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123-454: The Alliance Against Sexual Coercion was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1976. The founders, Freada Kapor Klein , Lynn Wehrli, and Elizabeth Cohn-Stuntz had all worked at th Washington DC rape crisis center , and were experienced in addressing sexual harassment claims. The organisation was founded with a focus on intersectionality . Sexual harassment had been a documented issue since

246-464: A 2009 listed American Water Landmark located roughly one mile west of Fresh Pond and surrounded by the town of Belmont. The second area is the larger Hobbs Brook and Stony Brook watersheds, which share borders with neighboring towns and cities including Lexington, Lincoln , Waltham and Weston . Cambridge has been called the "City of Squares", as most of its commercial districts are major street intersections known as squares . Each square acts as

369-475: A Fitchburg Line commuter rail stop. Lesley University's University Hall and Porter campus are in Porter Square. Inman Square is at the junction of Cambridge and Hampshire streets in mid-Cambridge. It is home to restaurants, bars, music venues, and boutiques. Victorian streetlights, benches, and bus stops were added to the streets in the 2000s, and a new city park was installed. Lechmere Square

492-477: A broader and expanding money-based economy. The system put pressure on both landlords and tenants to increase the productivity of agriculture to make profit; the weakened coercive power of the aristocracy to extract peasant surpluses encouraged them to try better methods, and the tenants also had incentive to improve their methods in order to flourish in a competitive labor market . Terms of rent for land were becoming subject to economic market forces rather than to

615-411: A female householder with no husband present, and 60.4% were non-families. 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.76. Capitalism This is an accepted version of this page Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of

738-585: A formal property system where ownership and transactions are clearly recorded. According to de Soto, this is the process by which physical assets are transformed into capital, which in turn may be used in many more ways and much more efficiently in the market economy. A number of Marxian economists have argued that the inclosure acts in England and similar legislation elsewhere were an integral part of capitalist primitive accumulation and that specific legal frameworks of private land ownership have been integral to

861-703: A grant from Wellesley College's Center for Research on Women in Higher Education and the Professions. The brochure was released in a package along with advertisements for the AASC, templates for addressing harassers, and a copy of the first position paper. The brochure argued that sexual harassment was a form of violence against women. It included advice for victims of harassment, a history of harassment, and its effects on economically vulnerable women. The piece also criticized capitalism, blaming it for creating

984-602: A lab in 1982, in contrast to the hostility that caused the Genetic Institute, a Harvard spinoff, to abandon Somerville and Boston for Cambridge. The biotech and pharmaceutical industries have since thrived in Cambridge, which now includes headquarters for Biogen and Genzyme ; laboratories for Novartis , Teva , Takeda , Alnylam , Ironwood , Catabasis, Moderna Therapeutics , Editas Medicine ; support companies such as Cytel ; and many smaller companies. During

1107-504: A large co-working space, is in Kendall Square at 1 Broadway. The Cambridge Center office complex is in Kendall Square, and not at the actual center of Cambridge. The "One Kendall Square" complex is nearby, but not actually in Kendall Square. Central Square is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. Containing a variety of ethnic restaurants, it was economically depressed as recently as

1230-423: A large middle class were good for democracy. He also argued that a market economy provided a substitute for government control of the economy, which reduces the risks of tyranny and authoritarianism. In his book The Road to Serfdom (1944), Friedrich Hayek (1899–1992) asserted that the free-market understanding of economic freedom as present in capitalism is a requisite of political freedom . He argued that

1353-505: A large number of sellers nor to a market in final equilibrium . Competition is widespread throughout the market process . It is a condition where "buyers tend to compete with other buyers, and sellers tend to compete with other sellers". In offering goods for exchange, buyers competitively bid to purchase specific quantities of specific goods which are available, or might be available if sellers were to choose to offer such goods. Similarly, sellers bid against other sellers in offering goods on

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1476-631: A less protectionist policy, with the 1846 repeal of the Corn Laws and the 1849 repeal of the Navigation Acts . Britain reduced tariffs and quotas , in line with David Ricardo's advocacy of free trade . Broader processes of globalization carried capitalism across the world. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, a series of loosely connected market systems had come together as a relatively integrated global system, in turn intensifying processes of economic and other globalization. Late in

1599-646: A major transfer point to streetcars that also operated in a short tunnel —which is still a major bus terminal, although the area under the Square was reconfigured dramatically in the 1980s when the Red Line was extended. A short distance away from the square lies the Cambridge Common, while the neighborhood north of Harvard and east of Massachusetts Avenue is known as Baldwin, in honor of the first Black principal of Cambridge public schools, Maria L. Baldwin. It

1722-478: A neighborhood center. Kendall Square , formed by the junction of Broadway, Main Street, and Third Street, has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", owing to its high concentration of entrepreneurial start-ups and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010. Technology Square is an office and laboratory building cluster in this neighborhood. Just over

1845-474: A result of the Industrial Revolution. The accumulation of capital is the primary mechanism through which capitalist economies promote economic growth . However, it is a characteristic of such economies that they experience a business cycle of economic growth followed by recessions. The term "capitalist", meaning an owner of capital , appears earlier than the term "capitalism" and dates to

1968-576: A safe environment for investment and capitalism. Similarly, Suharto 's authoritarian reign and extirpation of the Communist Party of Indonesia allowed for the expansion of capitalism in Indonesia . The term "capitalism" in its modern sense is often attributed to Karl Marx . In his Das Kapital , Marx analyzed the " capitalist mode of production " using a method of understanding today known as Marxism . However, Marx himself rarely used

