GEOG 2400 Study Guide - Summer 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - City, Capitalism, Social Class
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
GEOG 2400
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
GOEG 2400
Introduction
Why this class:
• UN notes that growth of cities and urbanization of rural areas are irreversible b/c global shift to
technology and industrial oriented economies
• Urban spaces built to prevent interaction between wealthy and poor, "incompatible with the
ecological and moral survival or humanity"
Globalization and Urbanization:
• Urban opportunity myth, belief that better opportunities come with moving to urban areas
• Disconnect between what people perceive and what it actually is
• Slums largely concentrated in developing countries
• Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Chad** has highest population of urban dwellers
• Qualities of a good city: infrastructure, combat pollution, health care, education, transportation,
leisure, innovation, transparent government, affordable housing, inclusive urban planning
• 2008, first time ever where majority of the world's population lives in urban areas
• World's urban population is growing 4x as fast as world population
• Most urbanized countries: small in territories, highest concentration of people living in urban
spaces
• Mega city: over 10 million people
• Largest Urban Agglomerations are in developing countries, cities expanding beyond their
infrastructure and resources
• Strong relationship between capitalism, globalization, urbanization
Emergence of Capitalism:
• Agricultural revolution
o Neolithic era, 10,000 years ago
o Enabled surplus labour, more time devoted to other things like invention and trades
o Shift from nomadic to settlements
o Began in Egypt and Mesopotamia (fertile crescent)
o First documented city: Uruk
o Second: Americas, Mayan
• Feudalism
o New classes of people, the belief that some are better that others
o Ex. English monarch (feudal), celebrities (capital)
o Ideological change where people bought into social hierarchies
o Serfs bought this idea because they believed the rich could offer protection, elites depended
on serfs for food
o Began in 5th century, fall of Rome
o Medieval manor
• Closed system, no trade
• Self sufficient
• Not monetized, power based on land ownership, owned by sovereign and divided
among nobilities
• Not monetized, no savings, surplus, profit, accumulation for expansion
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Cities grew slowly, or not at all
o Constant war
o Decline of feudalism
• Merchants, broke off from feudal system and travelled to trade
• Development of inns, banking activities, center squares
• Anonymity, important for merchants
• Enlightenment, individualism and new ideas
• Mercantilism/colonialism
o Towns-->cities-->state power
o Economic and political system, state was the center of it all
o Protecting domestic markets, no imports but wanted exports
o Spreading of goods from Europe around the world, resources from Asia and Americas to
Europe
o Maximum gold stock by maximizing exports
o Colonies were basis of natural resources and free labour
o States trying to control and regulate merchants and trade
o Most of the world has been under European control
o Development of Europe relied on exploitation of colonies, colonial system was spinal cord of
commercial capitalism of the mercantile epoch
o Why colonies?
• Extract natural resources from colonies
• Used colonies as market for manufactured products
o Crumbling of mercantile system
• Industrialization
• Growing class of merchants, increase in power, freedom from state control
• War, famine, disease prevented cities from reaching over 1 million in population
• Disintegrated into forms of capitalism
• Capitalism
o Economic system where production of good and services is for market exchange
o Things that make money owned by private businesses and corporations which trade in a
free market of competition
o Milton Friedman: "no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit"
o Based on definite social/class relations between owners of capital and labour power
o Marx
• Forced appropriation of surplus from labourers
• All working class people exploited
• Rate of profit reflects extent of exploitation
Transition to Capitalism
• Urbanism, inequality, and capitalism are inextricable
• Urban growth depends on economic growth mediated by
o Wage labour system
• Exploitation hidden by the wage system
• Workers do not benefit from surplus labour
• Using technology to replace humans, increasing exploitation without increasing
working day
• Workers increasingly unable to provide for themselves
• Need workers to be dependent to prevent revolt
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Largest urban agglomerations are in developing countries, cities expanding beyond their infrastructure and resources. Feudalism: new classes of people, the belief that some are better that others, ex. Forced appropriation of surplus from labourers: all working class people exploited, rate of profit reflects extent of exploitation. Industrial revolution: movement from pastoral to manufacturing base societies, enclosure of land, getting peasants off the land and to go to city to work, pauperization of england, demand of cheap labour. Increased in percentage of employment in manufacturing and percentage of urban population: key to city development, tea, bread, sugar: cheap options for food. First time ever, lives and work of people no longer in same place: about the production of surplus, 3 kinds of capital for production, variable capital, constant capital, surplus. Issues with buying local: difficult to get people to buy into the concept, more expensive. Ldcs urbanizing faster than mdc, more people living in worse conditions.
