SusanJ
asked:
Can someone help me understand why cotton was such a big deal? I understand about supply/demand with respect to price - new technology and globalization and whatnot brought the price down, and allowed for a lot of production, but what makes the "demand" for cotton so great? Is it the fashion aspect? Certainly most folks I know have way more clothes than they'll ever wear, and keep buying more... But still...
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Empire of Cotton: A Global History,
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John McDonald
The importance of cotton goes far beyond fashion or comfort. Beckert's central thesis is that cotton production, transportation, brokering, and marketing, and cotton trading, did more to drive industrialization and make it sophisticated than any other economic activity. Of course, this means that cotton, for example, would have to compete for the title with shipping or the development of railroads and steel making. I found the book too hyperbolic about cotton, although I agree with Beckert's point about its economic significance, and frankly, there is very little that has to be said and repeated over and over about the varying types of cotton produced in every principality and village in India, the American South, or elsewhere.
Beckert also emphasizes (and he is correct) that the production of cotton from the earliest known time and in all parts of the world, not just the American South, perpetuated systems of slavery and caste systems based on involuntary servitudes. These caste and caste-like systems persevere today, and even where they do not legally, the long term effects are felt in opportunities to rise above the station one is born to.
Beckert really has written a book that scholars and students will refer to as the authoritative history about cotton, the cotton trade, and cotton cultures. His contribution is palpable, and if he hasn't already won academic prizes, he probably is on short lists for such recognition.
The book, unfortunately, is far too dense for non academics who thrive from reading and understanding economic and cultural history. I wondered throughout how far into the book readers like me, who enjoy economic and cultural histories, are willing to go before they just give up the ghost. Is it necessary to know that cotton is cultivated in certain parts of India can be woven with fewer or greater number of threads than that produced in other parts of the world, for example? Or, that cotton is such a tremendous contribution. I am digressing from the questions you ask, but my motivations are simple: non academics deserve the benefit of Beckert's perspective. Why not hire an experienced editor who is not an academic, someone writing or editing for the New Yorker, for instance?
Stephen Greenblatt showed us in The Swerve, that this could be done and readable, brilliantly and suavely written and edited prose together with immensely interesting social history can be the kind of book ordinary readers will curl up with and discuss at coffee with their buddies. I did. Someone like Beckert will have no trouble finding such a person his information being that good. I wish Thomas Picketty had done the same for his book about capitalism.
The alternative is to write 2 books--one for the scholars who will find such works indispensable and another one for those who are curious about this fascinating subject.
Beckert also emphasizes (and he is correct) that the production of cotton from the earliest known time and in all parts of the world, not just the American South, perpetuated systems of slavery and caste systems based on involuntary servitudes. These caste and caste-like systems persevere today, and even where they do not legally, the long term effects are felt in opportunities to rise above the station one is born to.
Beckert really has written a book that scholars and students will refer to as the authoritative history about cotton, the cotton trade, and cotton cultures. His contribution is palpable, and if he hasn't already won academic prizes, he probably is on short lists for such recognition.
The book, unfortunately, is far too dense for non academics who thrive from reading and understanding economic and cultural history. I wondered throughout how far into the book readers like me, who enjoy economic and cultural histories, are willing to go before they just give up the ghost. Is it necessary to know that cotton is cultivated in certain parts of India can be woven with fewer or greater number of threads than that produced in other parts of the world, for example? Or, that cotton is such a tremendous contribution. I am digressing from the questions you ask, but my motivations are simple: non academics deserve the benefit of Beckert's perspective. Why not hire an experienced editor who is not an academic, someone writing or editing for the New Yorker, for instance?
Stephen Greenblatt showed us in The Swerve, that this could be done and readable, brilliantly and suavely written and edited prose together with immensely interesting social history can be the kind of book ordinary readers will curl up with and discuss at coffee with their buddies. I did. Someone like Beckert will have no trouble finding such a person his information being that good. I wish Thomas Picketty had done the same for his book about capitalism.
