Question

How does the California culture area reflect an abundance of riches in resources?

Answer 1

California presents and important case of regional capitalism grounded in the wealth of nature. It belies the received wisdom that natural resource extraction is an anachronistic and inferior road to economic development. Prior to World war II California's economy rested squarely on minerals, agriculture, Timber and fisheries, yet this was concerned with high income, capital accumulation, development of manufacturing and higher rate of technical innovation. Indeed, the latter were crucial to an extraordinarily a rapid rate of discovery and plunder of resources for over a century. With due regard to the gifts of nature, the secret of California's success is to be found in its social relations of production, especially open property rights and syncretic class system, rapid capital accumulation, and a readoutable state-based firmly on the capitalist society that craftred it.

California is a compelling case of resource LED development. Its expansion to the present million dollar economy was jump started by a gold rush, maintained by a succession of silver and oil strikes, and sustained by long-term extraction from farm, fishery and forest. Not until the middle class of the 20th century did the balance shift away from land based activities. Today the region stands at the leading edge of the global industrial scientific and information economy. If the world's hightech capital and one of the richest spots on earth followed a resource intensive road and then perhaps the contribution of nature to economic growth is it topic worthy of serious consideration even if never mentioned by preeminent geographers of modern California. The ability to turn dross into gold is surely related to the nature of capitalism installed virtually overnight.