Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Summary

So far in this book, it can be generally said that most of the major changes in world history since the 14th century are related to capitalism.Although capitalism is not the general cause of wars and the separation and merger of old and new countries, it involves a wide range of things, and it always has direct and indirect involvement in various large-scale events. Although capitalism is an economic system, it is also inseparable from politics.Because there are basically three ways to rule the masses: 1. Spiritual and moral incentives, presided over by religion or party principles; It is in the legal system that follows each person's self-interest concept, so that public and private interests are condensed into one. When each person strives for his own fame and fortune, he invisibly strengthens the organization and structure of the country and society.Of course, these conditions all depend on the development of the objective environment. At the same time, any political system also hopes to compromise and mix and use the strengths of the three.But it is undeniable that capitalism exploits the last solution to the highest degree and most effectively.

Based on the above reasons, the term capitalism has different interpretations in different writers.A historian sees capitalism very differently from an economist.There must also be a big difference between the perceptions of capitalist physiologists and pathologists.This book is a historical work, and it also focuses on the physiology of capitalism, so it advocates giving this term a limited definition so that everyone can accept it.Then everyone conducts individual research to expand the connotation (connota-tions) of this noun. From our standpoint, capitalism is a function of a purely economic system.It makes capital widely circulated, the number of managers is suitable, and the technical support factors are fully dominated.These three conditions are simple to say, but if a country wants to make full use of them, it will inevitably open up various barriers in the lower social structure, and then various economic factors can be exchanged fairly and freely.As a result, many countries have had civil wars.For example, the United States used slave labor to grow cotton, competing with free labor, until the Civil War was finally resolved.Moreover, when all factors at the lower level of society can be exchanged fairly and freely, the upper level must also have the ability to judge according to justice, so that the interference of the church and the use of police power can be gradually reduced.Then again the constitution of the country must be markedly changed.Furthermore, the labor force, production tools, and capital are converted into units such as dollars, pounds, and yen according to their exchange value. The separation of these units will increase social mobility, improve the use of technology, and generate A plural society (pluralsociety).On the one hand, it certainly increases the standard of living of the countries involved (see Note [18] in Chapter 1), on the other hand, it also makes private capital have a special attraction in political life, accounting for a special proportion.Therefore, everything from international conflicts to social problems in a particular city can be attributed to private capitalism under various conditions.

In short, compared with the feudal society in Europe and the old society in China, capitalist society has produced a "dynamic" style, which is different from the static posture of the past. Therefore, capitalism is almost the same as "modern" but has a different name, so we can exchange with each other (Chapter 1).But in fact, what capitalism provides is usually only the momentum of movement (momentum), not the result of movement.For example, when Marx referred to the "primitive accumulation of capital", he pointed out that violence, conquest, slavery, etc. are usually used, which has been confirmed in this book (see Notes [20] in Chapter One, Notes [49], [50] in Chapter Three , Chapter IV note [77]).However, those evil deeds of human beings have already existed. The rise of capitalism broke the balance of power in the world, so the early capitalist countries used their superior power to make the above-mentioned evil deeds more obvious.But it is not because of capitalism that the use of violence to engage in conquest and slavery arises.At the same time, at the end of the 20th century, whether capitalism can continue to exist depends on its ability to stop the above-mentioned evils (the sanctions imposed on South Africa by Western countries in recent years can be exemplified).

The function of capitalism as an economic system is not designed by the prophets, but formed through the accumulation of technical experience.At the beginning, the Venetians took refuge on the island, taking advantage of fish and salt, and did not attempt to create a unique administrative system.Also, it would take centuries, as the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire struggled for power, and the Italian peninsula was divided, before Venice took the opportunity to gain a unique position ahead of its free cities.So she created a simple and effective commercial system out of experiments.Judging from the response to the Hualiluo incident, although Weicheng in the 14th century had a mature and unique political organization, it did not produce a corresponding ideology.Therefore, Hua Liluo was always sentenced for general treason, and there was no extra exaggeration in the records of Weicheng. There was nothing similar to Shakespeare's extravagant Brutus (Brutus) assassination of Julius Caesar's generous speech, involving the defense of freedom and traditional civil rights Etc.If people at that time consciously had a similar concept, why did Venice keep its records and archives intact without mentioning a single word.

From today's perspective, the organization of Weicheng embraces this factor of private property, which is more modern than other countries and similar organizations at the same time.But this advantage was not praised by the people of the time.For example, Gasparo Contarini (Gasparo Contarini, Contarini was a Venetian family with 8 leaders, see Chapter 1) who was at the same time as Luther once wrote a thesis, advocating that the organization of Venice maintains collective security for a long time, It is close to the standard of perfection, because she has adopted and integrated the three principles of "monarchy", "majority" and "minority" in a balanced manner as Aristotle suggested.However, the importance of private wealth is not mentioned in the article; the author does not say that the stability of the political situation depends on those who own property and control the political power at the same time as Harrington (see Chapter 5).Candalini expelled ordinary workers from the political power, because in his opinion, this is a universally recognized principle, not unique to Weicheng.

