Eric Vilmer
10/6/20
Professor Simpson
A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things Part 2
The last four chapters in "A History of the World" continue upon what was discussed in the previous
chapters. "Cheap Food, Cheap Energy, Cheap Lives, and the Conclusion" are how this book continues
to teach readers how the system of capitalism came to be in the western world. "Cheap Food" discusses
the system agriculture and how production of food has made it cheaper with capitalism. "But they all
shared two common characteristics: a system of agricultural productivity premised on land rather than
labor, and a system of controlling food surplus through politics rather than the market." (Patel, Moore
140) The system of agriculture is a system to further control the population of people. When people
depend on the system to get food and water, they can be managed. "Cheap Energy" discusses how
people in capitalist society generate energy to further production. "Energy qualifies as a "thing" insofar
as it is transformed from part of the web of life into a commodity to be bought and sold." (Patel, Moore
165.) A capitalist system means that whatever is produced must be in a way that is cheap enough to
make money off it to be able to survive in the system. "Cheap Lives" is the final chapter before the
conclusion. This chapter discusses lives of different racial groups and the principle of scientific
racism. "Science provided the grounding for racial order, and that order in turn legitimized colonialism's
civilizing mission." (Patel, Moore 188) The end of the book re-explains the key concepts within the
text. "A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, " is really an extended version of everything we
have already read in "Critical Geography." The discussion of space and time and capitalisms role in
society has been a part of each and every reading. The book simply discusses how we do things in many
key aspects instead of one subject, such as the lives of animals in a zoo space or materialisms role in
capitalism. What makes this book a necessary read is how it lays the groundwork for the other essay's
we have read this semester and brings them together as one with its explanations of various topics
that are all very much part of the lives of people in the post-modern world. What one should
take out of this book is at the very least; how it applies to them in their own life.
This is a great overview of each of the chapters! The part that struck me the most was the use of science to impose a social hierarchy, because even science has to follow the ruling class. We like to think of science as an objective science that is always correct, but it is just as subjective depending on who controls the dominant thought.
ReplyDeleteEric, good job connecting this book to other readings in the class. But push the response further by connecting the keywords in the readings. How does World ecology for example relate to Neil Smith's term "scale" or to Doreen Massey's term for "a progressive sense of place." Making these connections will strength your understanding and allow you to practice applying these terms to the world around you.
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