“People resist exploitation. They resist as actively as they can, as passively as they must.” ~ Immanuel Wallerstein
World-Systems
Analysis was first published in 2004. The author has a 2013 publication of
another book with the same subject titled: “Uncertain Worlds: World-Systems
Analysis in Changing Times”. The former book is discussed here, that delves
into many important and must-know topics with regards to the world-system, which
has marked this book as a classic. In fact, the author touches upon so many
important areas in less than hundred pages that cause a summary review turn out
to be an arduous task. The book starts with the following sentence: “WORLD-SYSTEM
ANALYSIS originated in the early 1970s as a new perspective on social
reality,(P.1) however it stems from earlier works of scientists and
philosophers: “When Laplace in the beginning of the nineteenth century wrote
a book on the origins of the solar system, Napoleon, to whom he presented the
book, noted that Laplace had not mentioned God once in his very thick book.
Laplace replied: ‘I have no need of hypothesis, Sire’,”(P.2). Classification
of World-System into a certain academic branch is the next subject discussed;
stressing that whether subject of study is categorized as science or as
philosophy had evolved throughout centuries: “in the late eighteenth
century, there occurred what some now call the ‘divorce’ between philosophy and
science,”(P.2).
In the next chapter,
beginning with the phrase: “The world in
which we are now living… is and has always been a capitalist world-economy,”(P.23) both of these terms, capitalism and
world-economy are defined: “We are
in capitalist system only when the system gives priority to the endless
accumulation of capital,”(P.24). This
claim is further defined in the next paragraph starting with: “A world-economy and a capitalist system go
together. Since world-economies lack the unifying cement of an overall political
structure or a homogeneous culture, what holds them together is the efficacy of
the division of labor. And this efficacy is a function of the constantly
expanding wealth that a capitalist system provides,”(P.24). It is further claimed that a capitalist
system can only exist in a world-economy, and this claim and its components are
analyzed in detail. Another discussion related to this subject is “free market”, by explaining that in a capitalist system where “endless accumulation of capital” is the main objective, a free market cannot
exist. The subject of quasi-monopoly with backing of a strong state and its
ramifications on the world-economy with its cyclical rhythms is also scrutinized.
Within this discussion we ascertain five kinds of income (Wage income,
subsistence activity, petty commodity production, rent, transfer income) and different
ways employers can increase their surplus. Considering the range of subjects
discussed in this book, it would be difficult to determine certain analysis as
an exceptional topic. However, discussion of universalism and racism and sexism
are particularly fascinating: “The
complex relationships of the world-economy, the firms, the states, the
households, and the trans-household institutions that link members of classes and
status-groups are beset by two opposite- but symbiotic- ideological themes:
universalism on the one hand and racism and sexism on the other,”(P.38). Universalism, as a positive norm that makes
a more efficient world-economy, and racism and sexism as negative norms, which
are preferred by those who control production process, are identified: “for example, one might create the norm that
adult White heterosexual males of particular ethnicities and religions are the
only ones who would be considered ‘true’ nationals,”(P.39).
Next chapter is titled “The Rise of the
State-System”. States and what is called a sovereign
state within interstate system is discussed and methods of revenue producing by
monarchs and other types of states are detailed. Recognition of a state as a
sovereign state by some countries, and not recognizing them by other countries
are explored by examples of Cuba, Taiwan, and Cyprus. In this content, the
relationship between firms and states are analyzed, where the importance of
this relationship is that states decide what hidden costs should be paid by
producers: “There are three different
costs that are normally externalized in significant measure: costs of toxicity;
costs of exhaustion of materials; costs of transport. Almost all production
process involves some kind of toxicity, that is, some kind of residual damage
to the environment… The second mode of externalizing costs is to ignore the
exhaustion of materials… A good example of materials that have not been
adequately replaced is the world wood supply… While it is true that firms
generally pay fees for transporting goods coming to them or from them, they
seldom pay the full costs. Creating the necessary infrastructure of
transportation- bridges, canals, railway, networks, airports represent a very
large cost… borne… not by the firms… but by the collectivity,”(P. 48,49). Corporate tax paid to states is another subject discussed. On the
subject of sovereignty, the impact of the French Revolution and appearance of
three political views of conservatives, liberals, and radicals is scrutinized. Which
one makes a strong state and what a strong state means are researched: “Strength certainly is not
indicated by the degree of arbitrariness or ruthlessness of the central
authority, although this is a frequent criterion that many observers use.