When capitalism emerged during Dutch independence, it was impossible for ordinary people to imagine that they were inventing a new system.The regents of the new country (chapter 3) thought they were nothing more than insisting on the freedom and privileges of the cities since the Middle Ages.However, the privilege was granted by the feudal princes, with the intention of allowing the gentry and merchants to control their own business.After the War of Independence, the nobles of the principalities and counties have been eliminated by the times, and the middle-class citizens have become the masters of the new system. They insist on their privileges and enforce their privileges to make their privileges even bigger. If it is not for the development of capitalism, what are they doing?It's just that this tendency was not seen through by the people at the time, otherwise the religious leaders and academic leaders would not have raised questions about the implementation of the new system.

Capitalism is seen as a figure-making organization, as it were after the English Civil War.Since the works of Hobbes and Harrington came out at that time, and the achievements of the Netherlands so far have made Britain feel inferior, they have been catching up. Although there is no such thing as capitalism at this time, what England intends to imitate is an economic organization and If it is a political movement, the capitalist system must already have its contours. From organizing banks, issuing public bonds, preparing insurance, and strengthening the rule of law, various factors have begun to connect with each other. Therefore, after the Glorious Revolution, it finally became a system in Britain. In essence, there are also clues of thought (line of thought is different from ideology mentioned below).Sun Wen said: "ism is a kind of thought, a kind of belief and a kind of strength." Capitalism has become a kind of doctrine so far, there is no doubt about it.

Why are there no such determinations in previous books and periodicals?Because the term capitalism only appeared in the middle of the 19th century (see Chapter 1 for details), it has been 150 years since the start of British capitalism.Moreover, as soon as this term was proposed, it was cited by French socialists as an object of criticism, that is, starting from the perspective of pathology, so few people paid attention to its physiological development and growth. The establishment of capitalism in England through the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 is a major event in human history.In the past, Venice practiced capitalism as a city-state. Because of its small size, it lacked the background of agricultural system management and no basis for manufacturing (territories on the mainland have little influence on the island), so the civil law is the commercial law. , the merchant navy is also inseparable from the navy, so it is not surprising that the government is equal to a large corporation.The Netherlands also lacked the experience of forming a nation-state in the past, and had never accepted centralized control. The cities and towns have always operated independently. , It is also easy to take refuge and conform to the fait accompli.

Only the United Kingdom has always been a country with a strong agricultural system. In the feudal era, there were some factors of central rule. The royal family was prominent, the Church of England was important, and there were layers of restraint in the legal system; all of these were related to the fluidity of modern commercial society. different.Therefore, unless faced with internal and external pressures, we will not change course.After a long period of large-scale turmoil, its system has undergone unprecedented changes. Because of this, Britain’s entry into the capitalist system has created a formula in history for historians to refer to and confirm in the experience of other countries (but this does not mean that other countries can consciously imitate it. The background factors are different in different places. The collection of time is different, and such reforms have passed through the revolutionary stage. Historians must be calm and bold when they want to examine the process. I will talk about it in the next section.)Its procedures include:

Reorganization of high-level institutions: Abandon the divine right of kings, maintain the authority of the Church of England, but implement the separation of church and state, and tolerate heretics.From then on, public debts were used to replace the king's personal responsibility for finances in the parliament, and the king has no office or power since then.Such measures contributed to the rise of party politics and the cabinet system. Rectify low-level institutions: rationalize land ownership, gradually cancel "duplicate industries", so that land ownership is more concentrated than before, and at the same time, the ownership-tenancy relationship and land rent income are fixed and have a common standard, and the merged township market is abandoned.

