gaining more importance.

In Central Europe, new deposits of polymetallic ores were discovered or, with the help of more advanced technology, old deposits of polymetallic ores began to be exploited more intensively. On the basis of the development of these deposits, the smelting of silver, copper, zinc, and lead developed (in southern Saxony and other mountainous regions of Germany, northwestern Hungary, Tyrol, and others). In the region of the Eastern Alps (Styria, Carinthia, Carniola), in Northern Italy, some provinces of France, Lorraine, individual counties of England, Sweden, etc., the development of iron ore deposits and iron smelting grew. In certain areas, the production of a significant part of products made of iron and non-ferrous metals (firearms, relatively complex tools, etc.) is concentrated. Shipbuilding centers are developing (primarily the Northern Netherlands). The production of silk products, glass vessels, mirrors, jewelry, etc., concentrated until the 16th century mainly in the cities of Italy, is growing in some areas north of the Alps, especially in France and the Netherlands.

In the XVI century. some old centers of the wool-weaving industry (Florence, Bruges, Ghent) are falling into decay, but new centers are emerging, surpassing the old ones in terms of output.

In addition, areas of rural handicraft industry, oriented towards distant markets, are gaining more importance. As examples of such centers of industrial production, one can point to the centers of the woolen industry in England (especially the counties of Yorkshire and Norfolk), which supplied not only European, but partially non-European countries with their products. Areas for the production of linen fabrics are distinguished in Silesia, the Netherlands, Westphalia, as well as Lyon, which was an important center for the production of silk fabrics, centers for the production of lace in Flanders, Brabant, etc. With the development of industrial centers, agricultural regions are also identified, exporting raw materials for industry. and food.

A manifestation of this process of expanding and deepening the social division of labor was an increase in the total mass of goods produced for the market, and the production of goods for the distant market, sold through the merchant, increased especially. At the same time, forms of commodity and monetary circulation also developed. The 16th century was a time when new types of commercial transactions spread, the stock exchange became a place of extensive transactions in goods and securities (especially the stock exchange in Antwerp), speculative transactions based on taking into account market fluctuations took on a colossal scale, credit and banking developed, much more development than before reaches merchant and usurious capital.

A powerful additional impetus to the growth of commodity-money relations was given by the great geographical discoveries of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. They greatly expanded the field of activity of European merchants and opened up new possibilities for extremely profitable non-equivalent trade with the population of open countries enslaved or terrorized by force of arms.

The decline of feudal production and the development of capitalism

These changes in the state of the productive forces of the feudal countries of Western Europe were the main reason for the development of capitalism. As a result of these shifts in the advanced Western European countries of the XVI century. a situation arose in which the small economy of the direct producers of feudal society was no longer capable of further development, moreover, in certain branches of economic activity it began to decompose, giving way to more productive social forms of production - capitalist.

This process of disintegration of small-scale production, which dominated feudal society, was to a certain extent directly connected with the development of production technology. As mentioned above, as a result of a number of technical discoveries by the beginning of the 16th century. in Western Europe there was a significant improvement and sophistication of the means of production, especially tools. Such an improvement in the means of production, even in those cases where it did not go beyond the improvement of handicraft technology, nevertheless changed the economic position of the small producer, who was now forced to spend larger sums of money on acquiring the instruments of labor necessary for him. It is clear that this facilitated the establishment of the economic dependence of the small producer on the merchant or other owner of capital, since the artisan now more often felt the need to turn to them for a loan in order to provide his economy with the means of production. For example, the increasing complexity and cost of the loom and other textile production tools should have increased the number of cases when the artisan weaver was forced to borrow money to purchase them, which naturally increased the possibility of his ruin and enslavement by the lender.

The situation of the small producer was influenced many times more strongly by the complication of production technology in those cases where it was already accompanied by the use of relatively complex mechanical devices and primitive engines and machines. An individual small producer could not at his own expense acquire and use his labor to operate a deep mine with complex equipment or a metallurgical enterprise, which included a blast furnace with bellows driven by a water wheel, a furnace for melting cast iron into iron and heavy hammers for processing iron, also usually driven by a water wheel.

In those branches of industry in which such relatively complex equipment was used, the small-scale production of individual artisans was inevitably forced out by larger production along with the development of new technology.

However, the development of capitalism cannot yet be explained solely by the direct influence of the improvement of production technology. Branches of production in which complex mechanical devices and machines were used in the 16th century. still generally represented an exception. In addition, it must be borne in mind that even in these industries, primitive handicraft technology has not been completely replaced by new technology.

The main and decisive factor in the emergence of capitalist relations in Western Europe in the XVI century. there was a complication of production, due to the growth of the social division of labor. With the deepening of the social division of labor, the process of production acquires, in fact, a social character, and the individual producers participating in it become links in a complex and branched economic organization. They enter into relationships with each other that go far beyond the boundaries of individual economic regions and unite by strong economic ties a large number of individual producers of the most diverse specialties, and these ties acquire a complex character. It is no longer possible to establish personal contacts in the market, both between individual producers and between producers and consumers that existed in the production of goods for a local limited market. The more complicated form of organization of production makes it necessary to transport both industrial products and agricultural products over long distances, which, under the specific conditions of that time, could only be carried out with the help of a merchant, who becomes a necessary intermediary between individual farms, connected through the market by a system of broad social division of labor.

