1632.

The increasingly crazed Wallenstein, who over the conference were the Papal Nuncio,
The Treaty of Westphalia grew so sensitive to noise that he had all the Fabio Chigi (the future Pope Alexander VII), and
dogs, cats and cockerels killed in every town he the Venetian ambassador.
The Westphalia area of north-western Germany
came to, was murdered by an English captain in
gave its name to the treaty that ended the The first six months were spent arguing about
1634. Still the fighting went on.
Thirty Years' War, one of the most destructive who was to sit where and who was to go into a
conflicts in the history of Europe. The war was largely fought on German soil and room ahead of whom. The principal French and
reduced the country to desolation as hordes of Spanish envoys never managed to meet at all
The war or series of connected wars began in
mercenaries, left unpaid by their masters, lived because the correct protocol could not be
1618, when the Austrian Habsburgs tried to
off the land. Rapine, pillage and famine stalked agreed. A special postal system handled reams
impose Roman Catholicism on their Protestant
the countryside as armies marched about, of letters between the envoys and their
subjects in Bohemia. It pitted Protestant against
plundering towns, villages and farms as they principals at a time when it took ten days or
Catholic, the Holy Roman Empire against
went. ‘We live like animals, eating bark and more to send a communication from Münster
France, the German princes and princelings
grass,’ says a pitiful entry in a family Bible from to Paris or Vienna and twenty days or more to
against the emperor and each other, and France
a Swabian village. ‘No one could have imagined Stockholm or Madrid. Slowly deals were
against the Habsburgs of Spain. The Swedes,
that anything like this would happen to us. hammered out. Even then it took almost three
the Danes, the Poles, the Russians, the Dutch
Many people say that there is no God...’ weeks just to organise the signing ceremony,
and the Swiss were all dragged in or dived in.
Wenceslas Hollar recorded devastation in the which commenced at 2pm on the afternoon of
Commercial interests and rivalries played a part,
war zone in engravings of the 1630s and Saturday, 24 October 1648.
as did religion and power politics.
starvation reached such a point in the
Rhineland that there were cases of cannibalism. The treaty gave the Swiss independence of
Among famous commanders involved were
The horror became a way of life and when the Austria and the Netherlands independence of
Marshal Turenne and the Prince de Condé for
Spain. The German principalities secured their
France, Wallenstein for the Empire and Tilly for war finally ended, the mercenaries and their
womenfolk complained that their livelihood autonomy. Sweden gained territory and a
the Catholic League, and there was an able
was gone. payment in cash, Brandenburg and Bavaria
Bavarian general curiously named Franz von
made gains too, and France acquired most of
Mercy. Others to play a part ranged from the
The peace conference to end the war opened in Alsace-Lorraine. The prospect of a Roman
Winter King of Bohemia to the emperors
Münster and Osnabrück in December 1644. It Catholic reconquest of Europe vanished forever.
Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III, Bethlen Gabor of
involved no fewer than 194 states, from the Protestantism was in the world to stay.
Transylvania, Christian IV of Denmark, Gustavus
biggest to the smallest, represented by 179
II Adolphus and Queen Christina of Sweden, the
plenipotentiaries. There were thousands of
Great Elector of Brandenburg, Philip IV of Spain
ancillary diplomats and support staff, who had
and his brother the Cardinal-Infante, Louis XIII
to be given housing, fed and watered, and they
of France, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin and
did themselves well for close to four years,
several popes. Gustavus Adolphus was shot in
despite famine in the country around. Presiding
the head and killed at the battle of Lutzen in
There were three core points to the treaty: The
principle of state sovereignty; The principle of
(legal) equality of states; The principle of non-
intervention of one state in the international
affairs of another.
Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty,
is the principle in international law that
each state has exclusive sovereignty over its
territory. The principle underlies the
modern international system of sovereign
states and is enshrined in the United Nations
Charter, which states that "nothing should
authorise intervention in matters essentially
within the domestic jurisdiction of any
state."[1] According to the idea, every state, no
matter how large or small, has an equal right to
sovereignty.[2] Political scientists have traced
the concept to the Peace of Westphalia (1648),
which ended the Thirty Years' War. The principle
of non-interference was further developed in the
18th century. The Westphalian system reached
its peak in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it
has faced recent challenges from advocates
of humanitarian intervention.
