UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2004 Capitalism and violence: A test and critique of the alienation proposition Roger Isaac Roots University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Roots, Roger Isaac, "Capitalism and violence: A test and critique of the alienation proposition" (2004). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2597. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/6er3-e84i This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CAPITALISM AND VIOLENCE: A TEST AND CRITIQUE OF THE ALIENATION PROPOSITION by Roger Isaac Roots Bachelor of Science Montana State University, Billings 1996 Master of Science Roger Williams University 2001 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Sociology Department of Sociology College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2004 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. 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Copyright hy Roger Roots 2005 Ail Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dissertation Approval I INTV The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas November 29______, 20 04 The Dissertation prepared by Roger Isaac Roots Entitled Capitalism and Violence: A Test and Critique of the Alienation Proposition is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology mnation Committee Chair Q jyl2( sQk Dean of the Graduate College Examination Committee Member Examination Committee Member y Graduate College Faculty R ey^^ta tive 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Capitalism and Violence: A Test and Critique of the Alienation Proposition by Roger Roots Dr. Frederick W. Preston, Examination Committee Chair Professor of Sociology University of Nevada, Las Vegas The belief that primitive societies are more harmonious than modem ones is “deeply engrained in scholarly discourse” (Edgerton 1992, 2). Durkheim, Weber, and Marx all believed in the notion (Edgerton 1992, 3). Since at least the nineteenth century, social scientists have proposed that capitalism and industrialism represent artificial phenomena, alien to human nature, and that the growth and spread of capitalism in recent generations has spawned an increasing degree of angst, frustration, conflict, and stress on human societies. This concept, known as alienation, has been especially popular among sociologists of Marxist orientation who perceive human misery to be a product of the mayhem and competition of modem capitalism (Derber, Chasin). In this dissertation, the author critiques and analyzes the alienation proposition by delving into its history and comparing it to the recent findings of archaeology, history, and anthropology. The author tests the proposition by comparing contemporary 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. homicide rates registered by modem nation-states with measurements of market freedom in those same nation-states. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................... ix CHAPTERl A TROUBLESOME WORD...........................................................................1 Capitalism as a Western Phenomenon .............................................................................6 A lienation........................................................................................................................... 6 Defining Alienation...........................................................................................................9 A Tendeney to C risis? .....................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 2 THE LITERATURE................................................................................. 12 Globalization .....................................................................................................................15 The Alienation Coneept in Literature and Folklore....................................................20 The Stage Theory of Capitalism .................................................................................... 22 The Failure of Prediction................................................................................................25 The Role of Id e a s .............................................................................................................26 The Academic Consensus...............................................................................................29 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS....................................................................... 31 Trade in Early Civilizations ............................................................................................33 Markets in Labor .............................................................................................................34 The Commodification of Humanity..............................................................................35 Banking in Early Civilizations ...................................................................................... 36 Relationships Between Commerce and W ar ................................................................37 CHAPTER 4 ALIENATION AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD ............ 42 Political Economy in Ancient T exts ..............................................................................44 Earliest Law C odes..........................................................................................................45 The B ib le ..........................................................................................................................46 Taxation in Early Documents........................................................................................ 49 The Law’s Growing Recognition of Private Trade R ights ......................................... 49 The Americas ....................................................................................................................52 The Evidence From Linguistics ......................... 56 F actories........................................................................................................................... 59 Summarizing World Economic H istory....................................................................... 61 CHAPTER 5 MEASURING CAPITALISM .................................................................65 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 6 MEASURING VIOLENCE WORLDWIDE ......................................... 67 The Peculiar Case of the United States ........................................................................68 The Failure of Previous M ethods................................................................................. 69 CHAPTER 7 VIOLENCE IN DECLINE .........................................................................71 Reconstructing Violence From Anecdotal Evidence..................................................76