Re-establish the relationship between the top and bottom: publish the bill of rights (Bill of Rights), guarantee the independence of the judiciary, and the customary courts accept the balance of law (equity). Since then, the law has become more modern and more integrated into the commercial system.In addition, post offices were added and toll roads were built. All of the above have the effect of accelerating the exchange of assets and manpower, so that people make the best use of their wealth, land and materials, which is in line with the previous statement that capitalism is a function of an economic system.From a political point of view, the above arrangements make everything digital, and this country has also entered the stage of numerical management. In explaining capitalism in this way, we look at history in terms of technology and emphasize its positive aspects.This position is different from the ideological-based view.We cannot say that the view of ideology as the master is all wrong, but it is generally extreme.For example, many theorists in the West overemphasize the advantages of capitalism, as if natural human rights and individual freedom depend entirely on its support, and under its control, everything is fair and reasonable, so promoting capitalism in any society is the promulgation of the gospel.Little do they know that in many countries, the overthrow of the past economic foundation is often carried out in a violent way. Since it is a revolution, it lacks the inherent fairness of the individual. And free competition, and sometimes still can not meet the ideal rhythm.Taking Britain as an example, the civil war was a big melting pot. After the land was confiscated, sold and redeemed, and after the restoration, the order to return the property to the original owner was accepted one-sidedly, but the person who ordered it knew that it could not be done. conditions for reservation.Especially before and after the civil war, the dungeon agriculture lost its legal basis, and it lacked fairness. Only the strong took the lead and the weak suffered.In cases like these, we can only say that the population has increased, and the handover in society is complicated. The new organization needs to simplify the situation before it can be cleared up by cutting the mess quickly.Today's events have changed, and history readers no longer feel the pain of people at that time, so they recognize the long-term rationality of this move in history. Just like Juntian in the Northern Wei and Sui dynasties also made drastic changes, resetting the social order, and eventually creating the great empire of the Tang and Song Dynasties.We appreciate its technical success without necessarily extolling its moral greatness. However, since human beings have an economic system, they must have organizations.Existing organizations must have inequalities between high and low grades (that is, the "Declaration of Human Rights and Citizens' Rights" during the French Revolution also commended the differences in grades in society under the condition of common utility).These high and low inequalities are either inherited or newly created, and when they accumulate, they form social classes.Even if we are not satisfied with the defects, we should try to remedy them, such as limiting excessive profits, increasing social mobility, so that the weak and environmentally disadvantaged still have social security and opportunities to break through the environment. Having said that, we have to mention again that the theory of capitalism based on idealism by Weber and others can only be regarded as an analysis of social psychology and cannot be regarded as a historical work.From Luther to Calvin to the Puritans, from Baxter to Franklin, that is, from the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, at least 250 years have passed. It is no wonder that religious thinking cannot produce great changes in it .During these 250 years, Charles I believed himself to suffer for the Lord, and William Lauder insisted on religious discipline. It was impossible for them to imagine that they would go against the trend of economic reform and end up in a different place.On the other hand, the day William Prynne was tattooed in the shackles, and Cromwell recruited at Huntingdon, they expected nothing but democracy and freedom of conscience. The struggle and the future development of capitalism are related to each other.So far, many historians have analyzed the various plots with narrow eyes, or can only point out the straightforward cause and effect in a momentary incident.Otherwise, the causal relationship is explained abstractly on a large scale, which is hard to believe.In fact, when a country struggles to enter the capitalist system, it often goes through a long distance of decades or nearly a hundred years, and its evolution must exceed the personal experience of each person.It is only in the depth of today's history that we list its endings. