These principles were those of reciprocity, reallocation and house holding, and they were embedded in the way the civil and politic societies interacted. The end of the century however brought by the first signs of disembeddment and they revolved around the transformation of land and labor force into commodities. For the European countries for instance, a disembedded economy referred also to the territorial expansion of the companies. In this understanding then, the developed European countries had expanded their operations and moved to wider markets, where they increased their access to customers and also their revenues. And not only that they began to sell their products to larger audiences, but they also began to acquire cheaper commodities from the foreign regions; they employed cheaper workforce in the region; and operations of international transfer of capital begun to emerge.
Ultimately then, an embedded economy is generally an enclosed and protectionist one, and a disembedded system is based on free international operations. The second concept enjoys a contemporaneous application, in the form of market liberalization and globalization (Halperin, 2004).
4. Aristotle's Views on Acquisitions
Aristotle's views on economics are rather limited at even flawed at times. However, they are worth a look. The Greek philosopher classified the acquisition operations into two types: natural acquisitions and unnatural acquisitions. Natural acquisitions referred to the daily occupations of the individual which did not affect other lives. For instance, Aristotle included in the category of natural acquisitions occupations such as farming, hunting, fishing or raising sheep. The unnatural acquisition of wealth was derived from occupations of trade, which generated grater impacts upon others and which were unlimited. He emphasized on what he believed to be the moral and economic benefits of natural acquisition of wealth, in the detriment of commerce wealth (Philosophy 101).
As the philosopher concluded, unnatural acquisition is unlimited, whereas natural acquisition is limited. The limitations are given by the fact that the wealth accumulated is mainly destined...
It is not being reinvested and it is therefore unable to generate additional wealth. In Aristotle's view, unnatural trade is undesirable as it generates imbalances. Therefore, all forms of unnatural trade should be transformed into natural means of acquisition. This is to be achieved by limiting unnatural accumulation of wealth. Otherwise put, trade and commercial operations should only be conducted with the purpose of ensuring self-sufficiency, rather than generating profits and more wealth than is required for life. Once this sufficiency is achieved, the players should cease their operations and no longer accumulate wealth.
In discussing the types of acquisition, Aristotle also focuses on the matter of the price. This was achieved based on an understanding between the parties, but the philosopher argues that it should be established in accordance with the intrinsic worth to men (CEPA Newschool).
References
Cumberpatch, C.G., Some Observations on the Concept of 'Embedded' and 'Disembedded' Economies in Archaeological Discourse, Assemblage Journal of Archeology, 2001
Halperin, S., War and Social Change in Modern Europe: The Great Transformation Revised, Cambridge University Press, 2004
Aristotle's View on Wealth Acquisition, Philosophy 101, http://www.philosophy-101.com/2007/06/29/aristotles-view-on-wealth-acquisition/last accessed on February 4, 2009
Basic Characteristics of Capitalism, Business Book Mall, http://www.businessbookmall.com/Economics_3_Basic_Characteristics_of_Capitalism.html. Ast accessed on February 4, 2009
Capitalism is a Social System Based on the Recognition of Individual Rights, the Capitalist Site, http://www.capitalism.org/faq/capitalism.html. Ast accessed on February 4, 2009
Paradigm, the Free Dictionary, http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Scientific+paradigmlast accessed on February 4, 2009
The Ancients and the Scholastics, CEPA Newschool, http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/schools/ancients.html. Ast accessed on February 4, 2009
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Pearson Education Limited, 1995