When producing for a wide market, the factors that limited competition and stratification among small commodity producers who worked for the local market cease to operate. A significant increase in production in individual production centers, frequent fluctuations in market conditions, the destruction of personal ties between producers and consumers, the development and complication of commodity and money circulation opened up the widest possibilities for competition between individual commodity producers and led to stratification among them. Along with this, the subordination of small producers to commercial capital takes place. Many small producers became dependent on merchants who supplied them with raw materials and sold their products, and to one degree or another lost their economic independence. In other words, new forms of small-scale production are emerging, already based on the relations of capitalist exploitation.

The development of the social division of labor also created the prerequisites for the organization of large enterprises. The concentration of production in certain centers opened up the potential possibility of organizing enterprises that produced significant quantities of goods. At the same time, production for a wide market, even under the predominance of handicraft technology, gave larger enterprises some indisputable economic advantages compared with small enterprises of a handicraft type. The owners of such enterprises had more money and opportunities to obtain credit than small producers, usually used technical improvements to a greater extent and more quickly, had wider business ties and better knew the needs of the market, etc. In large enterprises, it was possible to use the advantage that comes with cooperation and division of labor. Particularly favorable conditions for the development of capitalism were formed in cases where the growth of a broad social division of labor between various production centers was combined with a detailed division of labor in the production of individual industrial products, for example, in the wool weaving industry.

initial accumulation

The onset of the first stage of capitalist development, its manufacturing period, is associated with major changes in the position of the masses, with the forcible expropriation (in various forms) of direct producers, the result of which is the formation of reserves of wage labor, as well as with the process of accumulating large capitals within the state through the implementation internal loans, a tax-farming system of raising taxes and direct expropriation of the means of production from direct producers, and outside the country - by robbing, enslaving and destroying entire states and peoples newly discovered by Europeans.

“... The historical process that turns producers into hired workers acts, on the one hand, as their liberation from feudal obligations and guild coercion; and only this one side exists for our bourgeois historians. But, on the other hand, the liberated become sellers of themselves only when all their means of production and all the guarantees of subsistence provided by the ancient feudal institutions are taken away from them. And the history of this expropriation of them is inscribed in the annals of mankind with the flaming tongue of sword and fire. K. Marx.

The process of development of capitalism was facilitated and accelerated by the use of direct and undisguised violence.

The result of this was, on the one hand, the ruin of a significant part of small producers - peasants and artisans, who lost their property and turned into disadvantaged people deprived of their means of subsistence, and on the other hand, the accumulation of significant funds in the hands of representatives of the upper strata of the population. This robbery of the masses greatly accelerated the development of capitalism. The presence of a large number of people who did not have their own means of subsistence greatly facilitated the task of providing labor force for the developing capitalist production. The concentration of large sums of money in the hands of a small group of people no less facilitated the task of accumulating the sums necessary for the organization and further development of enterprises of the capitalist type. Thus, the conditions necessary for the development of the capitalist mode of production were created. This whole process of forcible ruin of the direct producers of feudal society was called by K. Marx the process of primitive accumulation, since it was "not the result of the capitalist mode of production, but its starting point."

The specific forms of primitive accumulation were very different.

A classic example, taken from the history of England, Marx described in the 24th chapter of the first volume of "Capital", devoted to primitive accumulation. This example is the so-called enclosures. In connection with the growth of industry, especially woolen, and with the growth of the urban population in England from the end of the 15th century, an urgent need began to be felt for wool and other agricultural products. English feudal lords decide to use the situation to increase their income. Until then, peasants lived in their possessions, leading their small labor economy and united in communities. The peasants paid the duties established by custom, which, under the new conditions, began to seem insufficient to the feudal lords. The latter begin, grossly violating the customs of feudal society, sanctified by antiquity, to drive the peasants from the land. The lands taken away in this way were fenced off, and large sheep farms were set up on them, in which there were only a small number of shepherds over vast territories, or large farms leased on conditions of payment of a higher rent.

The result of the fencing was the appearance of a huge number of people deprived of all property. 16th century England presents a terrible picture of national disasters. Many thousands of ruined peasants turned into beggars and vagabonds. At the same time, there was a ruin of many artisans who could not withstand the competition of the developing large-scale production.

A similar process of forcible ruin of artisans and peasants took place in other Western European countries, developing there not so rapidly and taking other forms. In particular, a very large role in this process was played by a sharp increase in taxes, which also entailed the ruin of small producers. Ruined and turned into homeless people, the peasants and artisans represented a reservoir of cheap labor for the emerging capitalist production.

The other side of the process of primitive accumulation is the formation of large private capital. This also affected non-European territories that fell under the rule of Western European states as a result of the great geographical discoveries. In the XVI-XVII centuries. there was a systematic robbery of a number of peoples of Asia, America and Africa, hitherto unprecedented in scale. As a result, huge sums of money accumulated in the hands of the Western European feudal lords and merchants. These sums, pumped over to the countries of Western Europe, were one of the main sources from which the funds were drawn, with the help of which the capitalist production of England, the Netherlands, France, etc. was created.

Analyzing the process of primitive accumulation, Marx irrefutably proved that capitalism did not arise as a result of the industriousness and energy of the most enterprising people, who, as the apologists of capitalism claimed, got rich through thrift and diligence and gradually turned into capitalists. In fact, the emergence of capitalism was by no means a peaceful and painless process. It was the result of the ruin and impoverishment of people who until then had been leading their small labor economy, and this ruin was carried out with the help of open and brutal violence.

The birth of the wage-worker class

The development of the wage labor system was the basis of capitalist production. Therefore, the appearance of more or less significant cadres of wage-workers, in turn, served as an essential factor in the emergence of this new mode of production. It is not only a matter of the quantitative distribution of hired labor. The working class, emerging in the period of the disintegration of the feudal mode of production, represented a huge new productive force. Simple capitalist cooperation and manufacture could not have arisen if the labor skills of small producers had not reached a high level, if they had not learned to use a comparatively differentiated tool. The expropriated small producers often already possessed well-known production and technical skills. These trained predecessors of the industrial proletariat were the most important element of the new productive forces that were maturing in the womb of feudal society.

The cadres of trained hired workers were drawn to a large extent both from peasants who had previously been associated with the domestic industry, and from artisan apprentices, as well as ruined artisans.

The wage worker was free in a twofold sense: free from feudal dependence, i.e., from anyone’s incomplete ownership of his personality, and free from the means of production, i.e., from any ownership of the tools of labor. Consequently, the emergence of a class of wage-workers is the destruction of the two types of property that existed under feudalism. The bitter and long struggle of the peasants for liberation from feudal dependence played the most important role in the destruction of the incomplete ownership of the feudal lords over workers in production.

However, as soon as they found themselves under the power of the entrepreneur-manufacturer, the working people had to start an even more bitter struggle with him. From the first steps in the history of capitalist production, there have been class clashes between wage workers and capitalists. The emerging working class struggled to defend the minimum necessary conditions for life and work. One of the most striking examples of the class struggle of this period was the strike of the workers of the Lyon printing houses in 1539-1541. Strikes and unrest have taken place throughout the history of the manufacturing stage of capitalism.

The development of capitalism in industry. manufactories

The organization of capitalist industry took place through the subordination of small enterprises to commercial and usurious capital, or through the transformation of a small producer into a capitalist. A merchant (or a number of merchants connected with each other) delivers raw materials to industrial centers and sells them to urban or rural artisans.

The merchant buys finished products from artisans, organizes their transportation to the place of consumption and sale to consumers. If an artisan produces a semi-finished product, then the merchant buys it and delivers it to another artisan for further processing. For example, he buys yarn from the spinner and delivers it to the weaver. Having much more money than individual artisans received from trading profits, the merchant usually provides the artisan, if necessary, with a loan. Lending to an artisan with raw materials was especially widespread at that time, since artisans, being in conditions of fierce market competition, did not always have the cash necessary to purchase it.

This position of the small artisan producer and merchant in the process of social production entailed the establishment of the economic dependence of the former on the latter. The degree and specific forms of this dependence were different. At first, the craftsman, while still retaining full ownership of his farm, began to buy raw materials from any one merchant, then he fell into debt dependence on the merchant, systematically receiving raw materials from him on credit. At the same time, the artisan was usually obliged to deliver to the same merchant at a certain price the products made by him. In practice, this meant that the artisan received raw materials and made certain products from them for the merchant on the terms of a predetermined payment. This form of dependence of artisans on the buyer was most common in Western Europe in the 16th century.

Finally, the craftsman was forced to borrow tools from the merchant for temporary use or to borrow money to purchase them.

This was the final stage of the whole process: in this case, the artisan was actually already completely transformed into a wage worker who received wages from a buyer. A new form of production arose, in which the direct producer was actually expropriated, deprived of ownership of the means of production and subjected to capitalist exploitation. This form of industrial production is called capitalist domestic industry. Thus, the lowest form of capitalist industry, the stage of its development when it still retained the character of small-scale production in form, was work at home, scattered manufacture.

This form of capitalist production receives in the XVI century. the widest distribution. It developed especially rapidly in the countryside, where there were no guild restrictions. Under the new conditions of economic life, handicraftsmen who stood out from the mass of the rural population usually no longer had the opportunity to become independent producers; as a rule, they immediately began working for a merchant-buyer, who distributed them raw materials and bought finished products, and sometimes provided them with tools, and thus actually turned into hired workers. Thus, entire areas of small-scale, but in their social essence already capitalist production of woolen fabrics, linen fabrics, many types of metal products, etc. arose in the countryside.

Another process led to the same result, but only more radically, with less preservation of the old economic forms, when one of the artisans became a capitalist. The wealthy artisan expands his workshop, then begins to economically subordinate other small producers to himself, acting as the organizer of manufactory production.

The next stage in the development of capitalist relations is the change in the production process itself, when the tendency inherent in capitalism to create large-scale production is clearly revealed. The capitalist-entrepreneur, having emerged from among merchants-buyers or wealthy artisans, unites the artisans working for him into one production team. The capitalist enterprises that arose in this way were of two types - less developed enterprises based on simple cooperation, in which individual workers performed homogeneous work, and more developed, already based on the division of labor (while maintaining manual craft technology). The enterprises of this second type represented a centralized manufacture. It has already carried out the division of labor as a powerful means of increasing the productivity of labor, and individual workers specialize in the performance of certain production operations. Already in the scattered manufactory, individual workers, despite their spatial disunity, were bound by the division of labor - together, under the guidance of the entrepreneur, they worked on the production of one product, receiving raw materials or semi-finished products from the entrepreneur and giving him the finished products. Sometimes some stages of the production of the product were transferred to the workshop, where hired workers worked in the same room under the guidance of the entrepreneur. Most often, in such workshops, the final operations for the production of this type of product were carried out, for example, the assembly of watch degals produced by individual workers at home. This type of manufactory is mixed.

