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The term European miracle was coined by Eric Jones to describe his position that Europe was more advanced and progressive than all other civilizations prior to the year 1492, allowing it to develop capitalism, reach the New World first, and dominate world trade and politics.

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[edit] Roots of the European miracle hypothesis

Jones' theories can be seen as building on the work of earlier thinkers such as Max Weber, Immanuel Wallerstein, Georg Hegel, Adam Smith, and Karl Marx. Weber's idea of the Protestant work ethic and Hegel's Spirit were certainly influential, providing a rationale for claiming the European mind (and European religion) is inherently superior to that of all other continents. Wallerstien's idea of a world-economy and world-system originating in Europe also comes through in European miracle theory.

[edit] The "European family"

The idea of a unique European family structure is also a central tenet of the European miracle theory. Purportedly, the European family was nuclear, women married late, and had few children. Europe understood how to control their population while the rest of the world, to quote Jones, "multiplied insensately." This meant that Europe was not vulnerable to Malthusian Crises and therefore able to form a progressive, Capitalism society.

[edit] The "European city"

Urbanization is also of central importance to the European miracle hypothesis, which alleges that Europe formed cities earlier than the rest of the world. Crucially, these cities were also semi-autonomous, especially the Italian city-states. The growth of banking, accounting and general financial infrastructure in such cities is seen as unique and vital to the rise of Europe.

[edit] European inventiveness

According to the theory, because of Europe's inherent rationality, they were able to come up with revolutionary innovations such as spectacles, clocks, double-entry book-keeping. Naval innovations are also stressed. These made the society more productive and allowed Europe to build superior ships, thus dominating world trade.

[edit] Criticism of the European miracle hypothesis and alternate theories

The European miracle has been contested and referred to as a myth by thinkers such as James Blaut, Andre Gunder Frank, and Kenneth Pomeranz. They accuse Jones of Eurocentrism and "cultural racism" (Blaut's term). Commonly, it is pointed out progress in the rest of the world paralleled Europe before 1492. More than half of the world's population living in urban settlements (over 10,000 people) lived in china during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The voyages of Zheng He support the claim that Chinese Junks were more advanced than European ships of the time. Cities like ancient Malacca had sea trade routes which stretched as far as North Africa.

Revelations such as these cast doubt on whether Europe really had an economic advantage before 1492, and give rise to alternate theories. One theory is that Europe simply colonized the New World first because it was geographically closest, and trade winds naturally carried ships to and from North America. Once Europe had colonized North America, the flow of gold and silver from their colonies allowed them to take control of world trade, and only then did their dominant position arise.

[edit] References

  • Blaut, James (1993). The Colonizer's Model of the World. ISBN 0898623480. 
  • Farmer, Paul (2003). Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. ISBN 0520235509. 
  • Frank, Andre (1998). Reorient: Global Economy in the Asian Age. ISBN 0520214749. 
  • Jones, Eric (2003 (1st ed 1987)). The European Miracle: Environments, Economies and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia. ISBN 052152783X. 
  • Pomeranz, Kenneth (2001). Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy. ISBN 0691090106.