Suchergebnisse

"Consumer capitalism arose with the second-industrial revolution, the application of continuous-mass production to consumer goods during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This book adopts a Veblenian, Keynesian viewpoint, presenting an evolutionary view of consumption combined with the need to increase demand to match increases in production. The book traces the history of consumer capitalism, examining the paradox posed by applying continuous-mass production to produce armaments for dynastic ambitions versus consumer goods for the masses, manifesting itself in the world wars of the twentieth century. Multiple paradoxes at the heart of the story address booms leading to busts, over-producing countries in Asia relying on over-consuming countries in the West, and the expansion of demand depending on increasingly inventive ways of liquefying assets, in light of stagnant incomes. The book persuasively argues that these paradoxes result from capitalism's incessant drive to accumulate capital, the cause of conflict, crises, and depression. The latest paradox results from the impact of continuous-mass production on the environment, manifesting itself as the Darwinian dilemma. The dilemma stems from human beings largely winning the struggle for existence and, in the process, possibly making the earth uninhabitable, at least for humans"--

The voice of lavinia -- Origins -- After Rome: interdynastic marriage during the first Christian centuries -- Interdynastic marriage, religious conversion, and the expansion of diplomatic society -- From chronicle to romance: interdynastic marriage in the High Middle Ages -- Wanings -- Marriage diplomacy, print, and the reformation -- Shakespeare's adumbrations of state-based diplomacy -- Divas and diplomacy in seventeenth-century France

Does the us president seek a war to end all war in the Middle East? Apocalyptic thinking is hardly a novelty when it comes to the United States, or to diplomacy. A look back at the 17th century, and the evolution of international thinking since, reminds us how durable such thinking can be.

On January 8, 1998—my birthday, as it happens—I greeted 24 tired and slightly scared undergraduates from the United States as they got off their British Airways flight from London and stood in line awaiting immigration and customs clearance at the airport in Harare. I had taken a semester off from my job as professor of mathematics at Colorado College to direct the ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest) Program in Zimbabwe and had no more idea what our joint experience in Zimbabwe would bring than they did. I too was nervous with anticipation.