2091-552: A sexist and racist society. The AASC was highly critical of capitalism . In the 1978 article "The Role of Capitalism: Understanding Sexual Harassment", members Martha Hooven and Nancy McDonald argued that the capitalist system relied on hierarchies in order to function, including those created by sexism and racism. They also blamed capitalism for giving female workers low wages, forcing them to stay in jobs where they faced harassment. Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( / ˈ k eɪ m b r ɪ dʒ / KAYM -brij )

2214-686: A small scale for centuries in the form of merchant, renting and lending activities and occasionally as small-scale industry with some wage labor. Simple commodity exchange and consequently simple commodity production, which is the initial basis for the growth of capital from trade, have a very long history. During the Islamic Golden Age , Arabs promulgated capitalist economic policies such as free trade and banking. Their use of Indo-Arabic numerals facilitated bookkeeping . These innovations migrated to Europe through trade partners in cities such as Venice and Pisa. Italian mathematicians traveled

2337-528: A social system cannot be said to have existed before that date". England began a large-scale and integrative approach to mercantilism during the Elizabethan Era (1558–1603). A systematic and coherent explanation of balance of trade was made public through Thomas Mun 's argument England's Treasure by Forraign Trade, or the Balance of our Forraign Trade is The Rule of Our Treasure. It was written in

2460-907: A strong emphasis on innovation and economic growth . In a market economy , decision-making and investments are determined by owners of wealth, property, or ability to maneuver capital or production ability in capital and financial markets —whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by competition in goods and services markets. Economists, historians, political economists, and sociologists have adopted different perspectives in their analyses of capitalism and have recognized various forms of it in practice. These include laissez-faire or free-market capitalism , anarcho-capitalism , state capitalism , and welfare capitalism . Different forms of capitalism feature varying degrees of free markets , public ownership , obstacles to free competition, and state-sanctioned social policies . The degree of competition in markets and

2583-459: A women's liberal arts college, was based in Cambridge from its 1879 founding until its assimilation into Harvard in 1999. Kendall Square , near MIT in the eastern part of Cambridge, has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet" due to the high concentration of startup companies that have emerged there since 2010. Founded in December 1630 during the colonial era , Cambridge

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2706-745: Is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston . The city's population as of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the most populous city in the county, the fourth-largest in Massachusetts behind Boston , Worcester , and Springfield , and ninth-most populous in New England . The city

2829-416: Is a fundamental threat to repressive political leaders and greatly diminishes their power to coerce. Some of Friedman's views were shared by John Maynard Keynes , who believed that capitalism was vital for freedom to survive and thrive. Freedom House , an American think-tank that conducts international research on, and advocates for, democracy, political freedom and human rights , has argued that "there

2952-649: Is a high and statistically significant correlation between the level of political freedom as measured by Freedom House and economic freedom as measured by the Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation survey ". In Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2013), Thomas Piketty of the Paris School of Economics asserted that inequality is the inevitable consequence of economic growth in a capitalist economy and

3075-610: Is at the junction of Cambridge and First streets, adjacent to the CambridgeSide Galleria shopping mall. It is served by Lechmere station on the MBTA Green Line . The City of Cambridge officially recognizes 13 neighborhoods, which are as follows: In the Köppen-Geiger classification, Cambridge has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) with hot summers and cold winters, that can appear in

3198-588: Is governed by stable economic laws of its own. In the English language , the term "capitalism" first appears, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), in 1854, in the novel The Newcomes by novelist William Makepeace Thackeray , where the word meant "having ownership of capital". Also according to the OED, Carl Adolph Douai , a German American socialist and abolitionist , used

3321-477: Is no competition. A monopoly occurs when a firm has exclusivity over a market. Hence, the firm can engage in rent seeking behaviors such as limiting output and raising prices because it has no fear of competition. Governments have implemented legislation for the purpose of preventing the creation of monopolies and cartels. In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act became the first legislation passed by

3444-422: Is no profit in making an article, it is a sign that the labor and capital devoted to its production are misdirected: the value of the resources that must be used up in making the article is greater than the value of the article itself". Socialist theorists note that, unlike mercantilists, capitalists accumulate their profits while expecting their profit rates to remain the same. This causes problems as earnings in

3567-467: Is now within Harvard Square . The marketplace where farmers sold crops from surrounding towns at the edge of a salt marsh (since filled) remains within a small park at the corner of John F. Kennedy and Winthrop Streets. In 1636, Newe College, later renamed Harvard College after benefactor John Harvard , was founded as North America's first institution of higher learning . Its initial purpose

3690-483: Is south of Central Square, and bordered by MIT, the Charles River, Massachusetts Avenue, and River Street. Harvard Square is formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, Dunster Street, and JFK Street. This is the primary site of Harvard University and a major Cambridge shopping area. It is served by a Red Line station . Harvard Square was originally the Red Line's northwestern terminus and

3813-588: Is to say the appropriation of capital by some to the exclusion of others") and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in 1861 ("Economic and social regime in which capital, the source of income, does not generally belong to those who make it work through their labor"). Karl Marx frequently referred to the " capital " and to the "capitalist mode of production" in Das Kapital (1867). Marx did not use the form capitalism but instead used capital , capitalist and capitalist mode of production , which appear frequently. Due to

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3936-530: The Cambridge and Concord Turnpike (today's Broadway and Concord Ave.), the Middlesex Turnpike (Hampshire St. and Massachusetts Ave. northwest of Porter Square ), and what are today's Cambridge, Main, and Harvard Streets connected various areas of Cambridge to the bridges. In addition, the town was connected to the Boston & Maine Railroad , leading to the development of Porter Square as well as