In a more developed manufactory - centralized - this element of fragmentation of production was already completely eliminated. All the workers, or at any rate most of them, were assembled in one room and worked side by side under the direction of the employer or his clerks.

Manufactory was the leading form of capitalist production in the first period of the development of capitalism - from the 16th century. up to the industrial revolution that took place in England in the second half of the 18th century, and in other Western European countries in the 19th century. This is especially true for centralized manufacturing. The unification of workers in one room made it possible to carry out a detailed division of labor between them and introduce numerous improvements in the technology of the production process and tools. In particular, the circumstance that, in connection with the widespread division of labor within the manufacture, further detailing of working tools took place, which paved the way for the subsequent development of machine technology during the industrial revolution.

In individual branches of industry, the degree of development of capitalist production and its concrete forms varied. From the point of view of these differences in the rates and forms of development of capitalism, different spheres of industrial production, partially mutually intersecting, are singled out.

The most intensive development of capitalism took place in those industries in which there was a significant complication and appreciation of the means of production. These industries included mining, metallurgy, some metalworking industries, and shipbuilding. Some smaller industries that used mechanical engines or sophisticated equipment should also be included here - silk-reeling, paper making, book printing, gunpowder making, etc.

In all these branches, the destruction of the small economy of the artisan proprietors was not only the result of their involvement in the development of commodity production, but also the result of technological progress. New technology in these industries could no longer be used within the small farms of individual artisans. Therefore, comparatively larger capitalist enterprises had to develop here, having the necessary number of workers and equipment that met the requirements of new technology. The workers at these enterprises were armed with qualitatively new means of production, which included even primitive mechanical engines. The water wheel was especially widely used at that time. Therefore, a significant number of these enterprises - metallurgical, metalworking, etc. - were located in places convenient for the construction of dams along the banks of the rivers and were called "mills". In English, the name "mill" (mill) to refer to various industrial enterprises was retained for a very long time and partially survived to this day.

The dimensions of these capitalist enterprises were in the overwhelming majority of cases very small. Only individual enterprises in mining, shipbuilding, partly metallurgy and metalworking (especially the production of weapons) had more than a hundred workers. However, individual elements of the technology and organization of large-scale capitalist industry of the subsequent time are already clearly visible in these enterprises, since they not only carried out a division of labor, but also used primitive engines and machines, although in such manufactories the main role continued to be played by manual labor.

Capitalism developed somewhat more slowly in another group of branches of industry - in those branches that were drawn into production for a wide market, but still completely retained handicraft technology. In the advanced Western European countries, this sphere of industrial production included the production of a very significant, probably even most of the woolen and silk fabrics produced at that time, high-quality linen fabrics, many metal products, expensive leather products, most luxury goods, etc. In total, all these industries supplied the bulk of industrial output to the broad market.

Glassblowers. Engraving from G. Agricola's book "On Metals" 1556

The capitalist production that developed in these branches was still based on manual handicraft technology and therefore did not have those technical advantages compared to small handicraft production, which were enjoyed by large capitalist enterprises, for example, mining or metallurgical industry. Therefore, the small farms of the artisans turned out to be much more stable here and more slowly gave way to large-scale capitalist production. The artisans became poorer, became dependent on merchant capital, and yet a very significant part of them did not completely go bankrupt, but continued to run an independent economy.

The small-scale production of artisans was especially stable in the old urban centers, in which a developed guild system dominated. The guilds, with their egalitarian regulation, prevented the emergence of capitalist industry, or, in any case, limited this development to very narrow limits. Therefore, capitalist production developed mainly in the countryside and in recent times. formed cities in which workshops and traditions of workshop production did not have such a solid foundation. So, for example, in Flanders in such previously famous centers of the wool weaving industry as Bruges and Rent, in the 16th century. the old forms of industrial organization were preserved. New forms of industry developed mainly in the countryside and in the new towns.

In this group of branches of industry, not only the pace of development of capitalist production was different, but also its concrete forms. Since, under the dominance of handicraft technology, large-scale production did not have significant technical and production advantages over small-scale production, the capitalist industry that developed in these sectors partially still continued to retain the character of small-scale production or was a transitional form from small-scale production to large-scale production, and only to some extent part has reached the stage at which large centralized enterprises are already being formed.

Capitalism developed most slowly in production designed for a local limited market. Here one of the main conditions for the development of capitalism was missing - commodity production based on a broad social division of labor. The bulk of the artisans in this industrial sector were produced right up to the industrial revolution, and partly even after it retained the position of small proprietor producers.

The development of capitalism in agriculture

In agriculture, capitalism developed in general much more slowly than in industry. The reason for this was, on the one hand, the lesser involvement of agriculture in commodity production, on the other hand, the slower development of technology in agriculture compared with industry, and, finally, feudal ownership of land and the personal dependence of the peasants associated with it, which is still preserved in a number of European countries.

