"To take what might seem an "objective", macro-economic approach to the origins of the world economy would be to treat the behavior of early European explorers, merchants, and conquerors as if they were simply rational responses to opportunities—as if this were just what anyone would have done in the same situation. This is what the use of equations so often does: make it seem perfectly natural to assume that, if the price of silver in China is twice what it is in Seville, and inhabitants of Seville are capable of getting their hands on large quantities of silver and transporting it to China, then clearly they will, even if doing so requires the destruction of entire civilizations. Or if there is a demand for sugar in England, and enslaving millions is the easiest way to acquire labor to produce it, then it is inevitable that some will enslave them."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
David Graeber Debt: The First 5,000 Years, 2011. Chapter Eleven, "Age of the Great Capitalist Empires", p. 314.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/World_economy
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
World economy
49 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by World economy →
Related Quotes
"With lower start-up costs and a vastly expanded market for online services, the result is a global economy that for t…"
"The distribution of the world's resources and the settled unity of the peoples of the world are in reality one and th…"
"It is essential for the future happiness and progress of humanity that there should be no return to the old ways, whe…"
"The world economic council (or whatever body represents the resources of the world) must free itself from fraudulent …"
"I appreciate that in China, people are hungry to prosper in the global economy. What they need is a body of elected r…"
"Today, local economies are being destroyed by the "pluralistic," displaced, global economy, which has no respect for …"
"Without even entering into the question of the world economy’s ultimate dictation within narrow limits of everybody’s…"
"A successful economic development strategy must focus on improving the skills of the area's workforce, reducing the c…"
"Luckily for the world economy, however, Gordon Brown and his officials are making sense. And they may have shown us t…"
"The main sources of tension in today's world economy could be grouped under the following categories:"