(Wallerstein 2002, p. 51). Russia suffered many of the problems that were prevalent in other cultures where capitalism could have beenimagined to develop. Like Japan, Russia had a centralized government that controlled society and eliminated any chance of private enterprise and limited the ownership of land. It was not until the Revolution of 1905 that the serfs attained true freedom. (Figes 2002, p. 331). Afterwards, the nation was dominated by Marxist policies that purposely conflicted with capitalist ideology. Before all this, despite the efforts of Peter the Great, Russia remained beholden to its traditional mode of thinking. This was a type of thought that avoided competition and encouraged the growth of prominent families who most often had connections with the nation's elite.

In Latin America capitalism was stifled by many of the familiar reasons. While the West was endowed with a capitalist spirit, one which could be connected to a protestant ethic and its inherent nature of proselytizing, Latin America maintained an indigenous culture that did not concern itself or acknowledge other parts of the world within a capitalist framework. (De Soto 2003, p. 208). For the most part, authoritarian governments seized on the clash of cultures and made profit from those who were held by notions of security.

Africa represented the apex of colonialism and imperialistic impulses. Thus, it is without surprise that the continent lacked the culture of capitalism. (Huntington 2002, p. 21) Africa, in a most simplistic way, could be perceived as a place for the newly founded nation-states to compete...

The Scramble for Africa could be considered as nothing more than a resource grab that existed under the auspices of nation building, which was completely inapplicable to the continent.
In conclusion, the development of capitalism in the West was not a predetermined fate. It was the result of a number of circumstances and cultural ideals. Asia and Latin America were rife with regimes that did not encourage free enterprise. While China and the Muslims world were ahead of the West in establishing the foundations of a capitalist society, a change in rule and a new dominion precluded either from advancing toward the inevitable. The West, with its Protestant spirit was ideally situated to advance capitalism, in the sense of adventurism and spreading its message, than more contained societies like China an India.

Works Cited

Banaji, Jairus. (2007). Islam, The Mediterannean and the Rise of Capitalism. Historical Materialism. 15 (1), 51

De Soto, Hernando (2003). The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. New York: Basic Books. 208.

Figes, Orlando (2002). Natasha's Dance. New York: Metropolitan Books. 331.

Huntington, Samuel (2002). The Clash of Civilizations. London: Simon & Schusrer. 21.

Wallerstein, Immanuel. (2002). The West, capitalism and the modern-world system. In: Blue, Gregory and Brook, Timothy China and Historical Capitalism: Genealogies of Sinological Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.…