Can anyone help with history essay?

Hi,

I am doing this essay for a business history course, and I would appreciate if anyone could read it and give me some pointers on how I am dealing with the subject, i.e. is my argument clear enough and does it clearly link with the thesis; are there enough examples... and stuff like that. You do not need any knowledge of the topic, I think... it would be even better if any of you who do not know finish reading this feeling as if I have explained the topic well not just for my teacher who already knows everything that's in here, but to people with no previous knowledge. I think so far maybe I'm a bit disorganized or not clear enough, so again, I would appreciate any help from those of you who can say - wait, this makes no sense; or.. can you explain this concept more clearly?-
Thanks

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BUSINESS HISTORY
There are several approaches to the development of capitalist society. Elaborate upon the quotation below in relation to Canadian business history with reference to examples from at least three (3) centuries.
“In general the postwar business historians elaborated upon and fleshed out the framework of evolution enunciated by [S.B.] Gras, indicating a clear set of stages of institutional changes that took place in the ‘capitalist’ world, with some distinctive regional and national variations. Between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, basic techniques of commercial organization and market transactions were developed by merchant communities in Western Europe, spreading through trade and colonization to North America and outposts in other parts of the world. During the late 1700s and the 1800s some merchants diversified into specialized fields such as banking and insurance; others applied their capital and organizing techniques to industrial production. Around the turn of the twentieth century finance capitalists and some ambitious industrialists orchestrated consolidations of many smaller and diverse enterprises into large corporate systems and developed methods of communication and control to run these larger operations, ushering in the era of ‘managerial capitalism’. In the twentieth century, some corporations that had functioned primarily within national boundaries began to expand their production and marketing activities into global systems. At the same time national governments which had hitherto functioned principally as guarantors of property rights and private market transactions began to intervene more directly in the market system through tax and regulatory measures and public ownership.” (Taylor and Baskerville xiii-xiv, A Concise History of Business in Canada)
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Answer:
Canada’s business history landscape has changed immensely over the last few centuries; it has deep roots in Canadian history, although it could be argued that it has matured only recently. Canada’s has been a potpourri of different business cultures: that of the old world, that of the new world, and that of the native peoples. It has evolved into a distinct economy of its own developing through different stages of evolution a capitalist economy. At first, though, it is important to understand the meaning of capitalism and what changes it entails. Capitalism is social system based on the principle of individual rights and the accumulation of capital (i.e. means of production) and wealth. The development of capitalism has brought with it the phenomenon of workers working for wages rather than product and the principle of specialization and division of labour, as first introduced by Adam Smith. Some identifiable characteristics of capitalism include the creation of a “consumer culture” where most of the population that is not producing most of what it is consuming and the distribution of goods to consumers who have no social relation to the people who produce the goods they consume. In non-capitalist societies, such the organizations of the aboriginal peoples in Canada in the pre-contact period, people had real social relations to the producers of the goods they consume. So part of capitalism is that people become “consumers;” they define themselves by the objects they purchase rather than the objects they produce.
According to Historica: The Canadian Encyclopaedia, the writing of business history in Canada has focused too exclusively on the forward and backward linkages of the staple trades, ignoring other areas of economic growth (e.g. the spread of Canadian banking and electric utilities abroad). Hence, Canadian capitalist development cannot be entirely explained by the staples thesis, so other ideas of capitalist development must be sought.
The following will take into account the ideas of Norman S.B. Gras, who developed the framework talked about by Taylor and Baskerville about the development of Canadian capitalism. The approach that he followed, and which will be discussed in this essay, is the use of different time periods, separated by the industrial revolutions, to distinctively address the importance of the different stages of capitalism’s growth.
The first period of introduction and development of capitalism is that of 1400-1700. Mercantilism is the earliest form of capitalism, which developed in Europe and with the colonization of North America and the establishment of New France, this new trend spread to the newly discovered region that would later become Canada. Mercantilism is the distribution of goods in order to realize a profit. Beginning in the 1300’s Europeans started expanding this practice, which resulted in a “social mobility” that Europe had not seen before, and which pushed them to explorations of distant lands. “The voyages of discovery were entirely driven by mercantile ambitions.” Thus, the earliest development of capitalism in Canada dates back to the days of European colonization. The structure of the colonies developed on mercantile capitalism, which was based on trade of mainly fish, fur and timber, between the colonies and France and Britain. As the settlements expanded, and as capital accumulated, the first small capitalist enterprises began to appear. Gradually, larger-scale operations requiring better management practices, especially in forestry and shipbuilding, were started. The Atlantic fisheries and the fur trade were developed by French and English merchants exercising their metropolitan influence through such companies as the Compagnie Des Cent Associés (fd 1627) and the Hudson’s Bay Company (fd 1670).