4059-586: The Continental Army and appointed George Washington commander of it, Washington arrived at Cambridge Common to take command of the Patriot soldiers camped there. Many of these soldiers played a role in supporting Washington's successful Siege of Boston , which trapped garrisoned British troops from moving by land, forcing the British to ultimately abandon Boston. Cambridge Common is thus celebrated as

4182-589: The Fig Newton , Necco , Squirrel Brands , George Close Company (1861–1930s), Page & Shaw , Daggett Chocolate (1892–1960s, recipes bought by Necco), Fox Cross Company (1920–1980, originator of the Charleston Chew , and now part of Tootsie Roll Industries ), Kendall Confectionery Company, and James O. Welch (1927–1963, originator of Junior Mints , Sugar Daddies , Sugar Mamas , and Sugar Babies , now part of Tootsie Roll Industries). Main Street

4305-479: The Great Depression and after World War II , Cambridge lost much of its industrial base. It also began to become an intellectual, rather than an industrial, center. Harvard University , which had always been important as both a landowner and an institution, began to play a more dominant role in the city's life and culture. When Radcliffe College was established in 1879, the town became a mecca for some of

4428-681: The Longfellow Bridge from Boston, at the eastern end of the MIT campus, it is served by the Kendall/MIT station on the MBTA Red Line subway. Most of Cambridge's large office towers are located in the Square. Kendall Square houses some of the biggest technological companies of the world, including Google , Microsoft , Amazon , Meta , and Apple . A biotech industry has developed in this area. The Cambridge Innovation Center ,

4551-647: The Massachusetts General Court purchased the land that became present-day Cambridge from the Naumkeag Squaw Sachem of Mistick . The town comprised a much larger area than the present city, with various outlying parts becoming independent towns over the years: Cambridge Village (later Newtown and now Newton ) in 1688, Cambridge Farms (now Lexington ) in 1712 or 1713, and Little or South Cambridge (now Brighton ) and Menotomy or West Cambridge (now Arlington ) in 1807. In

4674-763: The World Bank and the IMF ), large institutional investors and a well-funded banking system . A significant managerial class has emerged and decides on a significant proportion of investments and other decisions. A different future than that envisioned by Marx has started to emerge—explored and described by Anthony Crosland in the United Kingdom in his 1956 book The Future of Socialism and by John Kenneth Galbraith in North America in his 1958 book The Affluent Society , 90 years after Marx's research on

4797-579: The means of production and their operation for profit . The defining characteristics of capitalism include private property, capital accumulation , competitive markets , price systems , recognition of property rights , self-interest , economic freedom , meritocracy , work ethic , consumer sovereignty , economic efficiency , profit motive , a financial infrastructure of money and investment that makes possible credit and debt , entrepreneurship , commodification , voluntary exchange , wage labor , production of commodities and services , and

4920-410: The neoliberal global economy would have been impossible without the fall of communism . Harvard Kennedy School economist Dani Rodrik distinguishes between three historical variants of capitalism: The relationship between democracy and capitalism is a contentious area in theory and in popular political movements. The extension of adult-male suffrage in 19th-century Britain occurred along with

5043-479: The transatlantic cable , the radiotelephone , the steamship and railways allowed goods and information to move around the world to an unprecedented degree. In the United States, the term "capitalist" primarily referred to powerful businessmen until the 1920s due to widespread societal skepticism and criticism of capitalism and its most ardent supporters. Contemporary capitalist societies developed in

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5166-421: The 'first position paper'. This paper linked sexual coercion to economic power, as well as highlighted the parallels between sexual harassment and rape, the positioning of the issue in feminist activism, and the lack of legal protection for victims. The twenty-three page 1977 brochure was created by AASC members Rags Brophy, Mary Bularzik, Martha Hooven, Freada Klein , Elizabeth Cohn-Stuntz, and Lynn Wehrli, using

5289-422: The 1620s and published in 1664. European merchants , backed by state controls, subsidies and monopolies , made most of their profits by buying and selling goods. In the words of Francis Bacon , the purpose of mercantilism was "the opening and well-balancing of trade; the cherishing of manufacturers; the banishing of idleness; the repressing of waste and excess by sumptuary laws; the improvement and husbanding of

5412-464: The 16th and 18th centuries. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century established capitalism as a dominant mode of production , characterized by factory work and a complex division of labor . Through the process of globalization , capitalism spread across the world in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially before World War I and after the end of the Cold War. During the 19th century, capitalism

5535-588: The 18th-century decisively shaped globalization. After the First and Second Opium Wars (1839–60) and the completion of the British conquest of India by 1858, vast populations of Asia became consumers of European exports. Europeans colonized areas of sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific islands. Colonisation by Europeans, notably of sub-Saharan Africa, yielded valuable natural resources such as rubber , diamonds and coal and helped fuel trade and investment between

5658-528: The 1900s, and was a part of working women's lives. The issue often went unaddressed by unions, and women experiencing harassment were often subject to Victim blaming . Mary Anderson, the first director of the United States Women's Bureau the Department of Labor , described in her autobiography how women carried knives to protect themselves from foremen, and a strike leading to the firing of

5781-402: The 20th century, capitalism overcame a challenge by centrally-planned economies and is now the encompassing system worldwide, with the mixed economy as its dominant form in the industrialized Western world. Industrialization allowed cheap production of household items using economies of scale , while rapid population growth created sustained demand for commodities. The imperialism of

