Robert Marks: A New Summary

The author, Robert Marks, uses an alternative narrative style to connect his book and events in history in a way that a classical narrative would not accomplish as effectively. Marks traces human development to early trade, to the industrial revolution, and eventually ends with the tragic events of 2001. His work is considered to be alternative narrative because he both starts and ends the book with the events that took place in the United States in 2001. Another way Mark’s uses his central argument is to introduce an alternative narrative to understand the modern world we live in today and explain how the world of industrial capitalism, a system with nation-states, democracy, social differences (the rich and the poor), etc. all emerged …show more content…
He explains that at that point in time everyone had a limited range of possibilities since agriculture was the only way for the creation of wealth. Society functioned without a central dominant force, thus all civilizations had the same opportunities to progress in the polycentric world system he mentions on page 35: “The World in the fourteenth century thus was polycentric: it contained several regional systems, each with its own densely populated and wealthy “core”, surrounded by a periphery that provided agricultural and industrial raw materials to the core, and most of which were loosely connected to one another through trade networks”. I believe this approach connects all the material covered in the book nicely and shows how over the course of human history globalization has increased drastically to the point to where almost nothing on the face of the earth is hidden. Humans are so connected at this point and much of the worlds’ economy is dependent on foreign imports and exports. Showing how we became so connected and eventually culminating with the terrorist attacks of 9/11 is an effective use of alternative narrative and a much more interesting way to present your argument than a traditional …show more content…
This style of writing was not necessary, but it did turn out to prove far more interesting and effective than just a regular narrative. Marks use of historical contingency is shown when some societies and people were able to dominate others and accumulation of wealth and power. (Page 200) These differences in wealth in power are known as “the gap”(Page 123) the gap can be seen as an indicator of the change of the growing world. This gap can also be seen in the change in the world manufacturing output. From 1750 to 1900 a startling trend can be seen in the world manufacturing output. Early on Asia dominated the output category but later in 1900 the tables turned and Europe and the U.S. took over. This trend can mainly be attributed to the colonization and industrialization of India by Britain. Opium was seen as a major cash crop for England and brought them mass amounts of wealth and therefore power. His idea of conjuncture connects many developments together interacting with one another. (Page 96) One example could be the first age of globalization by China. Marks made a clear main idea in the introduction in his book: he did not want to just focus in Europe when he talks about the origins of the Modern Era.

Show More

Bobko Worplace Issues Mar 14 Essay

Ya for School Essay

Business plan Essay

Healthcare Finance Discussion Post Essay

Conventions And Expectations Of Lindenwood History

Essay on Apple Inc., Strategic Management Case Analysis

Managerial Process Essay

Strategic Analysis of Robert Mondavi Inc. Essays

Essay on ADMS3510 Midterm 1 Version A Winter 2015 With Solutions

Analysis Of The Movie Jaws