The Age of Empire
Among books we have already discussed in the class, I would argue that Hobsbawm’s work could be the conclusion of all — giving more comprehensive analysis, and combining all what we can find elsewhere. To some extent, he may not really offer new points, but the way he presents his work is more convincing and explanative than others. He makes similar point with Wallerstein on the idea that capitalism did not develop under perfect market as it had been suggested. While Wallerstein based his conclusion on the international trade in which the middle men, people whose business exploited lack of information between distance regions, play significant role; Hobsbawm refers to the growing convergence between politics and economics. He noted, after 1875, there was growing skepticism about the effectiveness of the autonomous and self correcting market economy. I like Hobsbawm’s way of using number in this book. Unlike Pomeranz who relies too much on numbers, Hobsbawm uses it in critical way. He m...