Is Capitalism a fundamentally Western concept or system, and if so, Essay

Is Capitalism a fundamentally Western concept or system, and if so, how can we account for its spread and entrenchment in non-Western areas of the world - Essay Example The development of industrialization in West is also considered as the organic growth of the capitalist thoughts and philosophy as capitalism presented an alternative channel of achieving social good in a more comprehensive manner. The pace of industrialization therefore was considered as the epitome of capitalist society and as such the domain of social and economic development achieved its highest status under the development of capitalism in Western countries. What is however, also critical to note that capitalism does not only restricted itself to the Western countries and as such it spread across the non- Western countries also. Since 19th Century, the process of colonialism as well as well as rapid rise of imperialization as well as globalization ensured the rapid spread of capitalism in non-Western countries also. What started as a purely Western Phenomenon therefore soon emerged in non- Western countries too due to various factors. Capitalism rose as a result of the rise in industrialization in 18th century which witnessed the British society turning from a feudal society to more capitalist society. Capitalism in its essence advocates the use of private property rights and indicates that in a society, means of production shall be privately owned for the best possible use. As such capitalism is not only an economic system but it also a social system which regulates the society in an entirely different manner. The basic elements of capitalism therefore include private ownership of the means of production, exchange of goods and services in the market for the sake of profits as well as determination of prices and wages by the market forces is basically constitute the main ingredients of the capitalism.(Morton,2005) What is however, critical to note that capitalism started in Western countries as a result of rapid achievement of technological sophistication and industrialization however, it also