Capitalism Analysis in A People’s History of the United States

The economic system in which private owners control the “means of production” (industry, manufacturing, and trade). Since the 1500s, most Western economies have been predominately capitalist, while incorporating elements of Socialism. In the 19th century, capitalist systems of production incentivized the Industrial Revolution and the growth of science and technology, allowing some wealthy industrialists to become astonishingly rich. However, capitalism has been criticized for exploiting working-class people and creating a way of life that is petty, materialistic, and ultimately meaningless.

Capitalism Quotes in A People’s History of the United States

The A People’s History of the United States quotes below are all either spoken by Capitalism or refer to Capitalism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

The great problem would be to work out a way of accomplishing this without a centralized bureaucracy, using not the incentives of prison and punishment, but those incentives of cooperation which spring from natural human desires, which in the past have been used by the state in times of war, but also by social movements that gave hints of how people might behave in different conditions. Decisions would be made by small groups of people in their workplaces, their neighborhoods—a network of cooperatives, in communication with one another, a neighborly socialism avoiding the class hierarchies of capitalism and the harsh dictatorships that have taken the name "socialist."

Page Number and Citation: 639

Explanation and Analysis:

In this chapter, Zinn goes beyond his project to write a people’s history of the United States, and he paints a picture of America’s utopian future. If ordinary people were to gain control of their country, instead of having to submit to the authority of a corrupt, immoral government, they could work together to create a perfect society. In this society, Zinn argues, people would make their decisions together and get along with their neighbors, and there would be no powerful centralized institutions. Zinn’s vision of a utopian society reflects his interest in Anarchism, the political philosophy that rejects all Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam q

Capitalism Term Timeline in A People’s History of the United States

The timeline below shows where the term Capitalism appears in A People’s History of the United States. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that the “betrayal of the Negro” was indicative of something even more horrible: “a new capitalism and a new enslavement of power.” After the 1870s, he argued, American capitalists became more... (full context)

...of the 19th century was biased against farmers’ interests and toward the interests of urban capitalists. In the western U.S., farmers had to purchase machinery from industrialists and merchants, and, if... (full context)

...party. The party’s platform was simple: the U.S. had come under the control of urban capitalists who didn’t have the people’s interests in mind. In many ways, Zinn acknowledges, the Populist... (full context)

...black revolutionaries, and partly for economic reasons, since independent Cuba would be no friendlier to capitalism than a Spanish-Cuban colony. (full context)

...other side of the political spectrum, the early 20th century saw the continued dominance of capitalist leaders like J. P. Morgan. But even Morgan wasn’t immune from financial recessions. Partly in... (full context)

...At the meeting, the I.W.W. expressed the need for equality, inclusion, and “direct action” against capitalism. Zinn argues that elites, recognizing that the I.W.W. was dangerous to their interests, attacked the... (full context)

...startling rate. An increasing number of moderate and middle-class people were embracing the idea that capitalists exerted too much power over the country. Around this time, Eugene Debs emerged as a... (full context)

...since the conflict in Europe was threatening its foreign markets. Between 1914 and 1917, American capitalists traded with England, to the point where England became “a market for American goods and... (full context)

...I.W.W., and it was a peaceful form of resistance to what the workers saw as capitalist exploitation. However, in response to the strike, the federal government sent troops and the strike... (full context)

...economic misinformation, and, not least, the “bad distribution of income.” In 1929, one could argue, capitalism proved to be “a sick and undependable system.” (full context)

...classes: most of all, “internal control by their own organizations.” When the New Deal concluded, “capitalism remained intact,” and many of the same wealthy people continued to control the country. (full context)

...unique in American history because it was widely regarded as the “people’s war”—a fight that capitalist, Communist, working-class and upper-class Americans supported. World War Two was a fight against evil: the... (full context)

...and its own people. Only a few years after the Great Depression, war had rejuvenated capitalism and strengthened the elite. Workers and farmers benefitted from war in more modest ways. However,... (full context)

...blacks into the Establishment. Banks and firms invested a lot of money in developing “black capitalism,” and during the seventies more black faces appeared on television and film, “creating an impression... (full context)

...natural resources as reasons for ensuring that Vietnam remain under the control of a Western, capitalist power. The American government, cooperating with the existing French leadership, installed an official named Ngo... (full context)

...the “antagonist” against which working-class feminists protested was not just “aggressive male domination,” but also “capitalism.” (full context)

...had strong corporate connections. Carter conducted a foreign policy that mixed human rights protections with capitalist self-interest. For example, he spoke out against apartheid (racial segregation and discrimination) in South Africa,... (full context)

Capitalism Term Analysis

Capitalism Quotes in A People’s History of the United States

Chapter 23 Quotes

Capitalism Term Timeline in A People’s History of the United States