Comparative Economic, Social and Political Systems

Abstract

What was the core feature of the Industrial Revolution? A default answer is to say capitalism, and the creation and diffusion of a capitalist system. But Adam Smith, the high theoretician of the changes wrought during this time did not actually use the word “capitalism”; instead, he referred to “commercial society” (Naggar and Naggar in The American Economist 49:90–95, 2005). He did make many references to capital and its productive power, but was referring to them as a means towards the ends of division of labour, increased trade and expansion of the “extent of the market”, not an end in and of itself. During the Cold War the rivalry between Capitalism and the new “Socialist” bloc required firmer definitions and articulations of the Capitalist system to distinguish it from its competitor. There was also the need to answer the question of which system was “better” and this led to extended analysis of both Capitalism and Socialism and the variations within each. Thus was born the study of “Comparative Economic Systems” and the social and political dimensions that came with them.