5904-629: The Cambridge Housing Authority and the Public Works Administration demolished an integrated low-income tenement neighborhood with African Americans and European immigrants. In its place, it built the whites-only " Newtowne Court " public housing development and the adjoining, blacks-only " Washington Elms " project in 1940; the city required segregation in its other public housing projects as well. As industry in New England began to decline during

6027-527: The European imperial powers, their colonies and the United States: The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea, the various products of the whole earth, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep. Militarism and imperialism of racial and cultural rivalries were little more than the amusements of his daily newspaper. What an extraordinary episode in

6150-575: The Mediterranean talking to Arab traders and returned to popularize the use of Indo-Arabic numerals in Europe. The economic foundations of the feudal agricultural system began to shift substantially in 16th-century England as the manorial system had broken down and land began to become concentrated in the hands of fewer landlords with increasingly large estates. Instead of a serf -based system of labor, workers were increasingly employed as part of

6273-531: The United Kingdom (1979–1990). Public and political interest began shifting away from the so-called collectivist concerns of Keynes's managed capitalism to a focus on individual choice , called "remarketized capitalism". The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union allowed for capitalism to become a truly global system in a way not seen since before World War I . The development of

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6396-503: The United States Congress to limit monopolies. Wage labor, usually referred to as paid work, paid employment, or paid labor, refers to the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labor power under a formal or informal employment contract . These transactions usually occur in a labor market where wages or salaries are market-determined . In exchange for

6519-543: The West from 1950 to the present and this type of system continues throughout the world—relevant examples started in the United States after the 1950s , France after the 1960s , Spain after the 1970s , Poland after 2015 , and others. At this stage most capitalist markets are considered developed and characterized by developed private and public markets for equity and debt, a high standard of living (as characterized by

6642-581: The birthplace of the Continental Army. The Massachusett inhabited the area that is now called Cambridge for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas , most recently under the name Anmoughcawgen , which means 'fishing weir' or 'beaver dam' in Natick . At the time of European contact, the area was inhabited by Naumkeag or Pawtucket to the north and Massachusett to

6765-473: The bursting of the United States housing bubble in 2008 and 2009. Cambridge has been a sanctuary city since 1985 and reaffirmed its status as such in 2006. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , Cambridge has a total area of 7.1 square miles (18 km ), 6.4 square miles (17 km ) of which is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km ) (9.82%) of which is water. Cambridge is located in eastern Massachusetts, bordered by: The border between Cambridge and

6888-529: The business of a third party by offering the most favourable terms". It was described by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations (1776) and later economists as allocating productive resources to their most highly valued uses and encouraging efficiency . Smith and other classical economists before Antoine Augustine Cournot were referring to price and non-price rivalry among producers to sell their goods on best terms by bidding of buyers, not necessarily to

7011-548: The carving up of the last estates into residential subdivisions to house the thousands of immigrants who arrived to work in the new industries. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the city's largest employer was the New England Glass Company , founded in 1818. By the middle of the 19th century, it was the world's largest and most modern glassworks. In 1888, Edward Drummond Libbey moved all production to Toledo, Ohio , where it continues today under

7134-406: The city . Within four years of repealing the law, Cambridge, where "the city's form of rent control was unusually strict," saw new housing and construction increase by 50%, and the tax revenue from construction permits tripled. Property values in Cambridge increased by about $ 7.8 billion in the decade following the repeal. Roughly a quarter of this increase, $ 1.8 billion ($ 3 billion in 2024 dollars),

7257-477: The city. The population density was 16,354.9 inhabitants per square mile (6,314.7/km ). There were 47,291 housing units at an average density of 7,354.7 per square mile (2,839.7/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 66.60% White , 11.70% Black or African American , 0.20% Native American , 15.10% Asian (3.7% Chinese , 1.4% Asian Indian , 1.2% Korean , 1.0% Japanese ), 0.01% Pacific Islander , 2.10% from other races, and 4.30% from two or more races. 7.60% of

7380-573: The construction of West Boston Bridge in 1792 connecting Cambridge directly to Boston , making it no longer necessary to travel eight miles (13 km) through the Boston Neck , Roxbury , and Brookline to cross the Charles River . A second bridge, the Canal Bridge, opened in 1809 alongside the new Middlesex Canal . The new bridges and roads made what were formerly estates and marshland into prime industrial and residential districts. In

7503-520: The creation of neighboring Somerville from the formerly rural parts of Charlestown . Cambridge was incorporated as a city in 1846. The city's commercial center began to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which became the city's downtown around that time. Between 1850 and 1900, Cambridge took on much of its present character, featuring streetcar suburban development along the turnpikes and working class and industrial neighborhoods focused on East Cambridge, comfortable middle-class housing on

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7626-578: The development of capitalism. Private property rights are not absolute, as in many countries the state has the power to seize private property, typically for public use, under the powers of eminent domain . In capitalist economics, market competition is the rivalry among sellers trying to achieve such goals as increasing profits, market share and sales volume by varying the elements of the marketing mix : price, product, distribution and promotion. Merriam-Webster defines competition in business as "the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure

7749-754: The development of industrial capitalism and representative democracy became widespread at the same time as capitalism, leading capitalists to posit a causal or mutual relationship between them. However, according to some authors in the 20th-century, capitalism also accompanied a variety of political formations quite distinct from liberal democracies, including fascist regimes, absolute monarchies and single-party states . Democratic peace theory asserts that democracies seldom fight other democracies, but others suggest this may be because of political similarity or stability, rather than because they are "democratic" or "capitalist". Critics argue that though economic growth under capitalism has led to democracy, it may not do so in