However, the development of capitalism in the XVI century. nevertheless, it also affected the sphere of agricultural production. One of the prerequisites for the development of capitalism in agriculture was the differentiation of the peasants. The partial involvement of the peasants in commodity production usually entailed a stratification among them. An insignificant part of the peasants, most adapted to the conditions of production for the market, grew rich, expanded their economy in one way or another and began to exploit hired labor - farm laborers from among the land-poor or completely ruined peasants. This is how small-scale capitalist agricultural production arose.

But such a process took place only in certain countries of Europe, in which especially favorable conditions were created for it. These were the countries where there was an intensive involvement of the peasant economy in commodity production and where the peasants already in the XIV-XV centuries. achieved, to a greater or lesser extent, liberation from personal serfdom and the right to freely dispose of their household, subject to the regular performance of duties in favor of the owner of the land - the feudal lord (England, the Netherlands, partly France). However, even in these countries, the possibilities for the growth of peasant farming under the conditions of the still-preserved feudal system were so limited that the relatively larger peasant farms that developed in this way were, with individual exceptions, only semi-capitalist in nature. The number of hired laborers in each of them was negligible, and the wealthy peasant himself and his family members usually continued to participate in agricultural work.

Another way of developing capitalist production in agriculture was the degeneration under the influence of the new conditions of their own economy of some landowners-feudal lords and landowners from among the wealthy townspeople. The feudal lords expanded their own production of agricultural products to the market and replaced the inefficient labor of dependent peasants with the labor of hired workers. As a result, their feudal economy acquired the features of a capitalist-type economy. Among the feudal lords, a special stratum developed - the so-called new nobility, whose interests did not contradict capitalist development. This is especially true for England.

The capitalist-type farms thus formed were already larger. It should be noted, however, that this process of development of capitalism did not receive in the Western European countries of the 16th century. widespread. Only in one of these countries - in England, did it take on a large scale and led to serious changes in the agrarian system.

In real historical reality, these paths of development of capitalism took various concrete forms and often intertwined with each other. This was the situation in England, where in the XVI century. the labor of agricultural workers was used in their households by both nobles and farmers who rented land from landlords.

The degree of development of capitalism in Western Europe in the XVI century.

The development of the capitalist mode of production in Western Europe in the 16th century. did not lead to the rapid and complete displacement of pre-capitalist forms of economy. Capitalist production developed for a long time within the framework of feudal society, only partially crowding out the forms of economy characteristic of this society, which for a long time continued to provide the main part of social production. The capitalist production of the period under consideration was thus only a way of life developing in the depths of feudalism.

this situation is explained by the fact that at that time, with the exception of certain industries, manual handicraft technology still continued to reign supreme. Agriculture was still dominated by small-scale peasant farming, combined in some countries with large-scale lordly farming, based on the use of gratuitous corvée labor of peasants. In industry, working for a local limited market, small-scale production of artisans dominated.

Moreover, such small-scale handicraft production often continued to exist along with domestic capitalist industry and manufactory and in industries working for a wide market. It turned out to be especially persistent in those cases when artisans were engaged in agriculture in the form of an auxiliary trade, which significantly strengthened their economic independence.

Capitalism was able to win a complete victory in the field of production over pre-capitalist forms of economy only when the technical basis for large-scale industry was created, when the machine appeared. But this happened only during the industrial revolution.

Nevertheless, already in the 16th century, the development of capitalist production had an enormous impact on the economic life of the Western European countries. Although it provided a smaller part of the total social production, it took possession of precisely the most important spheres of social production. The capitalist economy provided a significant part of all marketable output and, no doubt, a large part of the output that was produced for the broad market. In addition, it should be noted that it produced products that were of exceptional importance for the economy and the entire social life of that time - mining products, many metal products, including the most complex and expensive tools and firearms, ships and various military equipment. , high quality wool and linen fabrics, etc.

In order to fully appreciate the significance of the economic revolution that took place in the period under review, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that, simultaneously with the development of capitalist production, profound changes took place in the specific forms of pre-capitalist economy, which continued to dominate quantitatively in the 16th century.

The progressive development of commodity production, which was the result of a deepening and expansion of the social division of labor, led to an increase in differentiation among the artisans and to their ever greater subordination to commercial capital. The position of those artisans who still retained their small labor economy, i.e., were not subjected to capitalist expropriation, became different than before. In the field of agriculture, we are seeing different paths of development at this time. In countries where, under the influence of the development of commodity-money relations, even in previous centuries, there was a process of switching (replacing rent in kind with cash rent), the elimination of the lord's plowing, as well as the personal liberation of the peasants, these processes continued in the early period of the development of capitalism, being complicated in some places by complete or partial expropriation of the peasantry. This was the case in England, France and some other countries. In the same places where agriculture was involved in the mass production of agricultural products, mainly for the external market of capitalistically developing Western Europe, the feudal lords expanded their own lordly farms, increased the corvee and strengthened the serfdom of the peasants.