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the high-level structure, low-level structure and various items in the upper and lower connections realize that they have naturally formed a system.The logic among them is to facilitate numerical management.But no one has planned the whole process, and historians have not yet been able to fully explain who agreed on the steps involved.In short, after the long-term turmoil of the mass movement, the above-mentioned modern system with an economic character has been produced through the method of use or abandonment. Such an explanation departs from what Weber and Sombart attribute the spirit of capitalism to race and heredity.Protestant ethics can certainly assist capitalism, and capitalism can also be developed under Catholicism.Although this book pointed out examples of the conflict between Confucian ethics and capitalism at the beginning of the book, Zhu Xi was a figure in the 12th century, and Hai Rui was a figure in the 16th century.If we push back the root of history, not only "Yang Zhu is for me", has a fully personal and realistic standpoint, but Mencius, who reprimanded him, also had a dialogue with King Xuan of Qi, because the monarch "the widow has The saying of "sickness, widow's good goods" is to ask "the king is as good as the common people, so what is there for the king?" Only under the condition of "wealth and honor" can I regard "wealth and honor are like floating clouds to me".He still said to Ran You that since the Wei state was already "complementary" (with a large population), it should be "rich" and then "teach it".As far as the Western Han Dynasty, Sima Qian wrote: "The rich are human, and they all want what they don't learn." And "if the family is poor, the relatives are old, the wife is weak, and there is no sacrifice and sacrifice at the age of age, and the food and clothing are not enough for self-sufficiency." If you don’t feel ashamed, there’s nothing like it!” It can be seen that accumulating wealth is a common character of human beings (that is, it conforms to the “law of nature”).Professor Yu Yingshi collected the views on merchants and commerce from the Chinese intellectual circles from the 16th to the 18th centuries, with a positive attitude.He also cites the ethical views of Confucian scholars, showing that they show no signs of what Weber called the lack of Puritan nervousness in the Chinese. Therefore, we criticize traditional Chinese ideology, aiming at its unity of politics and religion.That is to say, ethical thoughts are written into the legal provisions, without taking into account the individual and internal fairness, and the technical arrangements are cited to block social division of labor and cooperation in the name of morality.However, this does not mean that morality can be dispensed with, and that the strengths of the traditional spirit must be abandoned before capitalism can be practiced.Recently, the Japanese have supported capitalism with the spirit of Shinto and Confucian ethics, and Singapore and Taiwan have not abandoned the traditional spirit in promoting capitalism, which is worth noting.The Chinese habits and concepts of brotherhood and father's death and son succession certainly hinder social mobility and a high degree of division of labor and cooperation, but in a blood relationship, the concept of perpetuity is obtained, and it is large and generalized, close to Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson's so-called "Earth Belongs to the Living" (Earth Belongs to the Living) can still make practical contributions in the current world of international tensions and crises, and can also supplement the shortcomings of Western individualism and realism.All in all, we regard capitalism as a kind of technical work to break the rigid concept of "being rich is not benevolent", but we don't need to regard capitalism as another religion.So there is no need to insist on an "outright" and "perfect" capitalism, and such persistence is actually impossible. Looking at the development of capitalism from the narration of this book, from Venice to Holland, and to England.After the United Kingdom, less than a hundred years later, it spread to France and the United States, and it has generally become a global trend.Not only did the establishment and restoration of major countries produce a timetable that is interrelated, but also technological factors that are inseparable from capitalism, such as double-entry bookkeeping, commercial law, insurance business, shipbuilding technology, etc., are popularized along with international routes on the sea throughout.That is to say, the investment of surplus capitalism also follows this sequence from advanced countries to backward countries.Many modern nation-states, such as the Netherlands, Germany and the United States, are closely related to it.The modernization of Japan and the colonization of India and Indonesia are also related to it.This is why we must fix capitalism in a narrow sense as a technical term.If it is not so, we will not know the bottom if we expand it according to its connotation. It can be seen that the technical function of capitalism is one thing, and its historical influence is another.Compared with the old-fashioned agricultural organization, the structure of the new business is an advantageous organization, which connects employment and ownership and becomes a big net.It still inevitably has internal conflicts of interests, but when it has hostile relations with other countries, no matter in peacetime or wartime, all the organizations of this advantage can be managed numerically, that is, it is easy to combine public and private interests into one, agriculture and Factors in industry and commerce can also communicate with each other, that is, it is not difficult to mobilize the power of the people to play in all aspects of military diplomacy. The wars between Venice and Genoa in the 13th and 14th centuries (Chapter 2 for details), and the war between Britain and the Netherlands in the 17th century (Chapter 3 for details), all