7872-461: The economic progress of man was that age which came to an end in August 1914. From the 1870s to the early 1920s, the global financial system was mainly tied to the gold standard . The United Kingdom first formally adopted this standard in 1821. Soon to follow were Canada in 1853, Newfoundland in 1865, the United States and Germany ( de jure ) in 1873. New technologies, such as the telegraph ,

7995-588: The era of rent control in Massachusetts , at least 20 percent of all rent controlled apartments in Cambridge housed the rich. The vast majority housed middle- and high-income earners. In an independent study conducted of 2/3 of the rent controlled apartments in Cambridge in 1988, 246 were households headed by doctors, 298 by lawyers, 265 by architects, 259 by professors, and 220 by engineers. There were 2,650 with students, including 1,503 with graduate students. Those who lived in rent controlled apartments included The end of rent control in 1994 had numerous effects on

8118-399: The era of merchant capitalism and mercantilism as the origin of modern capitalism, although Karl Polanyi argued that the hallmark of capitalism is the establishment of generalized markets for what he called the "fictitious commodities", i.e. land, labor and money. Accordingly, he argued that "not until 1834 was a competitive labor market established in England, hence industrial capitalism as

8241-493: The expense of another state. During the Industrial Revolution , industrialists replaced merchants as a dominant factor in the capitalist system and effected the decline of the traditional handicraft skills of artisans , guilds and journeymen . Industrial capitalism marked the development of the factory system of manufacturing, characterized by a complex division of labor between and within work process and

8364-666: The first convenient Charles River crossing west of Boston , Newtowne was one of several towns, including Boston, Dorchester , Watertown , and Weymouth , founded by the 700 original Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony under Governor John Winthrop . Its first preacher was Thomas Hooker , who led many of its original inhabitants west in 1636 to found Hartford and the Connecticut Colony ; before leaving, they sold their plots to more recent immigrants from England. The original village site

8487-657: The first network router in 1969 and hosted the invention of computer-to-computer email in 1971. The 1980s brought a wave of high technology startups. Those selling advanced minicomputers were overtaken by the microcomputer . Cambridge-based VisiCorp made the first spreadsheet software for personal computers, VisiCalc , and helped propel the Apple II to consumer success. It was overtaken and purchased by Cambridge-based Lotus Development , maker of Lotus 1-2-3 (which was, in turn, replaced in by Microsoft Excel ). The city continues to be home to many startups. Kendall Square

8610-522: The following: In free market and laissez-faire forms of capitalism, markets are used most extensively with minimal or no regulation over the pricing mechanism. In mixed economies, which are almost universal today, markets continue to play a dominant role, but they are regulated to some extent by the state in order to correct market failures , promote social welfare , conserve natural resources , fund defense and public safety or other rationale. In state capitalist systems, markets are relied upon

8733-651: The force of Patriot soldiers camped on Cambridge Common on July 3, 1775, which is now considered the birthplace of the Continental Army . On January 24, 1776, Henry Knox arrived with an artillery train captured from Fort Ticonderoga , which allowed Washington to force the British Army to evacuate Boston . Most of the Loyalist estates in Cambridge were confiscated after the Revolutionary War . Between 1790 and 1840, Cambridge grew rapidly with

8856-716: The foremen and an increase in women's wages. In 1978, Susan Meyer and Karen Sauvigné, friends of activist Lin Farley , created a National Information and Referral Service with the help of a $ 6,500 grant from the city of New York. Meyer and Sauvigné had also worked at the Washington DC Rape Crisis Center, and had campaigned against sexual harassment in the District of Columbia. The hotline provided emotional support and advice to victims of sexual harassment, and referred callers to attorneys and counselors. It

8979-477: The future as authoritarian régimes have been able to manage economic growth using some of capitalism's competitive principles without making concessions to greater political freedom . Political scientists Torben Iversen and David Soskice see democracy and capitalism as mutually supportive. Robert Dahl argued in On Democracy that capitalism was beneficial for democracy because economic growth and

9102-475: The idea that if all participants focus on their own goals, society's well-being will be water under the bridge, Smith maintains that despite the concerns of intellectuals, "global trends will hardly be altered if they refrain from pursuing their personal ends." He insisted that the actions of a few participants cannot alter the course of society. Instead, Smith maintained that they should focus on personal progress instead and that this will result in overall growth to

9225-619: The late 1990s; it underwent gentrification in recent years (in conjunction with the development of the nearby University Park at MIT ), and continues to grow more costly. It is served by the Central Station stop on the MBTA Red Line subway. Lafayette Square , formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street, and Main Street, is considered part of the Central Square area. Cambridgeport

9348-416: The late 19th century, various schemes for annexing Cambridge to Boston were pursued and rejected. Newtowne's ministers, Hooker and Shepard, the college's first president , the college's major benefactor, and the first schoolmaster Nathaniel Eaton were all Cambridge alumni, as was the colony's governor John Winthrop. In 1629, Winthrop had led the signing of the founding document of the city of Boston, which

9471-410: The lawsuit, failed to file the case in a timely manner, and that the suit failed "to state a claim for relief for violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act" while the actions of the supervisor were regarded as a matter of "a personal proclivity, peculiarity or mannerism. By his alleged sexual advances, Mr. Price was satisfying a personal urge" with no company policy involved. Williams v. Saxbe