The degree of development of capitalism in different countries of Western Europe was different. In the XVI century. almost all the countries of Western Europe were involved in the development of the capitalist mode of production to one degree or another and in one form or another. In many of them, in individual branches - in mining, the production of weapons, shipbuilding and some other industries - more or less developed forms of capitalist production are already taking shape at this time. However, on a broader scale, the development of capitalism was extremely uneven. This depended on the specific conditions prevailing in different countries. That country, which in the XIV-XV centuries. went ahead of other countries and where elements of capitalism were already born in the indicated centuries, i.e. Italy in the 16th century. finally loses its dominant position; it enters a period of decline, during which the previously developed capitalist production withers and dies. At the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century capitalist relations developed on a large scale in Germany, England, the Netherlands, France, and Spain. In the middle of the 16th century, the estrangement of Germany and Spain clearly began to manifest itself, and three of the five named countries England, the Netherlands and France came to the fore in terms of the intensity of the development of capitalism.

The growth of capitalism, together with the changes just indicated in the sphere of pre-capitalist forms of economy, created favorable conditions for the development of productive forces and led to profound changes in the entire social life of the Western European feudal countries of the 16th century.

Manufactory introduces fundamental changes in the position of direct producers. These changes are expressed not only in the fact that the previously independent artisan submits to the command and discipline of capital, but also in the fact that the division of labor characteristic of the new mode of production “turns the worker into a freak, artificially cultivating in him only one-sided skill and suppressing his whole world. production inclinations and talents” (K. Marx). It is almost always characteristic of a scattered manufacture that women and children are involved in production from a very early age. The individual worker, turned into a mechanical instrument of one partial operation, can use his labor power only in connection with others, but this connection is carried out by the capitalist, who owns the entire mechanism of production and uses this role to intensify the exploitation of the labor of workers. “One of the most harmful aspects of capitalist work at home,” writes V.I. Lenin, “is that it leads to a decrease in the level of the worker's needs. The entrepreneur gets the opportunity to choose his workers in such backwoods, where the standard of living of the population is especially low and where the connection with the land allows you to work for nothing.

Manufacturing workers are already beginning to take shape in the class of the proletariat exploited by capital. However, manufacture cannot encompass social production in its entirety. Urban handicrafts and rural side trades remain the broad basis of manufactory. The manufacturing period is characterized by a constant increase in the mass of the urban plebs, on the one hand, due to the ruin of artisans, and on the other, due to the influx of landless and impoverished peasants into the cities and the growth in the cities of the number of beggars, day laborers and, in general, declassed elements living by odd jobs. From this layer of the plebs, standing outside the workshops and outside the estate-feudal structure, a pre-proletariat was formed in medieval cities.

The process of development of capitalist relations in Western Europe was accelerated by an event of great historical importance - the great geographical discoveries and the subsequent conquests and seizures by Western European states in Africa, Asia and America.

Capitalism is only one of the socio-economic formations that existed in the world. The history of its formation is connected with such phenomena as colonial expansion and the exploitation of workers, for whom the 80-hour work week was becoming the norm. T&P publishes an excerpt from Cambridge economist Ha-Jun Chang's How Does the Economy Work? , which was recently published by the MIF publishing house.

The economy of Western Europe is indeed
growing slowly...

Capitalism originated in Western Europe, in particular in Great Britain and the Benelux countries (which today include Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), in the 16th and 17th centuries. Why it originated there, and not, say, in China or India, which were then comparable to Western Europe in terms of economic development, is the subject of intense and lengthy discussions. Everything has been offered as an explanation, from the contempt felt by the Chinese elite for practical pursuits (such as trade and industry), to a map of the coal fields of Great Britain and the fact of the discovery of America. We will not dwell on this discussion for a long time. Let us take it for granted that capitalism began to develop in Western Europe.

Before his appearance, Western European societies, like all others in the pre-capitalist era, changed very slowly. People were mostly organized around agriculture, which for many centuries used almost the same technology with a limited degree of commerce and craft production.

Between the 10th and 15th centuries, that is, during the Middle Ages, per capita income increased by 0.12 percent per year. Therefore, incomes in 1500 were only 82 percent higher than in 1000. By comparison, this is the amount that China, with its 11 percent annual growth, achieved in the six years between 2002 and 2008. It follows that from the point of view of material progress, one year in China today is equivalent to 83 years in medieval Western Europe (three people could be born and die during this time - in the Middle Ages, the average life expectancy was only 24 years).

…but still faster than the economy
any other country in the world

Notwithstanding the above, economic growth in Western Europe still far outpaced that of Asia and Eastern Europe (including Russia), which are estimated to have grown three times slower (0.04 percent). This means that over 500 years, the income of the local population has increased by only 22 percent. If Western Europe moved like a turtle, then other countries were more like snails.

Capitalism emerged 'in slow motion'

Capitalism appeared in the 16th century. But its spread was so slow that it is impossible to pinpoint the exact date of his birth. Between 1500 and 1820, the per capita income growth rate in Western Europe was still 0.14 percent—essentially the same as in the Middle Ages (0.12 percent). In Great Britain and the Netherlands, an acceleration in this indicator was observed at the end of the 18th century, especially in the sectors of the production of cotton fabrics and ferrous metals. As a result, from 1500 to 1820, Great Britain and the Netherlands achieved per capita economic growth rates of 0.27 and 0.28 percent, respectively. And although these figures are very small by modern standards, they were twice the average Western European figure. This has led to a number of changes.