Reply 1

Semanort

By the time of Confederation in 1867, industrial expansion was well under way, aided by the development of shipping and railways, and by the introduction of steam-power and other technological advances, which will bring us into the second stage of capitalist development in Canada following the First Industrial Revolution. As a dependent colony, Canada was under the domination of British capital, after the British conquered New France.
The fur trade had great cultural effects. By introducing mercantilism to the natives, the European fur traders “changed the cultural makeup of corporations.” They changed it in a way that was not the same as that adopted in Europe, therefore making a unique Canadian economy. For example, the position of apprentice postmaster was introduced, improving ease of management. They also changed the native economy through trade of “unnecessary goods,” which resembles the modern capitalist principle of creating demand rather than following demand.
In addition to these initial cultural changes, the fur trade, which was a new trade, brought changes in operation of corporations in Canada, such as change in modus operandi, by shifting focus from product collection to product marketing and by introducing broad policy initiatives such as reduction of expenditures to become financially stable and diversification of the fur trade.
It is during this time that British mercantilist policies encouraged extraction of staples, but discouraged “diversification into secondary manufacturing,” seen by many historians as the reason why “extensive industrialization failed to take shape in Atlantic Canada.” This initiated the backwardness of the Atlantic Provinces in relation to Central Canada (Ontario and Quebec), a gap that has maybe decreased but is still visible today.
The second period in which we move to a new stage of capitalism is that of 1700-1800. This period is marked by the First Industrial Revolution (1712-1830), which began in England in the late 18th century, following the invention of the steam engine by James Watt. Initially, industrialization was focused on textiles. Textiles in this early industrialist period were produced by a “putting-out” system where all members of a family would contribute to the household’s income. In this system, a central agent, the factor, would provide raw cotton and oversee the work of the various production units. Individual families, usually farm wives and daughters, would master one part of the process – spinning, dyeing, weaving and so forth. There is also a progressive development of fur, timber and wheat staples, which provide the backbone of early Canadian business development, e.g., large fur trading companies (the North West Company, c 1780-1821), timber companies (Mossom Boyd and Company fd c1848) and wheat traders (the Richardson family of Kingston). From these central enterprises, ancillary activities developed. Diversification stimulated the emergence of banking (Bank Of Montreal, 1817), early manufacturing (Montreal Nail and Spike Works, 1839) and service industries (John Molson's Montréal brewing, banking and steamboat enterprises, c 1810). Merchants now specialize into areas such as banking and insurance.
The third period is marked by the Second Industrial Revolution (1875-1905). Industrialists developed new techniques of production efficiency in their factories, with the new ideas of people such as Frederick Winslow Taylor. The Second Industrial Revolution in the 19th century involved the development of the steel industry and giant corporations. Many small companies consolidated into “large corporate systems” and led the new era of “managerial capitalism.” “Managerial capitalism was all about ownership structure: the central feature of managerial capitalism is the separation of enterprise ownership by shareholders and its strategic and operational control by salaried, professional managers governed by a board of directors comprising managers (insiders) and external (outsiders) representatives of shareholders.”
Again, we see the influence of government in trying to regulate the economy, creating just cause to call the Canadian economic system as modified capitalism. Tariff increases arising from the National Policy of 1879 stimulated Canadian manufacturing: both Canadian-owned (Massey, fd 1847) and foreign-owned but operating in Canada (Canadian Rand Drill Company, fd 1889). The combination of turn-of-the-century prosperity, new staples such as western wheat and pulp and paper, and the impact of urbanization fostered the creation of new enterprises. Hydroelectricity, for instance, prompted the establishment of Canadian Westinghouse in 1903. The period saw the creation of new companies through mergers (Stelco, 1910), which leads us into the fourth stage of capitalist development in Canada.
The fourth period that can be identified corresponds to the advent of a “third industrial revolution,” which brought with it three main trends: “centralization, consolidation, and economies of scale.” It was stated previously that in the colonization era, Canada’s economy was primarily dependent on Britain. In the early 20th century however, dependence on Britain was gradually replaced with dependence on U.S. capital and technology, which resulted in Canada’s increased integration and dependence on the U.S. economy. The growing presence of U.S. and other multinationals increased pressures for the exploitation of Canadian natural resources. It also led to a massive and growing outflow of profits, interest, fees, and other transfers, new development, jobs, and research, and easing the political and cultural penetration of the U.S. The 20th century has seen the elaboration of the established pattern of staples exploitation (nickel, iron ore) together with the introduction of new technologies (automobiles, aviation, electronics); thus, the staples thesis, although providing an explanation for the uniqueness of Canadian capitalist development as opposed to other countries, cannot adequately describe or explain all the changes in the Canadian economy during this time.
The influence of early British influence in central Canada’s prosperity as contrasted to the other provinces, especially the Atlantic Provinces, is still visible during this period. Manufacturing developed more successfully in Central Canada, although the “indigenous industry was overshadowed by foreign investment, namely US foreign direct investment.” To face foreign threat, the government again intervenes. “The state continued to influence business through competition, taxation and labour policies as well as by entering the marketplace itself through crown corporations (Trans-Canada Airlines, est. 1937).”
In conclusion, Canadian capitalism evolved from the earliest mercantile capitalism, industrial capitalism, to managerial capitalism, to finally global capitalism, reflecting general parallel trends in the world at those times as well. Throughout, we see in Canada the influence of government, which exercised “a formative role from the beginning. Mercantilist legislation (the English Navigation Acts), commercial policy (tariffs) and financial guarantees (Guarantee Act, 1849) all influenced the businessman’s risk-taking.” “In this light, Confederation may be viewed as the equipping of the federal government with powers to create a transcontinental commercial nation.” While the development of capitalism in Canada has certainly followed global trends, framed into its different stages by the advent of the industrial revolutions, Canada has developed its own kind of capitalism, particularly with the active role of government in regulating business, supporting the thesis of specific national variation proposed by S. B. Gras.

