Title: An interdependent system of countries linked by economic and political competition
1An interdependent system of countries linked by
economic and political competition
World-System
2 World-system processes
- CORE
- Industrialized capitalist countries or regions.
- PERIPHERY
- Exploited countries and regions (poor)
- SEMI-PERIPHERY
- Countries or regions with mixed processes.
- Both exploited and exploiters.
3Results of World-System
- The growth and strength of the Core is made
possible by the exploitation of the rest of the
world. - The poverty in the Periphery is made possible
by the exploitation by the rest of the world. - Recent globalization has widened, not narrowed,
the gap between Core and Periphery countries.
4Globalization is nothing new(Flows of goods,
capital, information)
5World-System History
- European colonialism/ slave trade, 1500s-1800s
- Industrial Revolution/ wage labor, 1800s/ early
1900s - World War II/ Cold War/ decolonization, mid-1900s
- Neocolonialism/ multinational corporations, late
1900s
6Why Europe?
- Early technical innovations
- Armor, gunnery from
- wars among many small states
- Shipbuilding and navigation
- Evangelical zeal
- Crusades in Middle East
- Missionaries in Americas
- Law of Diminishing Returns
- Drive for gold/ money reached
- limits at home
- Land divided by inheritance
7Wars among small states
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9Elements of a map
10Hegemony
- Domination over a region or the world
- Not just political or military control
- Most pervasive is economic and cultural control
11Leadership cycles (competitive struggles)
- Netherlands and Portugal, 1400s-1500s
- Spain and Portugal, 1500s-1600s
- England and France, 1600s-early 1900s
- Germany and Japan, 1937-45
- United States and Soviet Union, 1945-1980s
- United States and ?
- 1990s-2000s
- European Union and
- East Asian bloc, 2010s ?
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13Industrial Revolution
- Early-1800s
- Britain (Hearth) --from slave cotton
- Textiles, steam power, iron, canals
- Mid-1800s
- Diffusion to Germany, France, Belgium
- Steel, railroads, steamships, telegraph
- Late-1800s/ early-1900s
- Spread to much of Europe, US, Japan
- Electricity, oil, engines, roads, radio
14International Division of Labor
- Core (colonial powers) need resources, labor
- Periphery (colonies) has labor, resources
- Colonies had comparative advantages in natural
resources - The Core underdeveloped the Periphery, which
was not poor of its own accord
15Imperialism, 1914
- Britain
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Russia
- U.S.
- Japan
- Italy
16Geography Implicated
- Ethnocentrism and racism
- Imperialism and colonialism
- Environmental determinism
17Imperialism Formal Colonialism
- Colonies under direct control
- Core controls labor, resources, land
- Often indirect political rule through local
leaders
18Imperialism Spheres of Influence
- Core dominated, but
- not controlled,
- trade and resources
British opium war in China
19World War II Begins contemporary globalization
- Sudden shifts in economic hegemony, political
power - Sudden technological innovations
- Sudden growth of transportation,
- communications networks
20Late 1940s U.S. dominant
Nagasaki
- Sole possession of atomic bomb to 1949
- War destroyed industries of Europe, Russia and
Japan - U.S. finances reconstruction
Frankfurt
21Anti-colonial revolts
- Colonial flags come down
- Asia, 1940s-1950s, Africa 1960s-1970s
- Neocolonialism continues
- Ex-colonial powers still dominate economies,
resources, cultures
22Cold War, 1949-1989
- US-USSR hot wars fought in Periphery
- Periphery states competed for aid
- Arms race depleted global social resources
23Multinational corporations
- Investments, activities transcend borders
- Subsidiaries in many Periphery/S-P countries
- Core domination, centralization outside state
structure
Cartoon on Standard Oil, 1904
24World divisions, late 20th century
- First World - Industrialized capitalist
countries of Western Europe, North America. - Second World - Centrally-planned socialist
countries such as former Soviet Union. - Third World - Ex-colonial nations such as
- India, Malaysia, Iran, Brazil, etc.
- Fourth World - Poorest nations (and indigenous
communities)
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26North/South Divisions
- Poor countries tend to be located in Southern
Hemisphere. - World Bank estimates more than 1.3 billion people
(1/5 world population) live in acute poverty of lt
1 (U.S.) per day. - 70 women and children
- Self-Sustaining
27Regions of the World Village
- In a world village of 1,000
- 333 East Asians
- 274 South Asians
- 132 Africans
- 120 Europeans
- 86 Latin Americans
- 50 North Americans
- 5 from Oceania
28Household income
- Average annual income 4,890
- 600 poor
- 300 marginal
- 100 well-off
29Ownership/consumption
- 200 richest villagers own and consume
- 80 of goods
- Other villagers own and consume remaining 20
30Material World A Global Family Portrait
Iceland
Guatemala
Japan
31Philadelphia Infant Mortality
- Red area high than
- at least 28 Third
- World countries,
- including
- Jamaica
- Cuba
- Costa Rica
- Malaysia
- Panama
- Sri Lanka
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Uruguay
- Argentina
- Chile
32The Core
- Industrialized capitalist countries, led by
former colonial powers - Centers of trade, technology, productivity.
- Examples Western Europe, North America, Japan,
Australia - Exploit the Periphery and Semi-periphery.
33The Periphery
- Poor, ex-colonial nations.
- Tend to export resources and labor.
- Examples Kenya, Bolivia, Pakistan, etc.
- Exploited by Core and by Semi-periphery
-
34The Semi-periphery
- Partially industrialized ex-colonial countries.
- Both exporters and importers of goods.
- Examples South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan,
South Korea, etc. (parts of India, China?) - Exploited by Core, but also exploit Periphery.
-
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36New International Division of Labor
- Industrial growth of Europe and Japan
- Internationalization of economic networks
- New global consumer markets
- New global technologies
37Industrial growth of Europe, Japan
- European economic bloc
- Expanding to east, will it include western
Russia? - Japan, other East Asian states
- Four Tigers (Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong
Kong) - China as possible partner in new economic bloc?
- Relative decline of U.S. in Tripolar Economy
38Internationalization of economics
- TRADE
- Free trade agreements
- Standards race to bottom
- FINANCES
- 24/7 stock markets
- Mobile investments
- PRODUCTION
- Overseas sweatshops
- Core automating, losing industrial jobs
-
39New consumer markets
- World products
- Core luxury goods
- Media diffusion
- CNN, MTV, Hollywood
- Semi-periphery consumers
- Four Tigers, Oil states
40New technological innovations
- Microelectronics
- Personal computers
- Internet
- Satellites
- Aircraft
- Robotics (automation)
- Biotechnology
- Container ships/rail
-
41Digital Divide
- Unequal access to telecommunications and
information technology - 80 of websites in North America
- 20 of population has 74 of phone lines
-
42Fast vs. Slow worlds
- Fast (20) has access to telecommunications,
consumer goods, arts entertainment. - Slow (80) has limited access, more resentment
of elites. - Search for sense of place in both areas to
lessen alientation.