How does capitalism under economic
globalization creates inequality
Monopoly Power.
However, capitalism can also lead
to inequality which may be seen as unfair. For
example, a firm may develop monopoly power.
... Therefore, capitalists with access to private
property can 'exploit' their monopoly power to
make a much higher profit than other people in
society.
A strict definition of capitalism is a society
where capital is privately owned, and workers
paid wages by private firms. Essentially it is a
society with minimal government intervention
and resources are distributed according to the
outcome of free markets.
A looser definition of capitalism is a situation
where business is left to the free market, but
the government intervene in many areas of the
economy like business regulation, health care
and education.
In practice, using this definition of capitalism –
most modern economies are essentially
capitalist because it is the free market that
dominates in the production and distribution of
scarce resources.
Why Inequality is an Essential ingredient of
Capitalism
Profit motive. A basic principle of capitalism is
that individuals are motivated by the profit
incentive. For example, entrepreneurs
undertake a risky venture to set up firms
because they hope to make a substantial profit.
If there was not this profit incentive,
entrepreneurs would not undertake the risk of
setting up a firm. Therefore, you can say the
potential of reward makes inequality an
essential ingredient of capitalism.
You could argue people may have other
motivations for setting up a business than just
higher incomes, but most would agree higher
income is an important consideration – if not
overriding motive.
Work Incentive. Inequality is also important to
motivate workers. If every worker received the
same wage regardless of skill and effort, there
would be no incentive to learn new skills and
work hard at the job. A firm in a capitalist
society can pay successful workers a higher
wage to reflect their higher productivity. This
will lead to wage inequality, but without it it
would be hard to motivate workers.
Other Types of Inequality in Capitalism
Monopoly Power. The above types of inequality
may seem ‘fair’ or justified. If you work hard,
you get to benefit from your enterprise.
However, capitalism can also lead to inequality
which may be seen as unfair. For example, a
firm may develop monopoly power. Then it is in
a position to charge consumers artificially high
prices and deter entry. If firms have monopsony
power, they can get away with paying a wage
much lower than the productivity of the
worker. Workers have no choice but to work for
a very low wage. Therefore, capitalists with
access to private property can ‘exploit’ their
monopoly power to make a much higher profit
than other people in society.
Inheritance. Another aspect of capitalism is that
private property can be passed on from one
generation to another. Therefore those who
inherit capital can enjoy high income even
without any effort. They have access to best
private education and jobs. This creates
inequality of opportunity as well as inequality of
opportunity.
These types of inequality mean that there isn’t
a level playing field; some in society get an
unfair advantage, there isn’t equality of
opportunity.
It is hard to argue that capitalism won’t
inevitably lead to inequality. A principle of
capitalism is to allow income and wages to be
distributed by the free market. The only way to
ensure wage equality would be through
government intervention.
Some people who support a ‘capitalist system’
may argue there is also still necessary for the
government to redress some of the inequalities
of capitalist society. For example, regulate
monopoly power, provide free education, so
everyone has access to education and equality
of opportunity. Perhaps taxing inherited wealth.
But, also by implementing this government
intervention, it means society is becoming less
‘capitalist.’
Related
Capitalism vs Socialism
Advantages of Capitalism
Problems of Capitalism
Historically there has been always a gap Global Economy
between rich and poor
 “World Economy ” or “Worldwide
Most sociologists held that this inequality exists Economy ”.
in all societies and must be part of human  The exchange of goods and services
integrated into a huge single global
structure
market.
By the 1970`s this gap became larger due to Economic Globalization
increased gas prices and the rise of
 Communication
unemployment due to globalization and free
 Transportation
trade  Trade
Characteristics of Economic Globalization
Sociologist discovered that there are some
groups that are consistently at a disadvantage  More options for production
 The chance to create new markets
 Small firms can think big
 A more level playing field
 Networks are important
 Culture is no constraint
 Regionalization not globalization
History of Economic Globalization
 Stone Era
 Classical Era
 Middle Ages
 Modern Period (Period of Technology)