Corporate Caesarism: The History of Capitalism as the History of Western Civilization

Oswald Spengler observes that the history of the world is the history of the city. If we slightly modify that idea, we could say: the history of Western civilization is the history of capitalism. When the West enters the phase of civilization—its late, urban, technical stage—capitalism begins to accelerate. It is the era of great cities, masses, and rationalization. Capitalism is no longer merely an economic form; it becomes a principle of organizing the world. In other words, it becomes the fundamental drive of civilization, shaping culture, politics, social relations, and even the very concept of the human being. This civilizational drive of the West becomes a drive toward accumulation, expansion, and calculation. The city expands, the market multiplies, time accelerates. By following the development of capitalism, we are in fact tracing the development of Western civilization itself: from the medieval town and merchant communes, through proto-corporations and industrial metropolises, to the global city that transcends the framework of the nation-state. To understand the concept of corporate Caesarism, it is not enough to describe its contemporary forms. It is necessary to trace the long movement of capital throughout history. Each phase of capitalism has transformed not only economic relations but also the structure of power, the concept of sovereignty, and the form of social hierarchy.