Dumb Question on Capitalism

John K. Taber jktaber at dhc.net
Wed Mar 1 10:22:44 PST 2000


Charles Brown" <CharlesB at CNCL.ci.detroit.mi.us> wrote


> CB: Yea, I mean the whole Civil War was a "corporate plot" in the
> sense that it was , in the main >, Northern industrial capitalism
> overthrowing Southern slavery capitalism. The emancipation of
> the slaves as a moral mission was not the purpose of the war, rather
> it was an unavoidable side >effect of the Northern corporations
> asserting their dominance.

I must be confused on what "capitalism" means. I never thought that a slave-based economy should be called capitalism. Similarly, I wouldn't think that a feudal system is capitalist.

But on this list "capitalism" seems to be broadly used. Would somebody care to educate me?

-- Another damn, thick, square book. Always scribbling, scribbling, scribbling, eh, Mr. Gibbon? -- Duke of Gloucester.



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