Reply 2

Semanort

Can someone just look over the above essay and make some general comments, just so I have an idea? It's really important... help very much appreciated

Reply 3

dan_thomas

Not sure if this helps, but the key writer for managerial capitalism is Alfred D. Chandler. It’s been a while since I read any of his books, but I think he mainly looks at big business in Germany, USA, and UK. However, he provides a good outline of the theory of managerial capitalism.

Check out:
Scale and Scope
The Visible Hand
Strategy and Structure

Reply 4

No Future

I'll try...(I'm sorry if my advice is no good). As a person who does not know about those 'stages' of capitalism, it was interesting to read. As far as I can see, you have explained enough. I'm sorry I can't be more critical - I'm trying to think of things to say...

I noticed some small grammatical mistakes:

"Beginning in the 1300’s (I don't think it is meant to have an apostrophe - just '1300s') Europeans started expanding this practice, which resulted in a “social mobility” that Europe had not seen before, and which pushed them (Europe is singular, so in my opinion, it sounds better to say 'it' rather 'them') to explorations of distant lands."

Reply 5

Semanort

i talked about managerial capitalism and never mentioned Chandler?!!!!!!!... thanks for pointing that out dan thomas, I was planning to talk about him, but somehow forgot (I can see now that the section on managerial capitalism is shorter than the others).

No Future, thanks for pointing the grammar errors, this essay is actually as preparation for an exam, so I did not actually bother to spend too much time on the writing style and such, just as long as I had the right ideas... but anyway it is funny to look back at it and see how some things sound a bit weird and the sentence structure is akward at times

thank you both for the advice...