The long twentieth century : money, power, and the origins of our times

The Long Twentieth Century traces the relationship between capital accumulation and state formation over a 700-year period. Arrighi argues that capitalism has unfolded as a succession of “long centuries,” each of which produced a new world power that secured control over an expanding world-economic space. Examining the changing fortunes of Florentine, Venetian, Genoese, Dutch, English and finally American capitalism, Arrighi concludes with an examination of the forces that have shaped and are now poised to undermine America’s world dominance. A masterpiece of historical sociology, The Long Twentieth Century rivals in scope and ambition contemporary classics by Perry Anderson, Charles Tilly and Michael Mann. Hegemony, Capitalism, And Territorialism -- The Origins Of The Modern Interstate System -- British Hegemony And Free-trade Imperialism -- Us Hegemony And The Rise Of The Free Enterprise System -- Towards A New Research Agenda -- The Antecedents Of Systemic Cycles Of Accumulation -- The Genesis Of High Finance -- The First (genoese) Systemic Cycle Of Accumulation -- The Second (dutch) Systemic Cycle Of Accumulation -- The Dialectic Of State And Capital -- The Third (british) Systemic Cycle Of Accumulation -- The Dialectic Of Capitalism And Territorialism -- The Dialectic Of Capitalism And Territorialism (continued) -- Reprise And Preview -- The Dialectic Of Market And Plan -- The Fourth (us) Systemic Cycle Of Accumulation -- The Dynamics Of Global Crisis. Giovanni Arrighi. Previous Ed.: London: Verso, 1994. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 387-404) And Index. "The Long Twentieth Century" traces the epochal shifts in the relationship between capital accumulation and state formation over a 700-year period. Borrowing from Braudel, Arrighi argues that the history of capitalism has unfolded as a succession of "long centuries" - ages during which a hegemonic power deploying a novel combination of economic and political networks secured control over an expanding world-economic space. The book concludes with an examination of the forces which have shaped and are now poised to undermine America's world power.