had commercial elements, and all belligerent countries were supported by capitalism.In the land battle, when the strength of the two sides was divided due to the difference in organization, as a clear comparison, the battle of Blenheim in 1704 (see the first two paragraphs of Note [74] in Chapter 4) attracted the most attention. .At that time, Britain had already entered the capitalist system, while France had not. Judging from historical facts, in countries with long coastlines, agricultural production is often of a commercial nature (such as wool production in the United Kingdom, and animal husbandry in the Netherlands is more important than grain production), and the area is relatively small. In the past, they lacked a centralized system and often organized capital. In the process of communism, countries with a continental character have an advantage.Moreover, not only is its civil law easily regulated by the inducement of commercial law, that is, when accumulating capital, it is not difficult for commercial wealth to exceed agricultural wealth due to the development of international trade.Because the former is often out of abnormality, while the latter desires to grow, but is still mostly restricted by weather and geography. The development of International Law is also closely related to the rise of capitalism.De jure belli ac pacis (De jure belli ac pacis), written by Hugo Grotius, is recognized as the forerunner of modern international law. It was completed in 1625 (the revised version appeared in 1631), when the Netherlands While the independence movement was successful, he himself was at odds with Dutch politics.Although the book cites the Bible and classical history, the law of nature in his mind is blueprinted with geometry (thus also affecting Hobbes and Locke).He also emphasized the importance of private property rights.Grotius also advocated restraint on autocratic imperial power and respect for covenant and municipal law.All these perspectives are based on capitalism, and all contribute to the growth of capitalism. However, the public international law in the 17th century became the customary law among Western European countries in the following centuries, and capitalist countries also relied on it to enforce it against other countries.For example, during the Opium War, Palmerston did not feel that the British were guilty of selling opium in China. On the contrary, he only felt that although China promulgated strict anti-smoking regulations, it had never followed the law. It is illegal to punish British gentry and businessmen.Originally, the law should be clearly promulgated and fully implemented without deviation. This can also be regarded as conforming to the concept of fairness in the natural law.However, China in the 19th century did not develop to this extent in terms of social habits, and the traditional bureaucratic organizations did not have the technical ability to implement a wide range of laws without deviation.The difference between these two parties can certainly indicate the difference in the degree of cultural development, but it also essentially reflects the basic difference between continental culture and oceanic culture.It should be noted that, to date, this distinction has not been completely eliminated. In the 19th century, the capitalist countries of Western Europe exerted pressure on the countries in the Far East, not only relying on their material advantages in ships and guns, but also feeling their own spiritual and moral superiority.The so-called Manifest Destiny and Social Darwinism both unfolded under these conditions.This perception did not change significantly until after World War II.As mentioned earlier, capitalism is an advantageous organization, so there is a tendency to put pressure on inferior organizations, consciously or unconsciously.From the perspective of the oppressed, capitalism also appears to have always been side by side with imperialism.This perception still exists in the minds of many people.Although this book advocates a strict distinction between the two to eliminate misunderstandings, it still cannot deny the existence of the above-mentioned impression of connection. Fascism can be regarded as a perversion produced by capitalism.Originally, capitalism advocates the fair and free exchange of various economic factors, and is dominated by the self-interest of each person.Fascism used political power to force the private economy into groups and interfered with the relationship between ownership and employment.The advantage of capitalism is that under its influence, the entire society can be governed by numbers. Fascism is about to take over the whole of it and deliberately create its own arbitrary number formulas to support nationalism, nationalism, and imperialism in a narrow sense.Under its rule, free exchange no longer exists, for example, laborers cannot leave their existing positions.If the capitalist structure still existed, each enterprise would have lost its independent character long ago and would be under the state-designated group (cor-poration or syndicate).Entrepreneurs are also enlisted by the government to serve its ideology. We see capitalism as an organizational force developing along oceanic routes, which seems to have created a timetable internationally, from west to east, through North America and into