Summary Of Kenneth Pomeranzs Political Economy And...

During 2002, an essay was published titled â€Å"Political Economy and Ecology on the Eve of Industrialization: Europe, China, and the Global Conjuncture†. This was the works of Kenneth Pomeranz who provoked a distinctive question about China in relation to Great Britain around the 1800s. In his published book The Great Divergence, Pomeranz states that China and Great Britain were on similar trails leading towards the Industrial Revolution until a â€Å"Great Divergence† arose during the 1800s that sent these two emerging nations towards diverse routes. In his essay Pomeranz efficiently states how China and Great Britain developed differently due to the coal and colonies. Pomeranz argues how these two aspects assisted Great Britain in dodging†¦show more content†¦China depleted the consumption of their resources, while Great Britain benefitted off the amount of coal they were able to mine and utilize, and the reduced fees and accessible trade they were able to secure from their colonies. Pomeranz also argues that although economic factors had similar principles, environmental strains were similar, and â€Å"the most advanced parts of China in many ways resembled parts of the European mainland† (Pomeranz 2002, 420) . China still experienced inactivity while Great Britain experienced remarkable progress. According to Pomeranz, this had to do with the â€Å"constraints of finite land† (Pomeranz 2002, 444) and Great Britain’s capability to manage this more effectively. According to Pomeranz’s view, this divergence was provoked by the Industrial Revolution, and set China on a route to labor concentrated routines, while Great Britain spearheaded towards the cultivation of technological innovation. Though Jan de Vries praises Pomeranz and his ability to question the divergence that instigates much historical deliberation, de Vries find many gaps in Pomeranz’s theory. The main issue de Vries call attention to is that this so called â€Å"divergence† Pomeranz illustrates didn’t begin in the 1800s, rather prior to the 1800’s. The Industrial Revolution, according to de Vries, has an abundant â€Å"history† of â€Å"industrial, commercial, financial, and agricultural development† (de Vries 2011, 15) . This â€Å"history† of the Industrial