Executive Summary

This essay discusses the effects of slavery, capitalsm, and imperialism on the public. Slavery is a process where human beings are treated as property or commodity, traded for an aim of forced labor. Capitalism is a political and economic system in which a nation’s trade and businesses are controlled by private proprietors for profit instead of the state. Imperialism on its part is an advocacy, practice or state policy of extending territory and power, specifically by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining economic and political control of the other areas. Various effects of slavery, capitalism, and imperialism that have been discussed and include: capitalism as a motive for profit because of greed and overexploitation. Because of imperialism, colonial governments introduced better sanitation methods and improved medical care, which included new crops, methods of farming and tools which up surged production of food. Enslaved persons stayed with the unending likelihood of separation through the sale of one or more family members. 

Introduction

Slavery is a process where human beings are treated as property or commodity, traded for an aim of forced labor. This exercise precedes inscribed record existed in various cultures. Slaves mostly from central and western Africa were sold by tribal leaders and slave merchants to European slave dealers to be oppressed in an expensive workforce. Later they were transported to colonies in South and North America and forced to work on sugar, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, and coffee.  On the other hand, Capitalism is a political and economic system in which a nation’s trade and businesses are controlled by private proprietors for profit instead of the state.  Countries such as US and others around the globe are capitalist nations, however, capitalism is not the only economic system available. Imperialism on its part is an advocacy, practice or state policy of extending territory and power, specifically by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining economic and political control of the other areas. Due to the fact that it always involves the use of authority, whether military force or some elusive form, imperialism has regularly been considered ethically reprehensible, and the term is regularly employed in global propaganda to disrepute and denounce an opponent’s overseas policy. In this paper, I will analyze some of the effects of slavery, capitalism, and imperialism on the public. The issues surrounding slavery, capitalism, and imperialism are crucial to our understanding of how the world has evolved in politics and economy.

Effects of Capitalism

Capitalism leads to exploitation. In capitalism, the purpose of manufacturing products and services is to sell them for yield, and not to satisfy the needs of human beings. The commodities of the capitalist manufacturer have to find a purchaser; however, this is only related to the main objective of making proceeds, of ending up with a lot of cash as compared to what was initially invested. As such, production is commenced by what customers are set to pay for to satisfy their wants but by what capitalists’ estimate could be traded at a profit (Northup 37). Such commodities might satisfy human needs but those needs shall not be met if citizens have insufficient money.

The motive for profit is not only because of greed on behalf of individual capitalists, but they have no choice about it. The need to make a profit is enforced on capitalists as a condition for not losing their investments and their position as capitalists (Northup 41). Competition with other entrepreneurs compels them to invest as much of their profits as they can afford to keep their methods and means of producing up to date. As it can be seen, it is held that it is profit motive and class division of capitalism that is the cause of all global challenges today, from hunger to warfare, to hostility and delinquency. Each aspect of life is subordinated to the worst extremes of the initiative to make profits. In the capitalist community, people’s real needs shall only ever come poor a second to the profit requirement.

Capitalism leads to free market. It is generally presumed that capitalism means a free market economy, although traditionally it was possible to have capitalism without a free market (Amin 39). The systems that existed in Cuba and China demonstrate a free market without capitalism. These class- divided humanities are broadly termed as socialist. A superficial glance at what in fact existed there discloses that these nations were just state capitalist.

In allegedly ‘socialist’ there still was salary servitude, commodity production, selling, buying as well as exchange, with manufacturing only occurring when it was feasible to perform that. ‘Socialist’ continued to do business according to the orders of global capital and, like each other capitalist, nation, was ready to join warfare to protect its economic welfares. The Soviet state’s role became merely to act like a bureaucrat of capital in the utilization of salary labor, setting targets for manufacturing as well as principally regulating what could or could not be formed (Amin 57). It can thus be justified in declaring that such nations had nothing to do with communalism it is defined.

It is similarly feasible to have a free market economy which is not capitalism. This market economy involves shopkeepers, artisans as well as farmers each manufacturing a specific commodity that they would exchange through the medium of exchange (money). In such cases, there would be no class division and no profit making- just independent manufacturers exchanging their communal benefits. However, it is uncertain whether such an economy can exist in real life.

