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| Perilous
Passage: Mankind and the Global Ascendancy of Capital |
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Author
:Amiya Kumar Bagchi *
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Published
by: Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2006. |
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Click to Enlarge
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Investigating
the emergence of the states on the North Atlantic
seaboard as prosperous and powerful nations, and
their eventual domination overthe rest of the
world, Perilous Passage presents an engaging account
of the economic emergence of the contemporary
world. Differing radically from the 'free market'
theorists, Bagchi provides a much-needed alternative
perspective of global economic history from sixteenth
century to contemporary times. The author brings
together insights of historians of war and those
of Marxist and world-system theorists to characterize
the emergence and operation of capitalism. Moving
beyond the 'European miracle' and a Eurocentric
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vision, he provides a comprehensive history
and the reciprocal impact of the extra-European
world. Bagchi also explores the numerous ways
in which the armed ascendancy of European capitalism
impacted the human development of different countries.
Going beyond existing interpretative frameworks,
this book highlights the role of capitalist competition
for markets, raw materials, territories, and human
labour. It interweaves the ideologies governing
the conquering career of capitalism. The author
also situates the neo-global order against the
backdrop of antisystemic struggles, wars, and
contradictory movements within global capital.
The uniqueness of this volume also lies in presenting
a global history, which for the first time puts
human development at centre stage. Departing from
the triumphalist account of development of currently
advanced countries, it treats the development
of all peoples of the world as being equally important.
Book
Review by C.P. Chandrasekhar
Amiya Kumar
Bagchi is currently Professor and Director of
the Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata.
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| September 28, 2006. |
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