[Marxism] Pomeranz

["Charles Brown" <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Fred Feldman

. Why did Chinese civilization not feel the same drive to
conquer the developing markets of Europe, even though they had trade
with Europe, mostly at Europe's initiative.

^^^^^^
CB: Absence of a tradition in which Alexander the Conqueror was considered
"The Great" ?

^^^

What denied China "access" to this wealth?  What barred them from
contending for it?
Absence of white racism? Lack of military skill?  Absence of spirit of
plunder?

^^^^
CB: Absence of the the spirit of Alexander and Caesar.

^^^^^

 Were they unable to develop shipping capable of developing
shipping and sailors capable of making the trip?  Was the trip that much
longer? Were they that much further from the riches of Peru, for
example, than Spain?  Frankly, I think none of the above is a
satisfactory explanation of the lack of "access" to the New World, and
Mexico, Central America, and Peru in particular.

Did gold count for as much with the Chinese ruling classes as it did for
the hungry exploiters of FEUDAL Europe?  And if not, why?

Perhaps they had already made the trip historically? Perhaps they
already knew about the Americas.  Then why did they not feel driven to
exploit them?  Was it just cause they were nicer people than the
European racists?

I expect there is a social explanation related to the character of
Chinese feudalism, which did not arise out of the experiences of Europe
but had a deeper, long-standing relationship to a massive network of
peasant communities, was more self-reliant and expansionist in a
different way (land being more important, I suspect, than gold,
desirable though that might have been).

-clip-


Fred Feldman




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