Capitalism encourages consumption while the high rate of consumption fuels growth. The advertisement is the main method used to encourage and steer consumption around the globe. Projections indicate that there is a growth rate of advertising in capitalism and developed markets which nearly double in the developing markets. Furthermore, free trade agreement helps to eliminate restrictions to market competition. It helps to create a trade bloc, a designated group of nations that decided to abolish preferences, quotas, tariffs on services and commodities traded between them.

Effects of Imperialism

On a positive note, the larger nations were able to build railways, canals, and roads. They also showed them newspaper and telegraphs, established learning institutions for them, gave them sanctifications of the development, and generally improved their economy. Most of the smaller nations were part of contemporary culture due to imperialism. The other positive effect is how the colonial governments introduced better sanitation methods and improved medicinal care. These included new crops, methods of farming and tools which up surged production of food. These transformations meant a small number of deaths, and totally enhances the living standards. As such, some of these nations could live long and access to better sanitation than former imperialism.

On a negative note, colonies did not civilize smaller nations. In this case, citizens from smaller nations were procured to work as cheap labor in developed nations. They lacked freedom as they were compelled to follow orders from mother nations because they had immense authority over them, as a result, they were taken advantage of and overexploited (Hutchins 151). The other negative effect is when the whites came to Africa they had little to accomplish but to overrule them. They came without land, and on its place took Africans’ land and enforced religion of Christianity on them. On the other hand, when the whites came into African nations they killed many innocent citizens. This negatively affected Africa like the most African citizens were forced to work as slaves and cheap labor. Most of them perished from this incident, some were exploited, resettled, and were taken without their own consent and also took their land. A similar case occurred in India where the country managed to gain its independence in 1947, the query of how to interpret British and Indian history in the period after decolonization is still dense and conflicted with many encounters (Boss 117). There is an opinion that imperialism lastingly distorted and scared Indian life, so that after years of independence, the economy of India bled by practices and British needs and continues to suffer (Boss 117).

The other negative effect is that Africans were forced to do evil acts which were considered inhuman. Africans were corrupted and given wicked minds, their cash was taken away, and most of the religion was enforced on them. Imperialism is never good and its effects are adverse (Said 7). Originally, when it happened it was viewed as a positive effect, however, over a long period negatives surpasses the positive effect. For example, in the expansion of great western territories, proceeds, as well as hope for additional profit, were extremely significant as the attractions for gold, silver, tin, opium, cotton rubber slaves and sugar over the last decades amplify tests. Similarly, there is an investment in already going enterprises and market forces that kept enterprise improving, however, there is more than to imperialism and colonialism (Said 10).

All Asians and Africans were highly exploited and were not permitted to do anything although mother nations gave them contemporary culture. Colonies and their mother nations would fight due to the fact that they wanted independence and have their own regime and supremacy. They were several ethnics that had patriotic feelings but could not accomplish anything and become a free state due to imperialism. The mother nation’s that took over was just after few things and unfortunately did occur to achieve what they were after. They were after national glory, markets for goods, raw materials, the balance of power and they similarly felt as if they needed to assist smaller countries as if it was their burden which was termed as “White man’s burden.” (Hutchins 151). In their opinion, they believed they were assisting persons but what they were really doing was to hurt other smaller colonies. Mother nations were just demolishing racial groups and causing civil combats between small countries.

This new contemporary Colonialism was not fruitful. When a colonial state took over a smaller colony for the social, political or economic reason they were imperialistic. As indicated they transformed the contemporary globe to become attractive and sufficiently equipped which made it harder to live in that time (Hutchins 151). It all depends on the opinion of each individual, some believe it brought many positive effects in smaller nations, but in overall it caused many adverse things the world. Although the modern imperialism happened more than one hundred years ago, it still greatly affects how the country is broken down.

Effects of Slavery

Slavery inhibited the formation of the family and also made secure and stable family difficult. Enslaved persons were to permit to legally get married in any American colony or state. State and colonial laws treated them as commodities and properties, not legal human beings who could enter into agreements, and marriage is considered as a legal contract. This denotes that until the end of slavery in the US, many African Americans were not permitted to legally marry. In northern states like Massachusetts or New York, where slavery was abolished 1830, free blacks were allowed to marry but in slave nations of South, several enslaved persons entered into relationships that were considered to be marriage, they regarded themselves wives and husbands although they knew their unions were not protected by laws of the country (Jones 297).

