A periodization of capitalism seeks to distinguish stages of development that help understanding of features of capitalism through time. The best-known periodizations that have been proposed distinguish these stages as:
- Early or concurrential/ monopoly/ state monopoly capitalism (Sweezy etc.)
- Free trade/ monopoly/ finance capitalism (Hilferding etc.)
- Early capitalism (primitive accumulation)/ colonialism/ imperialism (Hobson, Lenin, Bukharin)
- Extensive stage/ intensive stage/ (late capitalism) (Aglietta)
The Marxist periodization of capitalism into the stages: agricultural capitalism, merchant capitalism, industrial capitalism and state capitalism.
Another periodization includes merchant capitalism, industrial and finance capitalism, and global capitalism.
References
Periodizations of capitalism Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA