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Notes on video lecture:
On the Interdependence of Science and Capitalism
Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on February 15, 2014 (go to class or lectures)


Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:
1776, selfish, tax, profits, future, credit, loots, nobility, greed, discoveries, economics, private, universe, Jesus, production, invest, growth, honored, grow, capitalist, ignorance, pharaohs, economy
in pre-modern world, was very limited
because limited credit, few new businesses
because few new businesses, didn't grow
because economy didn't grow, lack of confidence in
because of lack of confidence in future, limited credit
therefore, frozen economy
then came the scientific revolution and the idea of progress
if we admit our of the natural world, invest in research and development, we can improve our human condition
increased the sum total of human production, trade, and wealth
if you believe in progress, you believe that the size of the entire economic pie can , and everybody can enjoy more food, more clothes, and more wealth at the same time
over the last 500 years, the idea of progress convinced people to put more and more trust in the future, and this trust created credit, and this credit brought real economic growth, which opened the way to give even more credit the next time around
compared to world before the scientific revolution, today there is much more trust in the future and much more credit in the world, that governments, business corporations, and even individuals can obtain long, low-interest loans
the rising belief in progress and credit led to dramatic ethical and political revolutions
in Adam Smith wrote "The Wealth of Nations"
probably the most influential book on of all time
when the owner of a factory has greater profits than what he needs, he will tend to use his profits in order to employ more and more workers
when one man becomes richer, other people be come richer
Adam Smith's idea that the human urge to increase one's own private profits is the basis of the collective wealth and welfare of society, has been one of the most revolutionary ideas in human history
not just from an economic perspective but even more so from a moral and ethical perspective
what he is saying is is good, that egoism is altruism
he moved humanity on from thinking of the economy as a zero-sum game, to thinking of it as a win-win situation in which my profits are your profits, and if I'm poor, then you, too, will probably be poor, but if I'm rich, then you, too, can become rich, since I can now buy something that you can sell, or I can loan you money
Smith thus denied the traditional contradition between wealth and morality
if said that a rich man cannot enter the Kingdom of God, Smith said that rich men are the best people in society, and are the one's creating the Kingdom of God here on earth and benefiting everybody.
being rich, according to Adam Smith, means being a good person, rich people are the most useful and benevolent people in society, they are the ones who turn the wheels of growth to the advantage of everybody else
the new ethical code was: profits should be reinvested in , they shouldn't be wasted
capitalism is called capitalism because it distinguishes between capital and wealth
capital
money, goods, and resources that are invested in production
wealth
money wasted on unproductive activities or products
in Ancient Egypt were not capitalists, with their wealthy, they built very expensive pyramids which were not productive in generating more capital
a pirate that a chests of gold coins and buries it, is not a capitalist because he didn't invest his money
however, a factory worker who takes some of his monthly salary and invests it in the stock market or even in his own education so he can get a new job or be more productive, is a capitalist
in pre-modern times, people believed production was more or less constant
the elite in the Middle Ages did not believe in the ethic, they believed in generosity and spending on things that didn't improve production: generosity, tournaments, churches, parties, wars, they very rarely reinvested their money in any kind of production
in the modern age (after 1600), the nobility was gradually replaced by a new class
not made up of dukes, kings and princes but managers, stock brokers, and people of the middle class
these people are far more rich than the Medieval nobility but they are far less interested in extravagant consumption and spend a smaller percentage of their income on non-productive activities
compared to the of the past, today's elite dressed in drab suits of black and gray, far less showy, a sign that most of their wealth was going back into investments and not being lavishly displayed
they have very little time for carnivals and banquets, most rich people today spend their day going from one business meeting to another finding out where the best place to invest their money is and what happened to their previous investments
a common topic is: where can I my money: stock exchange, or buying a house, or a start-up
medieval nobility rarely did this
governments also spent much time determining where to invest their incomes, e.g. in infrastructure by building a new port so that they can tax it
another government things that education is a better investment
capitalism teaches that economy is the supreme good
e.g. to bring justice and freedom to a place that doesn't have it, a common capitalist solution is that justice and freedom depend on economic growth and that people need to learn about free enterprise, hard work, and self-reliance
many scientific projects are funded because they indicate a likeliness to increase production or
a scientific project that does promise to improve economic growth in some way will have a difficult time finding funding in today's economy
you won't understand the history of science if you don't take capitalism into account
and to understand capitalism, you need to take science into account
capitalism is founded on a belief in economic growth, and there is nothing that brings about more economic growth than scientific research and development
capitalism is founded on a belief in perpetual economic growth, which contradicts much of what we know about the
one reason this has been possible is that science continually has come up with new : new continents, the combustion engine, genetically engineered sheep
what allows governments and banks to create new money is our trust in them that this money will be
what keeps our trust alive is mostly the continue production of new technological discoveries which promise a better future
Vocabulary:
perspicuous, adj. of an account or representation, clearly expressed and easily understood, lucid ⇒ "It provides simpler and more perspicuous explanations than its rivals." |
Spelling Corrections:
benefitting ⇒ benefiting
pharohs ⇒ pharaohs
Ideas and Concepts:
On the incompatibility between capitalism and Christianity via this morning's History of Humankind class: "Adam Smith's idea that the basis of the collective wealth and welfare of society is the selfish human urge to increase one's own private profits, was one of the most revolutionary ideas in human history, not just from an economic perspective but even more so from a moral and ethical perspective. What he was saying is that greed is good, that egoism is altruism. He moved humanity forward from thinking of the economy as a zero-sum game, to thinking of it as a win-win situation in which my profits are your profits, and if I'm poor, then you, too, will probably be poor, but if I'm rich, then you, too, can become rich, since I can now buy something that you sell, or I can loan you money. Smith thus denied the traditional Christian contradiction between wealth and morality. While Jesus said that rich men cannot enter the Kingdom of God, Adam Smith said that rich men, particularly those who continually reinvest their money with the intention of becoming even richer, are the best men in society."
On the interdependence between science and capitalism, via this morning's History of Humankind class: "Capitalism is founded on a belief in constant economic growth, and there is nothing that brings about more economic growth than scientific research and development. Yet scientific research and development is expensive and could not exist in its most effective form without the funding that a well-functioning capitalist economy provides. So if you want to understand the history of capitalism, you have to understand the history of science. And if you want to understand the history of science, you have to understand the history of capitalism."