Twentieth-century political economy: A brief history of global capitalism

Modern capitalism emerged in the early nineteenth century in western Europe and the European offshoots of the Americas and Oceania. Recognizing the un paralleled dynamism of the new socio-economic system, Marx and Engels predi cted in 1848 that capitalism would spread to the entire world. By the end o f the twentieth century, that prediction was confirmed: capitalism had inde ed become global, but only after a tortuous and violent course of instituti onal change in many parts of the world. This paper provides a brief account of the emergence of global capitalism, and discusses some of the reasons w hy the diffusion of capitalism has been so conflictual and violently contes ted.