SOC 5 Lecture Notes - Atlantic Slave Trade, Ecological Footprint, Capital Accumulation
Document Summary
Global problems and the culture of capitalism, 197-219. All animals alter their environments as a condition of their existence. Human beings alter their environments as a condition of their cultures. The us alone uses over 20% of the world"s energy and accounts for over 20% of the world"s carbon emissions. Consumption of goods = function of our culture. Subsidiary economic activities: slavery, provisioning of the sugar producers, shipping, refining, storage, wholesale/retail trade. Slave trade = major factor in expansion of sugar industries. Growing demand created plantation economy in the new world and was largely responsible for expansion of the atlantic slave trade in 16th-18th c. Combined sugar plantations, slave trade, long-distance shipping, wholesale/retail trade, and investment finance. Increased sugar production led to reduced prices = accessible to more people. Benefits of sugar were widely touted by popular physicians. Use as a sweetener for 3 other substances (all bitter and technically drugs): tea, coffee, and cocoa.
