Powered hierarchies

Write a 5-7 page paper (double spaced, 12 point font, standard margins) on one of the following topics. Your title page and bibliography (and any other pages that are not writing) do not count towards the page count. Please cite all your sources, with an accepted citational standard of your choice. For sources, you may only use:

• Readings assigned in class.
• Other writing by authors assigned in class.
• Sources which address the exact same topic as readings assigned in class (e.g. West African deindustrialization; gender roles in Iriquois Confederacy, etc.).

1. Powered hierarchies based on social difference have existed long before industrial capitalism. However, these systems have interacted with industrial capitalism in particular ways – at times entrenching their power and at other times shifting that power. Using examples, as well as theory, from class and from the readings, trace how industrial capitalism has interacted with racism and white supremacy; with patriarchy; and with the division between the Global North and Global South. How has capitalism exacerbated some of the power differentials between groups, and how has it shifted that power over time?

2. Social Structures of Accumulation (SSA) Theory posits that while capitalism is fundamentally unstable and prone to crisis, the accumulation process can find medium-term stability through the coalescence of sets of institutions – an SSA. Eventually, a crisis occurs which reflects the contradictions of these institutions, and the resolution of that crisis occurs when a new institutional framework can resuscitate the profit rate and accumulation. Looking at both the Global North and Global South begin with institutions of Monopoly Capitalism and trace the history of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Regulated Capitalism, the stagflation crisis of the 1970s, Neoliberal Capitalism, and the financial crisis of 2008 and ensuant Great Recession, showing how each followed from the previous. Use examples to reinforce your points.

Solution

Powered hierarchies based on social difference, such as racism and white supremacy, patriarchy, and the division between the Global North and Global South, have long existed before the emergence of industrial capitalism. However, industrial capitalism has interacted with these systems in various ways, at times entrenching the power of these hierarchies and at other times shifting that power.

One example of how industrial capitalism has interacted with racism and white supremacy is through the exploitation of cheap labor and resources in colonized countries, which often had a racialized workforce. This exploitation allowed for the accumulation of wealth and power for the colonizers, while at the same time reinforcing the racial hierarchy and the inferiority of the colonized peoples. This process, known as the “racialization of capitalism,” was not only evident in the exploitation of colonized countries, but also in the exploitation of racialized groups within the capitalist system, such as African Americans in the United States.

Similarly, industrial capitalism has interacted with patriarchy in various ways. For example, the rise of industrialization led to the separation of production and reproduction, with men being the primary wage earners and women being responsible for reproductive labor, such as childcare and household chores. This separation reinforced traditional gender roles and the patriarchy, as men held the economic power and women were relegated to a subordinate position. However, the rise of the feminist movement and the incorporation of women into the workforce has challenged and shifted these traditional gender roles and power dynamics.

The division between the Global North and Global South is another example of how industrial capitalism has interacted with systems of social difference. The Global North, consisting of industrialized countries in the Northern Hemisphere, has traditionally held a position of economic and political power, while the Global South, consisting of developing countries in the Southern Hemisphere, has been characterized by underdevelopment and dependence on the Global North. This division has been maintained through processes such as colonialism, neocolonialism, and globalization, which have allowed the Global North to exploit the resources and labor of the Global South, further entrenching the power differential between the two regions.

In conclusion, industrial capitalism has interacted with systems of social difference, such as racism and white supremacy, patriarchy, and the division between the Global North and Global South, in various ways. While capitalism has exacerbated some of the power differentials between groups, it has also brought about shifts in power dynamics over time through processes such as the incorporation of women into the workforce and the challenge to traditional gender roles.

Social Structures of Accumulation (SSA) Theory posits that while capitalism is fundamentally unstable and prone to crisis, the accumulation process can find medium-term stability through the coalescence of sets of institutions, known as an SSA. The history of capitalism in the Global North and Global South can be traced through the evolution of different SSAs, each of which has been characterized by a specific institutional framework.

The first SSA of Monopoly Capitalism, which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was characterized by the concentration of capital in large monopolies and trusts, as well as the emergence of a mass consumption society. This SSA was eventually destabilized by the Great Depression of the 1930s, which was marked by a collapse in aggregate demand and the failure of the banking system.

The resolution of this crisis occurred with the emergence of Regulated Capitalism, an SSA characterized by the intervention of the state in the economy through the implementation of Keynesian economic policies. This SSA, which lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s, was marked by relative economic stability and high levels of growth. However, it was eventually destabilized by the stagflation crisis of the 1970s, which was marked by high levels of inflation and stagnant economic growth.

The