The 19th Century

The "Economic Means" versus the "Political Means": An Historical Examination of How Wealth is Created or Confiscated in Society

The internationally famous economist and historian Murray N. Rothbard, in his important essay, "The Anatomy of the State," observed the following below concerning the creation or confiscation of wealth in society:

"The great German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer pointed out that there are two mutually exclusive ways of acquiring wealth; one, by the exchange and production of goods and services and by the peaceful and voluntary sale of these goods, he called the “ economic means.” The other way is simpler in that it does not require productivity; it is the way of seizure of another’s goods or services by the use of force and violence. This is the method of one-sided confiscation, of theft of the property of others. This is the method which Oppenheimer termed “the political means” to wealth. It should be clear that the peaceful use of reason and energy in production is the “natural” path for man: the means for his survival and prosperity on this earth. It should be equally clear that the coercive, exploitative means is contrary to natural law; it is parasitic, for instead of adding to production, it subtracts from it. The “political means” siphons production off to a parasitic and destructive individual or group; and this siphoning not only subtracts from the number producing, but also lowers the producer’s incentive to produce beyond his own subsistence. In the long run, the robber destroys his own subsistence by dwindling or eliminating the source of his own supply. But not only that; even in the short-run, the predator is acting contrary to his own true nature as a man."


Wealth and Power: Tyrants and Plunderers; and Building a Modern World -- Documentaries (4 page essay)

The first half of this History Channel documentary in the Wealth and Power series, Tyrants and Plunderers, examines those ruthless rulers, both ancient and modern, who used brute force (the "political means") to terrorize and exploit their subject peoples. The film focuses upon Alexander the Great of Greece; Genghis Khan of Mongolia; Suleyman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire; King Louis XIV of France; Czar Peter the Great of Russia; and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France. Modern tyrants and dictators include Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines; and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire.

The second half of this History Channel documentary in the Wealth and Power series, Building a Modern World, examines those famous American entrepreneurs who used the "economic means" of creating wealth by the voluntary production and exchange of goods and services desired by the public to amass great fortunes and create business empires. The film focuses upon John Jacob Astor, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John Pierpont Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller.


Professor Ralph Raico on The European Miracle -- Audio Lecture

The Welfare State -- Amazon Book List

The Day The Universe Changed: Credit Where It's Due -- The Industrial Revolution, Factories, and Mass Production Documentary (1 page essay)

Locate the origins of contemporary consumerism in the English Industrial Revolution, empowered by religious dissenters barred from all activities except trade. The invention of the steam engine, new forms of credit, surplus wealth, and opening markets laid the foundation for industrial society.

The Day The Universe Changed: What the Doctor Ordered -- Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge Documentary (1 page essay)

Trace modern society's recognition of the value of statistics to medical advances stemming from responses to the French Revolution and an English cholera epidemic. Identify the origins of medicine as a science with the discovery of anesthesia, antiseptics, and bacteriology.

The Day The Universe Changed: Fit to Rule -- Darwin's Revolution -- Documentary (1 page essay)

Analyze the growth of modern geology and biology in relation to the Darwinian Revolution in evolutionary science and how these theories were twisted, perverted, or distorted in three decisive ways: (1) "Survival of the Fittest" Race - leading from Ernst Haeckel to Heinrich Himmler to Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust in Germany; (2) "Survival of the Fittest" Individual leading to Social Darwinists William Graham Sumner in the U.S. and Herbert Spencer in the UK and their prescriptions for laissez-faire capitalism and opposition to the emerging welfare state; and finally, (3) "Survival of the Fittest" Class - leading from Karl Marx to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Marxist-Leninist Socialism in the Soviet Union. All three of these distortions of Darwin clashed in a minor little conflict called World War II.

Marxism : the Theory That Split the World -- Documentary (1 page essay)

Racism: A History -- The Colour of Money -- Documentary (2 page essay)

Racism: A History -- Fatal Impacts -- Documentary (2 page essay)

Racism: A History -- A Savage Legacy -- Documentary (2 page essay)

King Leopold's Ghost -- Book by Adam Hotchschild

The Crimean War - Documentary

Richard Wagner -- Biography Documentary (1 page essay)

Richard Wagner -- Tannhäuser Overture

Richard Wagner -- Ride of the Valkyries

The Ride of the Valkyries (German: Walkürenritt or Ritt der Walküren) is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851. The preliminary draft for the Ride was composed in 1854 as part of the composition of the entire opera which was fully orchestrated by the end of the first quarter of 1856. Together with the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, the Ride of the Valkyries is one of Wagner's best-known pieces.

Imperialism: Crash Course World History -- Video Lecture

John Green teaches you about European Imperialism in the 19th century. European powers started to create colonial empires way back in the 16th century, but businesses really took off in the 19th century, especially in Asia and Africa. During the 1800s, European powers carved out spheres of influence in China, India, and pretty much all of Africa. While all of the major (and some minor) powers in Europe participated in this new imperialism, England was by far the most dominant, once able to claim that the "sun never set on the British Empire." Also, they went to war for the right to continue to sell opium to the people of China. Twice. John will teach you how these empires managed to leverage the advances of the Industrial Revolution to build vast, wealth-generating empires. As it turns out, improved medicine, steam engines, and better guns were crucial in the 19th century conquests. Also, the willingness to exploit and abuse the people and resources of so-called "primitive" nations was very helpful in the whole enterprise.

The Meiji Restoration -- Power Point Presentation

British Empire in Colour -- Documentary Series

The Age of Nation States -- Documentary (1 page essay)

A New Public -- Documentary (1 page essay)

Fin de Siècle -- Documentary (1 page essay)

https://vimeo.com/17089469

https://vimeo.com/17095058

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism -- Two Documentaries (1 page essay)

https://vimeo.com/17185426

https://player.vimeo.com/video/102018247

Modern Art -- Two Documentaries (1 page essay)