World Systems Theory PDF

World Systems Theory World-system theory is a macro sociological perspective that seeks to explain the dynamics of the “capitalist world economy” as a “total social system”. Its first major articulation, and classic example of this approach, is associated with...

World Systems Theory World-system theory is a macro sociological perspective that seeks to explain the dynamics of the “capitalist world economy” as a “total social system”. Its first major articulation, and classic example of this approach, is associated with Immanuel Wallerstein, who in 1974 published what is regarded as a seminal paper, The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System: Concepts for Comparative Analysis. In 1976 Wallerstein published The Modern World System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. This is Wallerstein’s landmark contribution to sociological and historical thought and it triggered numerous reactions, and inspired many others to build on his ideas. Because of the main concepts and intellectual building blocks of world-system theory –which will be outlined later–, it has had a major impact and perhaps its more warm reception in the developing world. World-system theory has been closely associated with Immanuel Wallerstein, and understanding the intellectual context in which this body of knowledge is positioned, means also understanding Wallerstein, so let us begin by talking about him. Wallerstein’s work developed at a time when the dominant approach to understanding development, modernization theory, was under attack from many fronts, and he followed suit. He himself acknowledges that his aim was to create an alternative explanation (Wallerstein, 2000). He aimed at achieving “a clear conceptual break with theories of ‘modernization’ and thus provide a new theoretical paradigm to guide our investigations of the emergence and development of capitalism, industrialism, and national states” (Skocpol, 1977, p. 1075). Criticisms to modenization include (1) the reification of the nation-state as the sole unit of analysis, (2) assumption that all countries can follow only a single path of evolutionary development, (3) disregard of the world-historical development of transnational structures that constrain local and national development, (4) explaining in terms of ahistorical ideal types of “tradition” versus “modernity”, which are elaborated and applied to national cases. In reacting to modernization theory, Wallerstein outlined a research agenda with five major subjects: the functioning of the capitalist world-economy as a system, the how and why of its origins, its relations with noncapitalist structures in previous centuries, comparative study of alternative modes of production, and the ongoing transition to socialism (Goldfrank, 2000; Wallerstein, 1979). There are three major intellectual building blocks of world-system theory, as conceived by Wallerstein: the Annales school, Marx, and dependence theory. These building blocks are associated with Wallerstein’s life experience and exposure to various issues, theories, and situations. World-system theory owes to the Annales school, whose major representative is Fernand Braudel, its historical approach. Wallerstein got from Braudel’s his insistence on the long term (la longue dureé). He also learned to focus on geo-ecological regions as units of analysis (think of Braudel’s The Mediterranean), attention to rural history, and reliance on empirical materials from Braudel. The impact of the Annales is at the general methodological level. From Marx, Wallerstein learned that (1) the fundamental reality if social conflict among materially based human groups, (2) the concern with a relevant totality, (3) the transitory nature of social forms and theories about them, (4) the centrality of the accumulation process and competitive class struggles that result from it, (5) a dialectical sense of motion through conflict and contradiction. Wallerstein’s ambition has been to revise Marxism itself. World-system theory is in many ways an adaptation of dependency theory (Chirot and Hall, 1982). Wallerstein draws heavily from dependency theory, a neo-Marxist explanation of development processes, popular in the developing world, and among whose figures are Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a Barzilian. Dependency theory focuses on understanding the “periphery” by looking at core-periphery relations, and it has flourished in peripheral regions like Latin America. It is from a dependency theory perspective that many contemporary critiques to global capitalism come from. Other important influences in Wallerstein’s work, still present in contemporary worldsystem research, are Karl Polanyi and Joseph Schumpeter. From the latter comes worldsystem interest in business cycles, nd from the former, the notion of three basic modes of economic organization: reciprocal, redistributive, and market modes. These are analogous to Wallerstein’s concepts of mini-systems, world-empires, and world-economies. What is a world-system? For Wallerstein, "a world-system is a social system, one that has boundaries, structures, member groups, rules of legitimation, and coherence. Its life is made up of the conflicting forces which hold it together by tension and tear it apart as each group seeks eternally to remold it to its advantate. It has the characteristics of an organism, in that is has a lifespan over which its characteristics change in some respects and remain stable in others… Life within it is largely self- contained, and the dynamics of its development are largely internal" (Wallerstein, p. 347). A world-system is what Wallerstein terms a "world economy", integrated through the market rather than a political center, in which two or more regions are interdependent with respect to necessities