9594-696: The least corrupt, operates largely under a one-party rule. Furthermore, it does not vigorously defend freedom of expression as evidenced by its government-regulated press , and its penchant for upholding laws protecting ethnic and religious harmony, judicial dignity and personal reputation. The private (capitalist) sector in the People's Republic of China has grown exponentially and thrived since its inception, despite having an authoritarian government. Augusto Pinochet 's rule in Chile led to economic growth and high levels of inequality by using authoritarian means to create

9717-406: The least, with the state relying heavily on state-owned enterprises or indirect economic planning to accumulate capital. Competition arises when more than one producer is trying to sell the same or similar products to the same buyers. Adherents of the capitalist theory believe that competition leads to innovation and more affordable prices. Monopolies or cartels can develop, especially if there

9840-403: The market mechanism is the only way of deciding what to produce and how to distribute the items without using coercion. Milton Friedman and Ronald Reagan also promoted this view. Friedman claimed that centralized economic operations are always accompanied by political repression . In his view, transactions in a market economy are voluntary and the wide diversity that voluntary activity permits

9963-428: The market, competing for the attention and exchange resources of buyers. Competition results from scarcity , as it is not possible to satisfy all conceivable human wants, and occurs as people try to meet the criteria being used to determine allocation. In the works of Adam Smith, the idea of capitalism is made possible through competition which creates growth. Although capitalism had not entered mainstream economics at

10086-434: The mid-17th century. "Capitalism" is derived from capital , which evolved from capitale , a late Latin word based on caput , meaning "head"—which is also the origin of " chattel " and " cattle " in the sense of movable property (only much later to refer only to livestock). Capitale emerged in the 12th to 13th centuries to refer to funds, stock of merchandise, sum of money or money carrying interest. By 1283, it

10209-421: The mid-19th century, Cambridge was the center of a literary revolution. It was home to some of the famous Fireside poets , named because their poems would often be read aloud by families in front of their evening fires. The Fireside poets, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , James Russell Lowell , and Oliver Wendell Holmes , were highly popular and influential in this era. Soon after, turnpikes were built:

10332-424: The money paid as wages (usual for short-term work-contracts) or salaries (in permanent employment contracts), the work product generally becomes the undifferentiated property of the employer. A wage laborer is a person whose primary means of income is from the selling of their labor in this way. The profit motive , in the theory of capitalism, is the desire to earn income in the form of profit. Stated differently,

10455-746: The name Owens-Illinois . The company's flint glassware with heavy lead content is prized by antique glass collectors, and the Toledo Museum of Art has a large collection. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Sandwich Glass Museum on Cape Cod also house several pieces. In 1895, Edwin Ginn , founder of Ginn and Company , built the Athenaeum Press Building for his publishing textbook empire. By 1920, Cambridge

10578-403: The nation's most academically talented female students. MIT 's move from Boston to Cambridge in 1916 reinforced Cambridge's status as an intellectual center of the United States. After the 1950s, the city's population began to decline slowly as families tended to be replaced by single people and young couples. In Cambridge Highlands, the technology company Bolt, Beranek, & Newman produced

10701-574: The neighboring city of Somerville passes through densely populated neighborhoods, which are connected by the MBTA Red Line . Some of the main squares, Inman , Porter, and to a lesser extent, Harvard and Lechmere , are very close to the city line, as are Somerville's Union and Davis Squares . Through the City of Cambridge's exclusive municipal water system, the city further controls two exclave areas, one being Payson Park Reservoir and Gatehouse,

10824-478: The old Cambridgeport, and Mid-Cambridge estates and upper-class enclaves near Harvard University and on the minor hills. The arrival of the railroad in North Cambridge and Northwest Cambridge led to three changes: the development of massive brickyards and brickworks between Massachusetts Avenue , Concord Avenue , and Alewife Brook ; the ice-cutting industry launched by Frederic Tudor on Fresh Pond ; and

10947-482: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race (1.6% Puerto Rican , 1.4% Mexican , 0.6% Dominican , 0.5% Colombian & Salvadoran , 0.4% Spaniard ). Non-Hispanic Whites were 62.1% of the population in 2010, down from 89.7% in 1970. An individual resident of Cambridge is known as a Cantabrigian . In 2010, there were 44,032 households, out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had

11070-484: The previous stage of mercantilism, invested capital in the East India Companies and other colonies, seeking a return on investment . In the mid-18th century a group of economic theorists, led by David Hume (1711–1776) and Adam Smith (1723–1790), challenged fundamental mercantilist doctrines—such as the belief that the world's wealth remained constant and that a state could only increase its wealth at

11193-599: The previous stagnant system of custom and feudal obligation. The economic doctrine prevailing from the 16th to the 18th centuries is commonly called mercantilism . This period, the Age of Discovery , was associated with the geographic exploration of foreign lands by merchant traders, especially from England and the Low Countries . Mercantilism was a system of trade for profit, although commodities were still largely produced by non-capitalist methods. Most scholars consider

11316-491: The reason for a business's existence is to turn a profit. The profit motive functions according to rational choice theory , or the theory that individuals tend to pursue what is in their own best interests. Accordingly, businesses seek to benefit themselves and/or their shareholders by maximizing profit. In capitalist theoretics, the profit motive is said to ensure that resources are being allocated efficiently. For instance, Austrian economist Henry Hazlitt explains: "If there

11439-435: The rest of society do not increase in the same proportion. The relationship between the state , its formal mechanisms, and capitalist societies has been debated in many fields of social and political theory, with active discussion since the 19th century. Hernando de Soto is a contemporary Peruvian economist who has argued that an important characteristic of capitalism is the functioning state protection of property rights in

