The Modern World System, Slides of Contemporary Literature

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The Modern World System

The Emergence of the World System



The world system is the result of the

increasing interdependence of cultures and

ecosystems that were once relatively

isolated by distance and boundaries.



Of particular significance to the

development of the world system was the

European Age of Discovery, wherein the

European sphere of influence began to be

exported far beyond its physical boundaries

by means of conquest and trade.

Wallerstein’s World System Theory

 (^) Wallerstein has argued that international trade has led to the creation of a capitalist world economy in which a social system based on wealth and power differentials extends beyond individual states.  (^) The world system is arranged according to influence: core (most dominant), to semi-periphery, to periphery (least dominant).  (^) The core consists of the strongest and most powerful nations in which technologically advanced, capital-intensive products are produced and exported to the semiperiphery and the periphery.  (^) The semiperiphery consists of industrialized Third World nations that lack the power and economic dominance of the core nations (Brazil is a semiperiphery nation).  (^) The periphery consists of nations whose economic activities are less mechanized and are primarily concerned with exporting raw materials and agricultural goods to the core and semiperiphery.

Causes of the Industrial Revolution.

 (^) The Industrial Revolution transformed Europe from a domestic (home handicraft) system to a capitalist industrial system.  (^) Industrialization initially produced goods that were already widely used and in great demand (cotton products, iron, and pottery).  (^) Manufacturing shifted from homes to factories where production was large scale and cheap.  (^) Industrialization fueled a new kind of urban growth in which factories clustered together in regions where coal and labor were cheap.

Industrial Stratification

 (^) Although initially, industrialization in England raised the overall standard of living, factory owners soon began to recruit cheap labor from among the poorest populations.  (^) Marx saw this trend as an expression of a fundamental capitalist opposition: the bourgeoisie (capitalists) versus the proletariat (propertyless workers).  (^) According to Marx, the bourgeoisie owned the means of production and promoted industrialization to maintain their position, consequently intensifying the dispossession of the workers (a process called proletarianization).  (^) Weber argued that Marx’s model was oversimplified and developed a model with three main factors contributing to socioeconomic stratification: wealth, power, and prestige

Industrial Stratification (cont.)

 (^) Class consciousness (Marx) is the recognition of a commonalty of interest and identification with the other members of one’s economic stratum.  (^) With considerable modification, it is recognized that a combination of the Marxian and Weberian models may be used to describe the modern capitalist world.  (^) The distinction, core-semiperiphery-periphery, is used to describe a worldwide division of labor and capital ownership, but it is pointed out that the growing middle class and the existence of peripheries within core nations complicate the issue beyond the vision of Marx or Weber.

Malaysian Factory Women



To combat rural poverty, the Malaysian government has

encouraged large international companies to set up labor-

intensive manufacturing operations in rural Malaysia.



Factory life contrasts sharply with the traditional customs

of the rural Malaysians.

 Aihwa Ong has studied the effect of work in Japanese

electronics factories on Malaysian women employees.

 Severe contrasts between the work conditions and the

culture of the women generate alienation, which results in

stress.

Malaysian Factory Women (cont.)



This stress has been manifested as possession by weretigers,

which expresses the workers’ resistance, but has as yet effected little change in the overall situation.  (^) Ong argues that spirit possession is a form of rebellion and resistance that enable factory women to avoid direct confrontation with the source of their distress.  (^) Spirit possessions were not very effective at bringing about improvements in the factory conditions, and actually they may help maintain the current conditions by operating as a safety valve for stress.

The World System Today

 World system theory argues that the present-day

interconnectedness of the world has generated a global

culture, wherein the trends of complementarity and

specialization are being manifested at an international

level.

 The modern world system is the product of European

imperialism and colonialism.

 Imperialism refers to a policy of extending rule of a

nation or empire over foreign nations and of taking

and holding foreign colonies.

 Colonialism refers to the political, social, economic,

and cultural domination of a territory and its people by

a foreign power for an extended period of time.

 The spread of industrialization and overconsumption has

taken place from the core to the periphery.

The American Periphery



Thomas Collins compared two counties at opposite ends

of Tennessee, both of which used to have economies

dominated by agriculture and timber, but now have few

employment opportunities.

 The population in Hill County in eastern Tennessee is

mostly white and opposes labor unions, which has

attracted some Japanese companies to the county.

 The population in Delta County in western Tennessee is

mostly black and strongly supports labor unions, which

has deterred companies from setting up factories in the

county.

Colonialism and Development

Imperialism

 (^) Imperialism refers to a policy of extending rule of a nation or empire over foreign nations and of taking and holding foreign colonies.  (^) Colonialism refers to the political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended period of time.  (^) Imperialism is as old as the state.  (^) Modern colonialism began with the Age of Discovery during which European nations founded colonies throughout the New World.

French Colonialism

 (^) French colonialism was driven more by the state, the church , and the military, rather than by business interests.  (^) The first phase of French colonial efforts was focused in Canada, the Louisiana Territory, the Caribbean, and west Africa.  (^) During the second phase of French colonialism (1870 to World War II), the empire grew to include most of north Africa and Indochina.  (^) The ideological legitimization for French colonialism was mission civilisatrice (similar to “white man’s burden”): to spread French culture, language, and religion throughout the colonies.  (^) The French used two forms of colonial rule.  (^) Indirect rule refers to the French practice of governing through native political structures and leaders.  (^) Direct rule refers to the French practice of imposing new governments upon native populations.

Colonialism and Identity



Ethnic and political distinctions around the

world were severely disrupted by

colonialism.



For example, many of the modern political

boundaries in west Africa are based on

linguistic, political, and economic contrasts

that are the result of European colonial

policies in the region.