the Far East again, with the advancement of communications and communications .But no two countries are likely to respond in exactly the same way.The experience of nine major countries has been mentioned in this book, that is, each is different.It can be seen that the acceptance of the three most basic principles of capitalism - wide circulation of funds, the employment of managers without distinction, and the overall distribution of technical support factors - and the conditions for the fair and free exchange of various economic factors required , It is bound to permeate the history and geography of every country, and there are usually outside interventions and inducements.Because there is no way to standardize the collection of these various factors in time, the ever-changing situation has unfolded in the process, and different results have also occurred before and after.It’s just that capitalism is an unprecedented system, it cannot be formed naturally and slowly (see the last three paragraphs of Chapter 1 Note [28]), it must be subject to internal and external pressure, so it is difficult to avoid violence in the rapid stage intervention.Only the collective economic character of mankind has always exerted a decisive influence in the midst of all kinds of rapid events, and there is no doubt that this is the case everywhere. That is to say, countries outside the "mainstream" of this book can generally be briefly described according to the above principles: Denmark can be regarded as a hero in northern Europe.The King of Denmark has been in charge of both Norway and Sweden for a long time (Sweden was divided from Denmark in the 19th century, and Norway's affiliation extended to the 19th century).This country also had strongholds and colonies in India, the West Indies and Africa.Also because of the relationship of the Danish royal family, it has Schleswig (Schleswig) and Holstein (Holstein) in today's German headquarters.However, most of the country's wealth comes from fishing and the excise tax collected in the Baltic Sea, which is used to recruit mercenaries. Long-term warfare on the mainland often does not pay off.Moreover, the development of the ocean is not as fast as that of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The relationship between the two regions of Heshi can be described as a culmination of the personal and family entanglements of the ruling class in the feudal era.Schleswig was originally a principality, but it was a vassal of Princess Holstein. Historically, the two regions could not be separated.Holstein was originally part of the Holy Roman Empire and was later promoted to a principality, while Schleswig was always outside. After the 15th century, the Danish king was also the duke of the two parks, but because of the relationship between the German nobles in the territory, he established the principle that only human beings should be allowed to do so, and that they cannot be annexed geographically.After the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna included Holstein in the newly established German Confederation (German Confederation), while Schleswig remained outside the Confederation. Moreover, Denmark's local politics also involves many socially complicated factors.Although the Hufu system was abolished at the end of the 18th century, as late as 1830, some feudal factors, such as the free labor services of farmers, could not be abolished, and land was also divided into privileged and non-privileged. The former paid taxes Low.All of this is contrary to the principle of fair and free exchange of factors at the lower levels within the capitalist system.And the lives of ordinary farmers are extremely poor. The revolution of 1848 spread throughout the continent of Western Europe. Denmark adopted a constitutional monarchy and was developing toward liberalism.Because of social progress and economic diversification, German is the dominant language in the two regions, and the emerging petty bourgeoisie tends to the new Germany dominated by the "customs union" (Zollverein, see Chapter 6). In 1864, Denmark was defeated by the Prussian-Austrian Allied Forces and ceded the two duchies of Holland and Stone. It lost about 2/5 of its territory and 1/3 of its population. In the past, Hamburg was the port of handling Danish agricultural products. Bankers there advanced funds and competed with Copenhagen, Denmark's main port, and often had an advantage.After the land was cut, Denmark had the opportunity to try its best to operate its own port. In addition, the Baltic Sea pass tax has been terminated, and Denmark needs to find a new way out economically.At that time, a large amount of wheat from the United States and Russia appeared in the Western European market, and the living standards of people everywhere also generally improved. Denmark’s reforms in the last 30 years of the 19th century generally shifted agriculture from staple food production to non-staple food pigs and cattle in response to the above situation. The production of milk, cheese, eggs, barley and oatmeal (the latter two are also used for feeding) and sugar beets (for sugar extraction) has since changed the entire national economy and rural society.The convenient transportation of waterways in Denmark makes the above-mentioned transformation of production extremely beneficial, that is, small