Sweetness and Power

Capitalism is an economic system characterized by for-profit private ownership of industries rather than state or alternative communal ownership. Capitalism is associated with free-market policies as opposed to state protectionist policies such as England’s mercantile arrangements with its colonial holdings until the 19th century. In Marxist theory, capitalism is the direct economic successor to feudalism, the result of a class struggle of peasants and feudal landowners. Marxist theory indicates that capitalistic profit accrues through worker exploitation and that labor is the source of value.

This is one of the two parts of what the author calls “ritualization” (122), which is the process of integrating new aspects of one’s life and any associated meanings into one’s regular routines. In this study, extensification refers to the changing status of sugar as more and more people gained access to sugar products and integrated sugar into their daily lives. Extensification occurs when old meanings are changed as sugar is taken up by new groups of people in new ways.

“Inside” meaning is the kind of meaning that a social group’s members understand in common relating to the rituals and routines of the group. People prove their understanding of these meanings when they, for example, demonstrate their knowledge about what kinds of treats are appropriate to serve guests at dinner.