The alternative is to write 2 books--one for the scholars who will find such works indispensable and another one for those who are curious about this fascinating subject.
Adam
My answer, based on reading the book and also my own experience, is that cotton was (and still is) superior to alternative fibers for most uses. It's more comfortable, lighter, easier to wash and holds dye better than the alternatives. Maybe today we could make do with clothing made of synthetic fiber, but imagine if all your clothing had to be either wool or linen -- I guess you would be willing to pay quite a premium for cotton underwear, at least. The book describes how cotton was often used as a store of value (like gold in some ways) because it was prized by every culture around the world. It's easy to take cotton for granted today because it's so cheap and available, but it is more widely used today than ever, and I suppose if it became scarce (as it once was) it would become a valuable luxury item once again.
Jessie
That's a really interesting question Susan. I just finished the book, and I'm currently doing my own dissertation research on cotton production in West Africa (as a sociologist). I don't have a full answer... but I would hazard a guess that it is related to social status. Beckert mentions it a few times. Clothing has long been used as a means of distinguishing ourselves in many cultures, and I think in the 1700s and 1800s, people had very few items of clothing and those items were often worn-looking and dirty. People that I talk to here in West Africa say that their grandparents had very few items of clothing, and that being able to purchase more clothes and fabrics (because they were inexpensive) gave them not only warmth/protection from the elements, but a way to look nice (and possibly "nicer" than their neighbors...).
Porter Broyles
With the introduction of the Cotton Gin, cotton became the go-to fabric of the age.
It was relatively inexpensive, easy to produce, and versitile. In the 1800s, it became one of the main commercial products of the day because you could use it to make virtually anything and everything made of cloth and do so cheaper and more comfortably.
Dresses, sails, bags for crops, pants, ropes, etc---all could be made from cotton.
It was relatively inexpensive, easy to produce, and versitile. In the 1800s, it became one of the main commercial products of the day because you could use it to make virtually anything and everything made of cloth and do so cheaper and more comfortably.
Dresses, sails, bags for crops, pants, ropes, etc---all could be made from cotton.
SusanJ
thanks for all the interesting answers. I don't remember what exactly was in my mind when I wrote the question 5 years ago, but what I'm thinking about now, is how there are certain products that the public "demands" that apparently can't be produced without horribly oppressive labor practices - cotton under slavery, the crops that migrant workers harvest nowadays, the minerals produced by virtual slaves in South America and Africa, to make smart phones and electric cars.
On some level, I feel like if we can't make particular products without the bad working conditions, we should do without the products... I know enough about economics to know that "demand" for a product is always "demand at a particular price" and if cotton cost $400/yard we wouldn't be finding it in jeans etc except maybe for the super-rich...
Anyway, thanks, all. I wish Goodreads had a more active discussion going - I'm always so hungry for conversation when I first read something...
On some level, I feel like if we can't make particular products without the bad working conditions, we should do without the products... I know enough about economics to know that "demand" for a product is always "demand at a particular price" and if cotton cost $400/yard we wouldn't be finding it in jeans etc except maybe for the super-rich...
Anyway, thanks, all. I wish Goodreads had a more active discussion going - I'm always so hungry for conversation when I first read something...
Kathie
What is the fabric that makes up denim jeans, comfortable shirts, underwear, flannel pajamas, etc.? Thinking about all the places we STILL see cotton used, in one form or another, and you will answer your own question. I am reading this book from my public library because I just finished reading The Golden Thread by Kassia St. Clair and Mr. Beckert's book is listed as a resource with many citations. I have sewn clothing for 61 years and cotton is still around, very easy to sew, breathes well in the heat (I live in Texas) and my mother picked cotton on a northeast Texas farm during the Depression. I am also a student of American Southern history and literature. I simply want to know more and from the reviews of this book, it would behoove me to read it. Start reading labels in clothing, linens, on and on, and you will see why cotton is still so relevant. I also quilt and that is all about cotton!
James Stripes
Cotton is comfortable.
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