11562-517: The resulting concentration of wealth can destabilize democratic societies and undermine the ideals of social justice upon which they are built. States with capitalistic economic systems have thrived under political regimes deemed to be authoritarian or oppressive. Singapore has a successful open market economy as a result of its competitive, business-friendly climate and robust rule of law. Nonetheless, it often comes under fire for its style of government which, though democratic and consistently one of

11685-613: The role of intervention and regulation , as well as the scope of state ownership, vary across different models of capitalism. The extent to which different markets are free and the rules defining private property are matters of politics and policy. Most of the existing capitalist economies are mixed economies that combine elements of free markets with state intervention and in some cases economic planning . Capitalism in its modern form emerged from agrarianism in England , as well as mercantilist practices by European countries between

11808-486: The routine of work tasks; and eventually established the domination of the capitalist mode of production . Industrial Britain eventually abandoned the protectionist policy formerly prescribed by mercantilism. In the 19th century, Richard Cobden (1804–1865) and John Bright (1811–1889), who based their beliefs on the Manchester School , initiated a movement to lower tariffs . In the 1840s Britain adopted

11931-652: The soil; the regulation of prices...". After the period of the proto-industrialization , the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company , after massive contributions from the Mughal Bengal , inaugurated an expansive era of commerce and trade. These companies were characterized by their colonial and expansionary powers given to them by nation-states. During this era, merchants, who had traded under

12054-461: The south, and may have been inhabited by other groups such as the Totant, not well described in later European narratives. The contact period introduced a number of European infectious diseases which would decimate native populations in virgin soil epidemics , leaving the area uncontested upon the arrival of large groups of English settlers in 1630. In December 1630, the site of present-day Cambridge

12177-402: The southern end of New England's interior. Abundant rain falls on the city (and in the winter often as snow); it has no dry season. The average January temperature is 26.6 °F (−3 °C), making Cambridge part of Group D, independent of the isotherm. There are four well-defined seasons. As of the census of 2010, there were 105,162 people, 44,032 households, and 17,420 families residing in

12300-440: The state of capitalism in 1867. The postwar boom ended in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the economic situation grew worse with the rise of stagflation . Monetarism , a modification of Keynesianism that is more compatible with laissez-faire analyses, gained increasing prominence in the capitalist world, especially under the years in office of Ronald Reagan in the United States (1981–1989) and of Margaret Thatcher in

12423-420: The term "capitalism" by many authors as "mainly rhetorical, functioning less as an actual concept than as a gesture toward the need for a concept". Scholars who are uncritical of capitalism rarely actually use the term "capitalism". Some doubt that the term "capitalism" possesses valid scientific dignity, and it is generally not discussed in mainstream economics , with economist Daron Acemoglu suggesting that

12546-418: The term "capitalism" should be abandoned entirely. Consequently, understanding of the concept of capitalism tends to be heavily influenced by opponents of capitalism and by the followers and critics of Karl Marx. Capitalism, in its modern form, can be traced to the emergence of agrarian capitalism and mercantilism in the early Renaissance , in city-states like Florence . Capital has existed incipiently on

12669-525: The term "capitalism" while it was used twice in the more political interpretations of his work, primarily authored by his collaborator Friedrich Engels . In the 20th century, defenders of the capitalist system often replaced the term "capitalism" with phrases such as free enterprise and private enterprise and replaced "capitalist" with rentier and investor in reaction to the negative connotations associated with capitalism. In general, capitalism as an economic system and mode of production can be summarized by

12792-518: The term "private capitalism" in 1863. There is no universally agreed upon definition of capitalism; it is unclear whether or not capitalism characterizes an entire society, a specific type of social order, or crucial components or elements of a society. Societies officially founded in opposition to capitalism (such as the Soviet Union ) have sometimes been argued to actually exhibit characteristics of capitalism. Nancy Fraser describes usage of

12915-466: The term in his first work, What is Property? (1840), to refer to the owners of capital. Benjamin Disraeli used the term in his 1845 work Sybil . Alexander Hamilton used "capitalist" in his Report of Manufactures presented to the United States Congress in 1791. The initial use of the term "capitalism" in its modern sense is attributed to Louis Blanc in 1850 ("What I call 'capitalism' that

13038-414: The time of Smith, it is vital to the construction of his ideal society. One of the foundational blocks of capitalism is competition. Smith believed that a prosperous society is one where "everyone should be free to enter and leave the market and change trades as often as he pleases." He believed that the freedom to act in one's self-interest is essential for the success of a capitalist society. In response to

13161-515: The town comprising farms and estates. Most inhabitants were descendants of the original Puritan colonists, but there was also a small elite of Anglican "worthies" who were not involved in village life, made their livings from estates, investments, and trade, and lived in mansions along "the Road to Watertown", present-day Brattle Street , which is still known as Tory Row . The Virginian George Washington , coming from Philadelphia , took command of

13284-410: The word being coined by socialist critics of capitalism, economist and historian Robert Hessen stated that the term "capitalism" itself is a term of disparagement and a misnomer for economic individualism . Bernard Harcourt agrees with the statement that the term is a misnomer, adding that it misleadingly suggests that there is such a thing as " capital " that inherently functions in certain ways and

13407-510: The workplace instead of making women change their behavior. On March 14, 1975, Jane Corne, Geneva Devane, and other plaintiffs filed a case in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against the Bausch & Lomb Company. The complaint alleged the violation of civil rights based on sex discrimination. The case was dismissed. The judge ruled that the accusers failed to exhaust their potential remedies through other state channels before filing