farmers also organize cooperatives and participate in the commercialization of agricultural products.Except for a part of the remaining manpower who migrated to the Americas, together with the accumulated funds, they promoted the industrialization of the city.Because the number of laborers in the countryside has decreased, the big landlords must also make concessions to the laborers, and automatically grant each person the land to support their families.Up to the 20th century, Denmark’s political system has not only become more democratized, the colonies have been abandoned, and the country has also added a welfare state (welfare state), such as subsidized health insurance, in order to reduce insurance costs and increase pensions, and various reliefs Unemployment pension measures for the poor. So far, it is difficult for us to determine when Denmark entered the capitalist system, but the defeat in 1864 became an obvious watershed in her history.Since then, she has also gone through a period of reorganization of the upper and lower agencies to re-establish the relationship between them.After these reforms, the situation that all factors in Denmark can be exchanged fairly and freely is very obvious.Then the organization of the whole country was commercialized, that is to say, it entered the form of digital management. In the south-west of Europe, Spain presents a more unique example. In the 16th century, this country seemed to have the air of the world's number one power.However, after several vicissitudes, she was ruled by Napoleon in the early 19th century. In the 20th century, she was still struggling to modernize behind other Western European countries.It can be seen that when capitalism changes the shape of the world, it has left many special consequences due to the conditions it can adapt to and the conditions it cannot adapt to. Compared with other countries in Western Europe, Spain's modern history lacks a stage in which the rural economy has been completely reorganized to match the development of industry and commerce.When Spain developed outward during the Reformation, its organization purely adopted the dynastic state system, so the upper end showed an international character, and the lower end did not abandon the structure of the royal families.In short, it has not completely broken away from the feudal color.Its economic strength was largely based on the gold and silver collected from South America, and did not constitute a Spanish commercial organization.Therefore, when other countries were gradually reorganized into nation-states, and Spain's gold and silver were exhausted, its international status would decline accordingly, and it could only embark on a path of decline.Today, it is difficult for us to recall that not a hundred years ago, Spain still owned the Philippine Islands in the Eastern Hemisphere and Cuba in the Western Hemisphere, and 200 years ago, it even had most of the grand occasions in North and South America and Central America. Spain's geographical environment has always had a coherent relationship with historical development.According to the map, Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to being adjacent to France and Portugal, it is surrounded by the sea on all sides and has experience in early navigation and exploration. It should be a commercially advanced country.However, the mountains within its borders hinder the communication between regions from west to east, so the local power based on agriculture is extremely difficult to overthrow.The bigger problem is that the land is poor and overused, the crops fail, and people's lives are difficult.Since the Middle Ages, Muslim forces have invaded the peninsula from North Africa. From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Spain's counterattack was called by the Catholic Church.That is, the deportation of the Jews in 1492 was also based on faith.Some historians point to this as one of the main reasons why capitalism could not be deployed in Spain.During the Reformation, the Spanish royal family also regarded themselves as defending the church and carried out its grand trial to consolidate the status of the church. The monks could also use their power as a shield for conservative forces.However, Spain is located in a corner of the European continent, not a traffic channel. Although the internal organization is lax, it does not accept much pressure from the outside world.It was occupied by Napoleon for a short time.The port of Gibraltar belonged to Britain in the 18th century, which also greatly stimulated the self-esteem of the Spaniards, but it has little relationship with Spain's internal affairs (and it may even be because the strategic points are not in the control of the country, so that it can avoid being involved in the second World War Vortex).In short, in the international occasions of the last century, Spain has insufficient offense and sufficient defense, so it has been able to stay behind for a long time and maintain its non-competitive character for a long time. It has no social structure as far as its influence The general concept of the country is weak. The development of the outside world in the 19th and 20th centuries finally brought about a modern state of instability in the Spanish political situation. It was a republic twice and restored twice (the current monarchy began