12 - Moderncapitalism:

Summary

Modern capitalism arose out of an international economic order in which Europeans dominated the rest of the world both economically and militarily. From the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Europe's early-capitalist economies were governed by a mercantilist system that limited the operation of markets. The new manufacturing interests were both the principal protagonists and the most fervent supporters of the new industrialism. The opponents of European capitalism in the 1850s were of the most varied sort, ranging from feudal romantics to fiery communists; but European capitalism itself was gradually converging on a path toward the early British model. Modern industrial capitalism spread rapidly from its northwestern European origins, finding especially fertile soil in the Areas of Recent Settlement. World War I was a turning point in the development of modern capitalism. The enthusiasts for capitalism were firmly in command of the levers of economic policy in developed countries.