Beginning of colonial expansion

From the beginning of the 15th century, the countries of Western Europe began to expand rapidly. Appropriately referred to as the Age of Discovery, this expansion included the expropriation of land and resources and the enslavement of the indigenous population through the establishment of a colonial regime.

Starting with Portugal in Asia, and Spain in the Americas, from the end of the 15th century, the peoples of Western Europe began to ruthlessly seize new lands. By the middle of the 18th century, North America was divided between England, France and Spain. Most of the South American countries were ruled by Spain and Portugal until the 1810s and 1820s. Parts of India were ruled by the British (mainly Bengal and Bihar), the French (southeast coast) and the Portuguese (various coastal areas, notably Goa). Around this time, the settlement of Australia begins (the first penal colony appeared there in 1788). Africa at that time was not “mastered” so well, there were only small settlements of the Portuguese (the previously uninhabited islands of Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe) and the Dutch (Cape Town, founded in the 17th century).

Francis Hayman. Robert Clive meets with Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey. 1757

Colonialism was based on capitalist principles. Symbolically, until 1858, British rule in India was carried out by a corporation (the East India Company) and not by the government. These colonies brought new resources to Europe. At first, the expansion was motivated by the search for precious metals to use as money (gold and silver), as well as spices (especially black pepper). Over time, plantations were established in the new colonies - especially in the United States, Brazil and the Caribbean - where the labor of slaves, mainly exported from Africa, was used. Plantations were established to grow and supply Europe with new crops such as cane sugar, rubber, cotton and tobacco. It is impossible to imagine a time when Britain did not have traditional chips, Italy did not have tomatoes and polenta (made from corn), and India, Thailand and Korea did not know what chili is.

Colonialism leaves deep scars

Debates have been going on for many years about whether capitalism would have developed in the 16th and 18th centuries without colonial resources: precious metals used as money, new foodstuffs such as potatoes and sugar, and raw materials for industrial production such as cotton. Although there is no doubt that the colonialists benefited greatly from their sale, most likely capitalism would have developed in European countries without them. In doing so, colonialism has no doubt ruined colonized societies.

The indigenous population was exterminated or brought to the brink of extinction, and its land with all its resources was taken away. The marginalization of indigenous peoples has been so deep that Evo Morales, the current president of Bolivia, elected in 2006, is only the second head of state in the Americas - a native of the indigenous population, who came to power from the moment the Europeans arrived there in 1492 (the first was Benito Juarez, President of Mexico in 1858-1872).

Many Africans - estimated at about 12 million - were captured and taken to Europe and the Arab countries. Not only was this a tragedy for those who lost their freedom (even if they managed to survive the arduous journey), but it also drained many African societies and destroyed their social structure. Territories acquired arbitrary borders - this fact affects the domestic and international policies of a number of countries to this day. The fact that so many interstate borders in Africa are in the form of a straight line is a clear confirmation of this, since natural borders are never straight, they usually follow rivers, mountain ranges and other geographical features.

Colonialism often involved the deliberate cessation of existing productive activities in economically developed regions. For example, in 1700, Great Britain banned the import of Indian calico (we mentioned this in Chapter 2) in order to promote its own production, thereby dealing a heavy blow to the Indian cotton industry. This industry was completely destroyed in the middle of the 19th century by the flow of imported fabrics, which at that time were already being produced in Britain by mechanization. As a colony, India could not apply tariffs and other policies to protect its producers from British imports. In 1835, Lord Bentinck, Governor-General of the East India Company, famously said: "The plains of India turn white with the bones of weavers."

Start of the industrial revolution

Capitalism really took off around 1820 throughout Western Europe and later in the European colonies in North America and Oceania. The acceleration of economic growth was so dramatic that the next half century after 1820 became known as the Industrial Revolution. In those fifty years, per capita income in Western Europe grew by 1 percent, which is very small by modern standards (Japan saw such an increase in income during the so-called lost decade of the 1990s), and compared with a growth rate of 0. The 14 percent observed between 1500 and 1820 was true turbojet acceleration.

The 80-Hour Workweek: The Suffering of Some
people only got stronger

However, this acceleration in the growth of per capita income was initially accompanied by a decline in living standards for many. Many people whose skills were obsolete - for example, artisans who made textiles - lost their jobs because they were replaced by machines driven by cheaper unskilled workers, many of whom were children. Some machines were even designed for the growth of the child. People who were employed in factories or in small workshops that supplied raw materials for them worked very hard: 70-80 hours a week were considered the norm, someone worked more than 100 hours a week, and usually only half a day was allocated for rest on Sunday.

Working conditions were extremely dangerous. Many British workers in the cotton industry died of lung diseases due to the dust generated during the production process. The urban working class lived very cramped, sometimes 15-20 people huddled in a room. It was considered quite normal that hundreds of people use the same toilet. People were dying like flies. In the poor areas of Manchester, life expectancy was 17 years, which is 30 per cent lower than in the whole of Great Britain before the Norman Conquest in 1066 (then life expectancy was 24 years).

The myth of the free market and free trade:
How did capitalism really develop?

The development of capitalism in the countries of Western Europe and their colonies in the 19th century is often associated with the spread of free trade and the free market. It is generally accepted that the governments of these states did not tax or restrict international trade (called free trade) in any way, and did not interfere at all with the functioning of the market (free market). This state of affairs led to the fact that these countries managed to develop capitalism. It is also commonly believed that the United Kingdom and the United States led the way because they were the first to adopt the free market and free trade.

