The History Book

Video notes

Tuesday, November 11, 2003 (from before)

Part One: “A Flickering Light in the Darkness”

medieval village: peasants and craftsmen vs landowners and priests

social labor as the basis of society

class: Marxist vs conventional conceptions

mechanisms of class rule: exploitation (rent), violence (soldiers), thought control (priests)

feudalism vs. capitalism: merchant "buying cheap and selling dear"

capitalism and the trade with Asia

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Part Two: “At Dawn, Overcoming All Difficulties”

Vasco da Gama's voyage and the drive for profits

some African and Asian societies more highly developed than Europeans

societies at various levels of development: hunters and gatherers and classless societies, horticulturalists and incipient social classes, cities and classes plunder of African cities and of Native American civilizations

the development of Europe and the development of underdevelopment in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Thursday, November 13, 2003

Part Three: “A Bright Future, For Some”

what happens to wealth as it flows back to Europe

struggle between two classes: landowners and merchants, role of the King

wars of early modern period result from class struggle

Capitalism, war, and military technology

industrial capitalism: the capitalist owns the means of production

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Part, Four: "Bloody Schemes"

John Hawkins and the African slave trade

treatment of slaves in the New World

different use of profits of slave trade by European and African merchants

destruction of the Kingdom of the Congo

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Part Five: “Triumphant Symphony”

England controls trade

technological developments: capitalist claim to bring happiness and wealth for everyone

other side: peasants and workers and evils of industrialization

capitalists and surplus value (sheep, machines, and hats)

spread of capitalist industrization to Germany, France, Italy, and the U.S.

competition and big capitalists swallow up small capitalists

finance capital and industrial capital

bankers help big industrialists and get bigger and bigger: cartels, trusts, and monopolies

workers can't buy goods, problems with raw materials

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Part Six: “Makeshift Solutions”

problems in society: crisis of 1872

workers form socialist parties: strikes and unrest

1864 International Workingmen's Association formed by Marx: workers believe end of capitalism is near

imperialism: Stanley and colonies in Africa

brief review of development of capitalism

Africa provides: cheap labor, cheap raw materials, market for goods

colonialism enforced through violence and racism

Tuesday, December 2, 2003

Part Six: “The Coming of Darkness”

imperialists need raw materials and markets,
Lenin vs. Krupp

WWI: mouse—"refuse to kill each other, kill the capitalists instead!"

Russian Revolution: workers rejoice—a revolution is possible—capitalist faint from fear

social democrats sell out, crush
revolutionary workers

Germany and Nazis, Italian facism, WWII

Cold War begins, people's war, Chinese Revolution

ALSO SHOWN:

Thursday, December 4, 2003

Controlling Interest

Notes distributed in class

Tuesday, December 9, 2003

Seattle N30, 1999

No notes