like food, fuel, and protection, and two or more polities compete for domination without the emergence of one single center forever (Goldfrank, 2000). In his own first definition, Wallerstein (1974) said that a world-system is a "multicultural terirtorial division of labor in which the production and exchange of basic goods and raw materials is necessary for the everyday life of its inhabitants." This division of labor refers to the forces and relations of production of the world economy as a whole and it leads to the existence of two interdependent regions: core and periphery. These are geographically and culturally different, one focusing on labor-intensive, and the other on capital-intensive production. (Goldfrank, 2000). The core-periphery relationship is structural. Semi-peripheral states acts as a buffer zone between core and periphery, and has a mix of the kinds of activities and institutions that exist on them (Skocpol, 1977). Among the most important structures of the current world-system is a power hierarchy between core and periphery, in which powerful and wealthy "core" societies dominate and exploit weak and poor peripheral societies. Technology is a central factor in the positioning of a region in the core or the periphery. Advanced or developed countries are the core, and the less developed are in the periphery. Peripheral countries are structurally constrained to experience a kind of development that reproduces their subordinate status (Chase-Dunn and Grimes, (1995). The differential strength of the multiple states within the system is crucial to maintain the system as a whole, because strong states reinforce and increase the differential flow of surplus to the core zone (Skocpol, 1977). This is what Wallerstein called unequal exchange, the systematic transfer of surplus from semiproletarian sectors in the periphery to the high-technology, industrialized core (Goldfrank, 2000). This leads to a process of capital accumulation at a global scale, and necessarily involves the appropriation and transformation of peripheral surplus. On the poltical side of the world-system a few concepts deem highlighting. For Wallerstein, nation-states are variables, elements within the system. States are used by class forces to pursue their interest, in the case of core countries. Imperialism refers to the domination of weak peripheral regions by strong core states. Hegemony refers to the existence of one core state teomporarily outstripping the rest. Hegemonic powers maintain a stable balance of power and enforce free trade as long as it is to their advantage. However, hegemony is temporary due to class struggles and the diffusion of technical advantages. Finally, there is a global class struggle. The current world- economy is characterized by regular cyclical rhythms, which provide the basis of Wallerstein's periodization of modern history (Goldfrank, 2000). After our current stage, Wallerstein envisions the emergence of a socialist world-government, which is the only-alternative world-system that could maintain a high level of productivity andchange the distribution, by integrating the levels of political and economic decision-making. Key Terms: Peripheral: Peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital and have underdeveloped industry. Core: Describes dominant capitalist countries which exploit the peripheral countries for labor and raw materials. Semi-peripheral: Countries that share characteristics of both core and periphery countries. World Systems Theory, like dependency theory, suggests that wealthy countries benefit from other countries and exploit those countries’ citizens. In contrast to dependency theory, however, this model recognizes the minimal benefits that are enjoyed by low status countries in the world system. The theory originated with sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, who suggests that the way a country is integrated into the capitalist world system determines how economic development takes place in that country. According to Wallerstein, the world economic system is divided into a hierarchy of three types of countries: core, semiperipheral, and peripheral. Core countries (e.g., U.S., Japan, Germany) are dominant, capitalist countries characterized by high levels of industrialization and urbanization. Core countries are capital intensive, have high wages and high technology production patterns and lower amounts of labor exploitation and coercion. Peripheral countries (e.g., most African countries and low income countries in South America) are dependent on core countries for capital and are less industrialized and urbanized. Peripheral countries are usually agrarian, have low literacy rates and lack consistent Internet access. Semi-peripheral countries (e.g., South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, India, Nigeria, South Africa) are less developed than core nations but more developed than peripheral nations. They are the buffer between core and peripheral countries. Core countries own most of the world’s capital and technology and have great control over world trade and economic agreements. They are also the cultural centers which attract artists and intellectuals. Peripheral countries generally provide labor and materials to core countries. Semiperipheral countries exploit peripheral countries, just as core countries exploit both semiperipheral and peripheral countries. Core countries extract raw materials with little cost. They can also set the prices for the agricultural products that peripheral countries export regardless of market prices, forcing small farmers to abandon their fields because they can’t afford to pay for labor and fertilizer. The wealthy in peripheral countries benefit from the labor of poor workers and from their own economic relations with core country capitalists.