California's golden road to riches: Natural resources and regional capitalism, 1848-1940

California presents an important case of regional capitalism grounded in th e wealth of nature. It belies the received wisdom that natural resource ext raction is an anachronistic and inferior road to economic development. Prio r to World War II, California's economy rested squarely on minerals, agricu lture, timber, and fisheries, yet this was consonant with high income, capi tal accumulation, development oi manufacturing, and a high rate of technica l innovation. Indeed, the latter were crucial to an extraordinarily rapid r ate of discovery and plunder of resources for over a century. With due rega rd tu the gifts of nature, the secret of California's success is to he foun d in its social relations of production, especially open property rights an d a syncretic class system, rapid capital accumulation, and a redoubtable s tate based firmly on the capitalist society that crafted it.