 A Unified Theory of Rent, Elite Feud, and Imperial ExpansionChapter Chapter 2 in A History of Global Capitalism, 2020, pp 11-24 from Springer Abstract: Abstract This chapter presents the theoretical framework. The framework addresses two fundamental questions in economic sciences. What factors explain the divergence in living standards across countries and what ensures internal and external stability of the capitalist economic system? The framework adopts a non-technical and unified approach. Using the neoclassical growth model, it shows that economic growth is dependent on access to raw materials, labour, capital, technology, and perhaps most importantly ‘economies of scale’. Then it modifies the neoclassical growth model by introducing power relations (both internal and external to a nation), which ensures scale economies through guaranteed access to markets and raw materials. Thus, imperial expansion is a natural consequence of the capitalist economic system. The stability of the system depends on growth and distribution and it is not possible to have one without the other. However, the quest for growth and imperial expansion implies one empire invariably enters into conflict with another empire. Such inherent tension in the capitalist system can be best managed by acknowledging great power spheres of influence. Date: 2020 There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:frochp:978-3-030-58736-9_2 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-58736-9_2 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Frontiers in Economic History from Springer |
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