13530-489: Was a software hub through the dot-com boom and today hosts offices of such technology companies as Google, Microsoft , and Amazon . The Square also now houses the headquarters of Akamai . In 1976, Harvard's plans to start experiments with recombinant DNA led to a three-month moratorium and a citizen review panel. In the end, Cambridge decided to allow such experiments but passed safety regulations in 1977. This led to regulatory certainty and acceptance when Biogen opened

13653-482: Was chosen for settlement because it was safely upriver from Boston Harbor , making it easily defensible from attacks by enemy ships. The city was founded by Thomas Dudley , his daughter Anne Bradstreet , and his son-in-law Simon Bradstreet . The first houses were built in the spring of 1631. The settlement was initially referred to as "the newe towne". Official Massachusetts records show the name rendered as Newe Towne by 1632, and as Newtowne by 1638. Located at

13776-851: Was decided that the hotline was not sufficient to address the issue. The organization contemplated addressing the issue through the legal system. Freada Klein and Lynn Wehrli released a publication stating that legal reform was required in order to address widespread sexual coercion. At the time, there was no legal definition of sexual harassment. Klein and Wehli argued that this showed men that there would be no consequences for sexual harassment. The AASC made several proposals addressing workplace sexual harassment. These included laws to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable. The group advocated for an intersectional approach, stating that black and brown men were more likely to be accused and convicted than their white counterparts. The AASC intersectional approach focused on changing male opinions on inequality in

13899-548: Was due to the repeal of rent control. Close to 40% of all Cambridge properties were under rent control when it was repealed. Their property values appreciated faster than non-rent controlled properties, as did the properties around them. By the end of the 20th century, Cambridge had one of the most costly housing markets in the Northeastern United States . Cambridge's mix of amenities and proximity to Boston kept housing prices relatively stable despite

14022-591: Was known as the Cambridge Agreement , after the university. In 1650, Governor Thomas Dudley signed the charter creating the corporation that still governs Harvard College. Cambridge grew slowly as an agricultural village eight miles (13 km) by road from Boston, the colony 's capital. By the American Revolution , most residents lived near the Common and Harvard College, with most of

14145-560: Was largely unregulated by the state, but became more regulated in the post– World War II period through Keynesianism , followed by a return of more unregulated capitalism starting in the 1980s through neoliberalism . The existence of market economies has been observed under many forms of government and across a vast array of historical periods , geographical locations , and cultural contexts. The modern industrial capitalist societies that exist today developed in Western Europe as

14268-596: Was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge , England, which was an important center of the Puritan theology that was embraced by the town's founders. Harvard University , an Ivy League university founded in Cambridge in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lesley University , and Hult International Business School also are based in Cambridge. Radcliffe College ,

14391-743: Was nicknamed "Confectioner's Row". Only the Cambridge Brands subsidiary of Tootsie Roll Industries remains in town, still manufacturing Junior Mints in the old Welch factory on Main Street. The Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company (1886), the Kendall Boiler and Tank Company (1880, now in Chelmsford, Massachusetts ), and the New England Glass Company (1818–1878) were among the industrial manufacturers in what are now Kendall Square and East Cambridge. In 1935,

14514-782: Was one among the first cities established in the Thirteen Colonies , and it went on to play a historic role during the American Revolution . In May 1775, approximately 16,000 American patriots assembled in Cambridge Common to begin organizing a military retaliation against British troops following the Battles of Lexington and Concord . On July 2, 1775, two weeks after the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia formally established

14637-633: Was one of New England 's main industrial cities, with nearly 120,000 residents. Among the largest businesses in Cambridge during the period of industrialization was Carter's Ink Company , whose neon sign long adorned the Charles River and which was for many years the world's largest ink manufacturer. Next door was the Athenaeum Press. Confectionery and snack manufacturers in the Cambridgeport-Area 4-Kendall corridor included Kennedy Biscuit Factory, later part of Nabisco and originator of

14760-479: Was renamed "Baldwin" in 2021, and so some know the area better by its former name, Agassiz, after the famed scientist Louis Agassiz . Porter Square is about a mile north on Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard Square, at the junction of Massachusetts and Somerville Avenues. It includes part of the city of Somerville and is served by the Porter Square Station , a complex housing a Red Line stop and

14883-578: Was the first case to validate the harassment of women under gender discrimination. Judge Charles R. Richey 's ruling held that the Civil Rights Act shields employees from retaliation for refusing their superior's sexual propositions, a change to the legal perspectives on workplace sexual harassment. Members of the AASC published materials in order to increase awareness around sexual harassment, as well as its history, social context, and legal implications. In October 1976, Klein and Wehrli published

15006-480: Was training ministers . According to Cotton Mather , Newtowne was chosen for the site of the college by the Great and General Court , then the legislature of Massachusetts Bay Colony , primarily for its proximity to the popular and highly respected Puritan preacher Thomas Shepard . In May 1638, the settlement's name was changed to Cambridge in honor of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge , England. In 1639,

15129-763: Was used in the sense of the capital assets of a trading firm and was often interchanged with other words—wealth, money, funds, goods, assets, property and so on. The Hollantse ( German : holländische ) Mercurius uses "capitalists" in 1633 and 1654 to refer to owners of capital. In French, Étienne Clavier referred to capitalistes in 1788, four years before its first recorded English usage by Arthur Young in his work Travels in France (1792). In his Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817), David Ricardo referred to "the capitalist" many times. English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge used "capitalist" in his work Table Talk (1823). Pierre-Joseph Proudhon used

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