The World System and Colonialism-Lecture Notes
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CHAPTER 10: THE WORLD SYSTEM AND COLONIALISM
I. Introduction
A. Truly isolated societies do not exist today (and probably have never existed).
B. The modern world system refers to a world in which nations are economically and politically interdependent. II. The World System
A. The world system and the relations between the countries within that system are shaped by the world capitalist economy.
B. The increasing dominance of international trade during and after the 15th century led to the capitalist world economy, a single world system committed to production for sale or exchange, with the object of maximizing profits rather than supplying domestic needs.
1. Capital refers to wealth or resources invested in business, with the intent of producing a profit. 2. The defining attribute of capitalism is economic orientation to the world market for profit.
C. The key claim of world-system theory is that an identifiable social system, based on wealth and power differentials, extends beyond individual states and nations.
1. According to Wallerstein, the nations within the world system occupy three different positions of economic and political power: core, periphery, and semiperiphery.
a. The core consists of the strongest, most powerful nations which monopolize world finance and, with sophisticated technologies and mechanized production, manufacture products that flow mainly to other core nations (and, to a lesser extent, the periphery and semiperiphery). b. The semiperiphery consists of industrialized nations that export industrial goods and commodities but lack the power and economic dominance of core nations.
c. The periphery consists of nations whose economies—less mechanized than those in the semiperiphery—are focused on the production of raw materials, agricultural commodities, and human labor for export to the core and semiperiphery.
2. The relationship between the core and the periphery is fundamentally exploitative, as trade and other
CHAPTER 10: THE WORLD SYSTEM AND COLONIALISM
I. Introduction
A. Truly isolated societies do not exist today (and probably have never existed).
B. The modern world system refers to a world in which nations are economically and politically interdependent. II. The World System
A. The world system and the relations between the countries within that system are shaped by the world capitalist economy.
B. The increasing dominance of international trade during and after the 15th century led to the capitalist world economy, a single world system committed to production for sale or exchange, with the object of maximizing profits rather than supplying domestic needs.
1. Capital refers to wealth or resources invested in business, with the intent of producing a profit. 2. The defining attribute of capitalism is economic orientation to the world market for profit.
C. The key claim of world-system theory is that an identifiable social system, based on wealth and power differentials, extends beyond individual states and nations.
1. According to Wallerstein, the nations within the world system occupy three different positions of economic and political power: core, periphery, and semiperiphery.
a. The core consists of the strongest, most powerful nations which monopolize world finance and, with sophisticated technologies and mechanized production, manufacture products that flow mainly to other core nations (and, to a lesser extent, the periphery and semiperiphery). b. The semiperiphery consists of industrialized nations that export industrial goods and commodities but lack the power and economic dominance of core nations.
c. The periphery consists of nations whose economies—less mechanized than those in the semiperiphery—are focused on the production of raw materials, agricultural commodities, and human labor for export to the core and semiperiphery.
2. The relationship between the core and the periphery is fundamentally exploitative, as trade and other