in 1975).However, the comprehensive background of Spain's various problems shows that its society and national economy need a comprehensive agreement to integrate with the modern trend, which cannot be solved by the monarchy or the republic. Since the 19th century, there have been so-called "Carlists" in Spain. At first, they only insisted that the throne be inherited by men (supporting Prince Don Carlos and opposing Princess Isabella, hence the name), but this orthodox style and organization continued. In the 20th century, the Karl faction became an ultra-conservative group in terms of ideology and action, and even believed that the railway and telecommunications were all obscene techniques, and advocated the restoration of the historical inquisition.On the left are the Anarchosyndicalists (a combination of the words anarchy and syndicate), who organize workers themselves, with 1.5 million members on the eve of the Civil War.不参加政府，也对所有的政府组织，不论其为前进或保守，一律反对（他们唯一参加投票是在1936年即内战前夕），并且他们痛恨天主教，不时焚烧教堂、刺杀传教士。而更有社会主义者也组织工人，策动罢工。所谓共产党员，反而人数较少，不极端张扬，只是受托洛茨基的影响。西班牙的教会则一向与大地主和军官勾结。此外还有加泰隆尼亚（Catalonia，东北角，工业比较发达），及巴斯克（Basques北部，乃人种语言的称呼）等等独立运动的组织。整个看来即是离心的力量强，缺乏统一互助的基础。 以上的阵容本来已经具备了1936年至1939年内战的条件。而当时又有第一次世界大战后欧洲及北非殖民地一般不稳定的情形，局面更难维持。国王亚尔丰索十三世（Alfonso X III）曾于1923年暂时停止宪法，令黎越拉（Primo de Rivera）专政七年，结果既不孚人望，且陷于全世界经济恐慌之窘局中，于1930年被迫辞职，国王亦于翌日出走，局势愈难收拾。加泰隆尼亚宣告独立，北部煤矿工人大罢工，勘乱时死3000人。左派人士则要清算教会，而最后左派各政党团体组织“人民阵线”（Popular Front），显然受苏联鼓励，于是佛朗哥（Franscisco Franco）以兵变而展开内战，他的部队称为共和军，得到希特勒及墨索里尼援助，两国派正规部队参战，德国并借此试验新武器。政府军获得苏联接济，远逊于法西斯集团之外援，但有不少国际左派及共党人士以个人身份参与。拥护佛朗哥者为天主教会、地主、工业家、卡尔派、军官、保皇党，和西班牙的法西斯组织长枪党（Falange）。内中以中产阶级及下层中产阶级为主体，自此佛朗哥的运动也称长枪党运动。自他夺取政权至1975年去世，佛朗哥为西班牙之独裁者37年。 长枪党运动，最初显系法西斯性质。党之标帜为一束箭，以牛轭套之。党的活动带有宗教式排场，佛朗哥除着军服外，亦着长枪制服。他夺得政权后，发还教会财产，提倡传统道德，钳制新闻与舆论，禁断其他政党，都不在话下。1939年，西班牙之监狱囚禁27万人。佛朗哥的政敌称他屠杀政治犯20万人，此数字可能高度的夸张，但是较正确的计算亦称内战结束后6年有28000人被处死。 法西斯并非无条件的接受资本主义，佛朗哥之言词，可能带宣传性质，可是他在内战期间即已发表他的运动目的并非庇荫资本主义，而系保卫西班牙的经济利益。他曾自称：“我们出自中产及下层阶级。”他甚至提出让贫农获得土地不算完全解决问题，还要以金钱支持，使他们充分有能力经营，所以他主张宽泛的贷款，分散庞大的农产，造成中产农户。 事实上长枪党运动尊重私人财产所有权，除了过去左翼团体及工会之财产外，很少有没收征发之情事。但是它使全国的雇主与劳工都配属于国家主办的工联之下，各行业在各地区组织有分联。控制方式着重人事上的拘束，凡大小负责任之职位概由上至下指派，于是整个生产与支配全受官僚组织节制，罢工闭厂全不可能。工资亦有一定的标准，若干社会主义性格的劳工福利亦在全国通行。生产与投资不复由私人企业家各自作主。长枪党最盛时有党员近百万，从旁有鼓动监视和宣传的功效。 佛朗哥之运动，着重经济组织与经济纪律，他企望使西班牙自给自足，但是他缺乏强有力的政策来改组社会。他个人独裁的成分强，但他的体制不能算是极权主义，因为虽系法西斯，它仍容许若干多元社会（plural society）的成分，如1942年恢复西班牙传统里的议会（cortes）。一方面也是他运气好，刚一得到军事之成功，适逢第二次大战在欧洲爆发，西班牙虽没有卷入战事（但西班牙的志愿军称“蓝色师团”曾参加德军攻苏），而整个世界都在军事行动之中。而且内外都预期西班牙随时有参战可能的当儿，他的严格管制也就可视为当然。 西班牙经济之自给自足，始终没有做到。但是经过佛朗哥统治，已经成了一个有结构的组织，而尤以大战结束后，乘着欧洲的复兴，1948年至1958年之间有长足的进展，可以作为今日与欧洲其他先进国家分工合作的基础。佛朗哥事业中最值得称道的，是他能抵御希特勒的压力，没有参加轴心国的战事。这是否因为他要求北非的殖民地不得而下此决心，已无关宏旨，事实上西班牙能保守中立，战后才能和西方民主国合作，终于1953年以军事基地换得美援，从此进入西方民主国家的阵容。 不为意识形态包围，可算佛朗哥一生的长处。长枪党成立时，本有极浓厚的国家主义与帝国主义色彩。可是以后世界局势之发展使佛朗哥看穿无法实现开拓殖民地之美梦，他即主动放弃海外属地，不像荷兰与葡萄牙不识时宜。60年代各种罢工示威运动蜂起，他也决心在1966年将政权的硬度减轻，例如开后言论自由，以议会1／4的席次交由直接选举，使已婚妇女有选举权，法律上承认信教自由，停止长枪党控制工会。最后则指定卡洛斯（Juan Carlos）为储君及他本人之继承人。后者乃于1977年下令停止长枪党运动，自是才全面结束了西班牙的法西斯历史阶段。以一个法西斯的首脑，能在第二次大战后继续存在，已属不易，而且佛朗哥的专制政体不经暴动即进入民主体制，尤为历史上罕有。 然则赞赏独裁者非本书之宗旨。况且佛朗哥的政权在经济管制期间产生黑市，官僚机构中出现贪污狼藉的情事。虽有1966年的改革，西班牙的工人、学生，甚至教会，仍在批判、反对他的政权。佛朗哥放在口头上的救济贫农政策很少兑现。长枪党执政初十年很少有规划农村之事，以后经济情形好转，才逐渐施惠于农民。其重点不在重新分配土地，而是由国家投资于灌溉及筑林、开拓荒地，放宽信用贷款、维持最低工资。虽有些贫农分得一些田地，但为数不多。而最有效的农村政策，并非将大地产分割为小块，而是组织贫农，将分割得至小此来彼往不便经营之土地（minifundia）集中。西班牙一般农民的生活，确在最近一二十年内有了相当的增进。可是其原因不在于政府之农业政策，而是一般生活水准提高（此又由于西欧普遍的经济繁荣），农作物价格提升，同时乡村人口流动到城市及国外，减少内地压力所致。 佛朗哥的事迹，使我们更觉得有将历史视界放宽放大的必要。在现今国际场合中，西班牙实为小国（面积不逾20万平方英里，不及中国1／15，人口在1936年为2500万，在1975年为3500万，亦不过中国一省）。加以内战以前已经有相当的工矿及商业基础，土地上增进开发的程度则有限。所以整个的改组与其从最下端和最落后的部门着手，完全放弃私人财产权一切重来（这也是当日人民阵线的计划，内战期间他们已在没收地产组织集体农场），不如从中层强制干预生产关系，来得迅速有效。只是两者都束缚人身自由，也都有残酷暴虐的趋向，很难使人事前判断谁是谁非，如是才有内战之展开。 内战期间双方战死及伤重而死和在敌后被屠杀者27万人。又经过大变动，战后因各种原因陆续殒身超过寻常死亡率者，与前数合计可能共达90万人。所以西班牙所付代价不为不巨且深。如果这样的牺牲在历史上不是全无意义的话，我们只能说这是改造期间难能避免的痛苦。也像其他内战一样，志士仁人之血与投机分子之血纵横交流。所幸长枪党法西斯体制只为过渡期间的恶毒工具，从未被历史安排作为长远之寄托。今日西班牙汽车制造工业与化学工业不强，而以旅游为各种企业的最大宗，以全国40％的就业人员从事于服务性质之工作。也因为西班牙之历史与古迹及气候暨地理环境，才有此机缘。这一方面表示现今世界经济已超速的国际化，另一方面也显示人类集体适应于经济趋向的能力，所在皆然，诚有如司马迁所说，“天下熙熙，皆为利来，天下攘攘，皆为利往”。综合看来，改组旧式国家以适应资本主义有不同途径，而内中的基本法则只有一个，此即将下层结构里各种因素弄得概能公平而自由的交换。丹麦以割让国土而达此目的，西班牙则被法西斯体制统治40年而达此目的。重建一个北非殖民地作台柱的大帝国，不可能解决西班牙内在的问题（从以后法国在北非的经验看来，恐怕只会增加问题）。而只有使农产品与农村剩余的劳动力与都市经济对流，才使今日之西班牙进入一个小康局面。世事之发展如是，我们只有更注重从技术角度看资本主义，而不以意识形态看资本主义。 本书以资本主义为主题，而内中缺乏将“资本”这一因素的功能与效用仔细琢磨的阶段，恐不免为批评者所指责。可是各章节早已讲明，“资本主义”这一名词最初就没有取好，才有今日之暧昧游离。如果我们在当日有机缘插足的话，必会有不同的建议，即像“重商主义”（mercantilism）或“商业主义”（com-mercialism）亦较资本主义为佳（前者即见于亚当·斯密笔下。不幸的是今日此二名词又都已被赋予不同的意义）。因为资本主义是一种社会现象，资本虽为其必要因素，但非其重点（资本主义之重点在其成为一种组织和一种运动，牵涉到全社会）。 同时，将“资本”这一因素仔细琢磨考察，属于经济学的范围，有如从“价值论”（theory of value）延伸到剥削论（theory of exploitation）。这个办法将千变万化的世事，极端简化为几个能被作者笔下充分掌握的因素，又更进一步将许多具体的事物高度的抽象化，然后作者才能将笔下的题材纵横解剖，左右逢源。这种办法固然有它启蒙的功效，也可以作经济研究的线索，不过过于接近哲学，不足为历史家的凭借。如近身之事，“婚姻”可为历史题材，因为一夫一妻和一夫多妻、离婚、重婚的程序、重婚的习惯、嫁妆及媒妁之出现都有事实上之根据可供搜索分析。今若舍此不图而另创一种原始的、最初的和理想的婚姻典范作为一切婚姻之始祖，再将已经证实的事项交与这抽象的观念去权衡，则其作用全在支持意识形态，已和历史研究相去至远。 这本书的叙述，在每一事例之中，动辄包括数十年，也属于“大历史”的畸范。大凡将人类历史从长时间远视界的立场检讨，不期而然会在思量想象之中接近神学的领域。作者已在其他著作中引用下图阐释自己的态度，现在不妨重述一遍： 图上实线部分，代表人类之历史，它不过是自创世以来，和下接未来世界当中之一部分，符合康德（Immanuel Kant）所谓“现象”（phenomena），两方之虚线部分则符合康氏所谓“超现象”（noumena）（康德之区分由于因果作用［causality］，而不由于前后排列次序。所以我们不能说以上之引证恰“等于”康德所用名词。然则在历史学眼光看来，时间亦可以算作一种原因作用，所以称“符合”，不算完全顶冒）。向外之长箭头代表人类之理想，经常有脱离现状的趋势，实际上这种向外扩充的力量仍被内向的和保守的力量牵制，图上以较短之箭头表示之。结果人类采取的路线不外这两种力量凑合而成的总和。只是我们永远无法脱离历史与地理之赋予，纵有突破性的进步，仍只在这弧线范围之内。实线前后的两段虚线，既属“超现象”，我们无法证实，也只能根据已有的史料推断。人类的理解力有此限度，我们不能强不知以为知。这样写历史，避免落入一个目的论（teleology）圈套。