According to Pomeranz, capitalism entails the accumulation of wealth by commerce and the conduct of trade transactions with other producers (Moore, Jason. p.102). Furthermore, various countries' approaches to rule aim to ensure that the political power gained can allow for economic growth. As a result, capitalism involves the establishment of markets and ensuring that they succeed in the modern environment. By comparing the economic indices of China and Europe, it is clear that at some point, the two were at the same level. However, the significant step made by England and other European countries compared to China is one thing that is debatable. In particular, the growth of the British was due to the ease with which they could access the New World and the presence of abundant coal supplies (Perdue, Peter). Thus, the geographical proximity of Europe and Asian countries to the West and coal mines was a significant contributor in determining the fate of these two giants.
Pomeranz's Factors Attributable to the Rise of Europe
Pomeranz notes that demography, ecology, markets, labor, luxury consumption among other things are crucial factors attributable to the rise of Europe. However, when examining the demographic system, England encouraged late marriages while China highly practiced fertility control. Hence, the rise of Europe is not attributable to their population structure when compared to China. Similarly, the income inequalities of both Europe and China were relatively equal disqualifying this argument when it comes to the European Great Divergence. On the other hand, the capital was not the primary factor when it came to production that gave Europe the upper hand as merchants such as Wu Bingjian had more resources than their European merchants such as Rothschild (Schwarz, Michael. p. 411).
The Industrial Revolution and European Superiority
Important to note is that despite their being similarities between the two, the Industrial Revolution was not fuelled by the superiority of Europe. One of the contributors for the Great Divergence was the feasibility which Europe could operate steam engines given the massive coal supplies. Besides, the British iron masters managed to partner with the military to implement different phases of the Industrial Revolution which paved the way for more innovation. When it came to Asian countries, they incurred huge costs in utilizing coal energy as they were not in strategic locations to the mines.
Contingency Factors and the European Great Divergence
Pomeranz attributes the European Great Divergence to factors related to the contingency such as windfalls and outcomes which the benefiting countries never anticipated (Perdue, Peter). In particular, the resources European countries accumulated from other purposes served in realizing the Industrial Revolution reality. A good example is the colonization motive by the British whose intent was to display an outward military drive ultimately resulted in expanding the land under cultivation (Moore, Jason. p.104). In addition to more resources, the Europeans managed to take part in commercial activities such as piracy enabling them to compete with other economies such as Caribbean plantations and Asian traders.
Geopolitical Strategy and Global Dominance
Lastly, interacting with other outside traders, pave the way for Europe to attain global dominance. The British used their military to protect the interests of their merchants abroad while a country like China failed to do so (Lee, Steven, and Kenneth Pomeranz p. 703). There was the introduction of the British 'fiscal-military state' abroad which entailed the collection of direct taxes which later evolved to indirect levies. Therefore, the geopolitical strategy adopted by the European countries, especially the British, contributed significantly to the Great Divergence.
Works Cited
Moore, Jason W. “Capitalism Over The Longue Duree: A Review Essay.” Critical Sociology, vol 23, no. 3, 1997, pp. 103-116. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/089692059702300305.
Lee, Steven, and Kenneth Pomeranz. “The Great Divergence: China, Europe, And The Making Of The Modern World Economy.” International Journal, vol 56, no. 4, 2001, p. 703. SAGE Publications, doi:10.2307/40203616.
Perdue, Peter. “H-Net Reviews.” H-Net.Org, 2000, http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=4476.
Schwarz, Michael. “The Great Divergence Reconsidered: Hamilton, Madison, And U.S.–British Relations, 1783–89.” Journal Of The Early Republic, vol 27, no. 3, 2007, pp. 407-436. Johns Hopkins University Press, doi:10.1353/jer.2007.0052.
