The Transition From Feudalism To Capitalism

Essays largely on Studies in the development of capitalism, by M. Dobb.

The Debate On The Transition From Feudalism To Capitalism, Originally Published In Science And Society In The Early 1950S, Is One Of The Most Famous Episodes In The Development Of Marxist Historiography Since The War. It Ranged Such Distinguished Contributors As Maurice Dobb, Paul Sweezy, Kohachiro Takahashi And Christopher Hill Against Each Other In A Common, Critical Discussion. The Complete Text Of The Original Debate Was First Published By Verso, To Which Subsequent Discussion Has Returned Again And Again, Together With Significant New Materials Produced By Historians Since Then.What Was The Role Of Trade In The Dark Ages? How Did Feudal Rents Evolve During The Middle Ages? Where Should The Economic Origins Of Mediaeval Towns Be Sought? Why Did Serfdom Eventually Disappear In Western Europe? What Was The Exact Relationship Between City And Countryside In The Transition From Feudalism To Capitalism? How Should The Importance Of Overseas Expansion Be Assessed For The Primitive Accumulation Of Capital In Europe? When Should The First Bourgeois Revolutions Be Dated, And Which Social Classes Participated In Them? All These, And Many Other Vital Questions For Every Student Of Mediaeval And Modern History, Are Widely And Freely Explored.

Essays largely on Studies in the development of capitalism, by M. Dobb.

How did the dynamic economic system we know as capitalism develop among the peasants and lords of feudal Europe? In The Origin of Capitalism, a now-classic work of history, Ellen Meiksins Wood offers readers a clear and accessible introduction to the theories and debates concerning the birth of capitalism, imperialism, and the modern nation state. Capitalism is not a natural and inevitable consequence of human nature, nor simply an extension of age-old practices of trade and commerce. Rather, it is a late and localized product of very specific historical conditions, which required great transformations in social relations and in the relationship between humans and nature.