Slavery led to a situation where a father may have one owner his kids and wife. As such, each member of the family belonged to the owner. Others stayed in nuclear families that a father had a dissimilar owner as compared to children and mother. Both owners of the slaves and slaves referred to this relationship between male and female as broad marriages. A father may stay a few kilometers away on a distant plantation and see his family as a duty to offer labor for the owner who took precedence over his personal needs.

The use of unpaid work to create wealth lay at the heart of slavery in the USA. Enslaved persons regularly worked for many hours without a break. Women regularly returned to job shortly after delivery, at some point running from the gardens to feed the young ones. On big farms or plantations, it was communal for kids to come under the care of one enslaved woman who was designated to feed as well watch over them during the day parents worked (Jones 297). By the time, some of the enslaved kids reached 7 or 8 years they were given responsibilities including working in the corn cotton or tobacco, running tasks, whiffing flies from the table of owners and taking meals to owners’ kids at school.

Separation of the family through sale was a continuous danger. Enslaved persons stayed with the unending likelihood of separation through the sale of one or more family members. A wealth of slaveowners lay principally in the persons they owned, thus, they regularly sold and or bought persons as funds warranted. In such cases, a slave could be sold as an estate when his proprietor deceased, or because the possessor wanted to sell assets in order to pay off debts, or due to the possessor believed incarcerated people were a troublemaker (Jones 297). A father may be sold by his possessor whilst the kids and mother remained, or the kids and mother could be sold leaving behind the father. Enslaved families were similarly alienated for inheritance when their possessor deceased, or due to the fact that possessors’ adult kids moved away to create new lives. Some of these decisions were beyond the control of the persons whose lives affected many. At some point, enslaved woman or man pleaded with one another to buy his or her spouse to evade separation.

Abolitionist attacked servitude by outlining injuries it caused on families. Just like the possessors of slave trade used the foundation of family bonds to their own advantage, protesters used the threat of division to argue against the servitude. On the case of Frederick Douglass, the effect of servitude on his family was adverse (Schneider 71). For instance, Douglas never identified his father but lived with his grandmother, whilst his mother existed and worked far, walking to see him late at night. In his fight against slavery, he proposed that slaveowners intentionally alienated kids from their parentages to round the expansion of fondness among them. markedly, the higher maintenance of slave at the expense of giving birth and taking care of slave kids was an investment for in the south and individual planter in offering and expanding the needed supply of labor. The upsurge was assumedly one that would have occurred irrespective of the labor system due to an upsurge of the freed negro was different from slaves (Jones 299). 

Conclusion

Capitalism leads to exploitation. In capitalism, the purpose of manufacturing products and services is to sell them for yield, and not to satisfy the needs of human beings. On a positive note, the larger nations were able to build railways, canals, and roads. Most of the smaller nations were part of contemporary culture due to imperialism. On a negative note, major colonies did not civilize smaller nations. In this case, citizens from smaller nations were procured to work as cheap labor in developed nations. On the other hand, slavery inhibited the formation of the family and also made secure and stable family difficult. Enslaved persons were not permitted to legally get married in any American colony or state.

 

Work Cited

Amin, Samir. Capitalism in the age of globalization: The management of contemporary society. London: Zed Books Ltd., 2014.

Boss, Joyce E. “Culture and Imperialism by Edward W. Said.” L’Esprit Créateur 34.2 (1994): 117-118.

Hutchins, Francis G. The illusion of permanence: British imperialism in India. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2015.

Jones, Archer, and Paul H. Hoepner. “The South’s Economic Investment in Slavery.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 26.3 (1967): 297-300.

Morrison’s, Toni. “Playing in the Dark: Whiteness in the American Literary Imagination Edward Said’s Orientalism Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s Can the Subaltern Speak.”” Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own Ha-Joon Chang’s kicking Away the Ladder.

Northup, Solomon. Twelve Years a Slave. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. Print.

Said, Edward. “Overlapping territories, intertwined histories.” Culture and imperialism, (1993): 3-61.

Schneider, Dorothy, and Carl J. Schneider. Slavery in America. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2014.