Free trade is propagated mainly by means far from free

While free trade was not the cause of capitalism, it did spread throughout the 19th century. It manifested itself in part in the heart of the capitalist world of the 1860s, when the UK accepted this principle and signed bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), in which both sides removed import restrictions and export customs duties for each other, with a number of states Western Europe. However, it has spread most of all on the periphery of capitalism - in the countries of Latin America and Asia, moreover, as a result of what no one usually associates with the word "free" - the use of force, or at least the threat of its use.

Colonization was the most obvious route for "unfree free trade" to spread, but even the many countries fortunate enough not to become colonies had to accept it too. They were forced by gunboat diplomacy to sign unequal treaties that deprived them, among other things, of tariff autonomy (the right to set their own tariffs). They were allowed to use only a low flat rate (3–5 percent)—enough to raise some government revenues, but too low to protect fledgling industries. The most shameful of these facts is the Treaty of Nanjing, which China had to sign in 1842 after the defeat in the First Opium War. But unequal treaties also began to be signed with Latin American countries until they gained independence in the 1810s and 1820s. Between 1820 and 1850, a number of other states were also forced to sign similar treaties: the Ottoman Empire (the predecessor of Turkey), Persia (today's Iran), Siam (today's Thailand), and even Japan. The Latin American unequal treaties expired in the 1870s and 1880s, while the treaties with Asian countries continued into the 20th century.

This statement is too far from the truth. The government played a leading role at the initial stage of development of capitalism both in Great Britain and in the USA and other countries of Western Europe.

The inability to protect and defend young industries of their industries, whether as a result of direct colonial domination or unequal treaties, significantly contributed to the economic regression of the countries of Asia and Latin America during that period: there was a negative growth in per capita income (at a rate of -0.1 and - 0.04 percent per year, respectively).

Capitalism shifts into a higher gear: the beginning of mass production

The development of capitalism began to accelerate around 1870. Between 1860 and 1910, clusters of new technological innovations appeared, resulting in the rise of the so-called heavy and chemical industries: the production of electrical equipment, internal combustion engines, synthetic dyes, artificial fertilizers and other products. Unlike the technologies of the Industrial Revolution, which were invented by practical men with good intuition, new technologies were developed through the systematic application of scientific and engineering principles. Thus, any invention could be reproduced and improved very quickly.

In addition, the organization of the production process in many industries has been revolutionized by the invention of the mass production system. Thanks to the introduction of a moving assembly line (belt conveyor) and interchangeable parts, costs have dropped dramatically. This is the main (almost universally used) system in our time, despite frequent claims of its demise since 1908.

New economic institutions emerged to manage the growing scale of production

At its peak, capitalism acquired the basic institutional structure that still exists today; it includes limited liability companies, bankruptcy law, the central bank, social security, labor law, and more. These institutional shifts have occurred mainly due to changes in underlying technologies and policies.

Due to the growing need for large-scale investments, the principle of limited liability, which was previously applied only to preferred companies, has become widespread. Therefore, it could now be used by any company that met certain minimum conditions. With access to an unprecedented scale of investment, limited liability companies have become the most powerful vehicle for the development of capitalism. Karl Marx, who recognized their great potential before any ardent supporter of capitalism, called them "capitalist production in its highest development."

Before the British reform of 1849, the essence of bankruptcy law was to punish an insolvent businessman, in the worst case, debtor's prison. New laws introduced in the second half of the 19th century gave failed entrepreneurs a second chance, allowing them to avoid paying interest to creditors during the reorganization of their business (under Chapter 11 of the US Federal Bankruptcy Act, introduced in 1898) and forcing them to write off part of their debts. Now doing business is not so risky.

The Rhodes ColossusStriding from Cape Town to Cairo, 1892

As companies grew in size, so did banks. At that time, there was a danger that the failure of one bank could destabilize the entire financial system, so to combat this problem, central banks were created to act as lenders of last resort - and the first in 1844 was the Bank of England.

Due to the widespread socialist agitation and increased pressure on the government from the reformists regarding the position of the working class, starting in the 1870s, a number of laws on social security and labor were introduced: accident insurance, medical insurance, old-age pensions and insurance for case of unemployment. Many countries banned the work of young children (usually under the age of 10-12) and limited the number of working hours for older children (initially to only 12 hours). The new laws also regulated the conditions and hours of work for women. Unfortunately, this was not done out of chivalrous motives, but because of an arrogant attitude towards the weaker sex. It was believed that, unlike men, women lacked mental abilities, so they could sign an unfavorable employment contract for them - in other words, women needed to be protected from themselves. These welfare and labor laws smoothed out the rough edges of capitalism and made the lives of many poor people better, if only a little at first.

Institutional changes contributed to economic growth. Limited liability companies and debtor-friendly bankruptcy laws have reduced the risk associated with doing business, thereby encouraging wealth creation. The activities of the central bank on the one hand, and the welfare and labor laws on the other, also contributed to growth by increasing economic and political stability, respectively, which allowed for increased investment and hence accelerated the further recovery of the economy. The growth rate of per capita income in Western Europe rose from 1 percent a year during the peak period 1820–1870 to 1.3 percent during 1870–1913.