Dictatorial behavior by state authorities is more often a sign of weakness than
of strength. Strength of states is most usefully defined as the ability to get
legal decisions actually carried out,”(P.52). When a state is weak, there is a danger of mafia type organization
sprouting, which would also hurt other businesses: “One of the ways in
which states try to reinforce their authority and to become stronger and
diminish the role of mafias is to transform their population into a ‘nation’.
Nations are to be sure myths… The process of creating a nation involves
establishing (to a large degree inventing) a history, a long chronology, and a
presumed set of defining characteristics…Historically, the states have had
three main modes of creating nationalism: the state school system, service in
the armed forces, and public ceremonies. All three are in constant use,”(P.54). The way strong states impose their wishes on weaker states, or
colonies, to submit to their demand is explained next. In that regard,
relationship between strong states among each other, as well as relationship
between semiperipheral states is discussed. Whether a world-empire was ever
possible and the role of a hegemonic power are subjects of last parts of this
chapter.
“The Creation of a
Geoculture” is the title of a chapter about
ideologies, social movements, and social science. The chapter starts with
reiterating that the French Revolution had two impacts on the geoculture of
world-system, one of which is normality of political change; and the concept of
sovereignty as the second impact. Ideologies born out of the French Revolution
are discussed in detail; such ideologies as conservatives
(counter-revolutionaries and reactionaries), liberals (careers open to
talents), and radicals: “An ideology is
more than a set of ideas or theories. It is more than a moral commitment or a
worldview. It is a coherent strategy in the social arena from which one can
draw quite specific political conclusions,”(P.60). The effect of the European revolution of 1848, which is referred to in
the book as the world revolution of 1848 (the revolution was in fifty countries
starting with Milan and spreading to some other European countries and to a few
Latin American countries) is discussed in this chapter: “The world revolution of
1848 was a sudden flame that was doused, and acute repression followed for many
years. But the revolution raised major questions about strategies, that is, ideologies,”(P.64). During the time between the revolution and the First World War,
considering that open and direct imperialism required segregation, nationalism,
racism, and Pan-Europeanism, newly created citizenry adopted such social modes:
“The nineteenth century
became the century of renewed direct imperialism, with this added nuance. Imperial
conquest was no longer merely the action of the state, or even of the state
encouraged by the churches. It had become the passion of the nation, the duty
of the citizen,”(P.66).
The question of strategies within a movement, and the strategy of dealing with
other movements were subjects of many arguments: “One of the biggest
problems of the antisystemic movements in the late nineteenth century and most
of the twentieth was their incapacity to find much common ground,”(P.70). The disagreements between socialist groups and other groups
(nationalists, women’s organizations,…) are deliberated: “The three major variants
of these movements, which are (1) worker/social, (2) ethnic/nationalist, and
(3) women’s, remained essentially in their separate corners, each fighting the
battle for its own proposals and ignoring or even fighting the others,(P.73). The text goes back to the place of social science and whether it is
located in the categories of science or humanities and with relation to other
studies, as it was discussed in chapter one. It sheds some new lights on where
social science is categorized, with the facts that: “social science is a
term invented in the nineteenth century,(P.73).
“The Modern World-System in
Crisis” is the title of the last chapter. In this
chapter the difference between “crisis” and a “difficult period” is revealed, and it specifies that: “the modern
world-system in which we are living, which is that of a capitalist
world-economy, is currently in precisely such a crisis, and has been for a
while now. This crisis may go on another twenty-five to fifty years,”(P.77) with a reminder that this book was written in 2004. The discussion
begins with maximizing of surplus. However, when the consumers’ earnings decline,
they have reduced buying power and the capitalist has to share the surplus with
them. Remuneration costs and transaction costs at the times of economic
expansion and economic stagnation are mentioned and their relative impacts are
studied. In that respect, renewal of raw materials and costs of disposal are
researched; and the subject is closed by discussing the issue of infrastructure.
On the other hand, costs of production (remuneration, inputs, and taxation)
have been raising in the past five hundred years faster than sales prices. What
is termed as the explosion of 1968 is studied in this respect. The author
continues his remarks by examining the problem of reduction in cost of
production: “They sought to
re-externalize the costs of inputs. They sought to reduce taxation for the
benefit of the welfare state (education, health, and lifetime guarantees of
income),”(P.86). Searching for ways to overcome the
crisis in social issues, in conjunction with political conditions is scrutinized.
What liberty is, what liberty of majority against the liberty of minority is, forms
the subject of next discussion: “Liberty of the
majority requires the active participation of the majority. It requires access
to information on the part of the majority. It requires a mode of translating
majority views of the populace into majority views in legislative bodies. It is
doubtful that any existing state within the modern world-system is fully
democratic in these senses,”(P.88). The
chapter sums up with the necessity of transition from one system to another and
the education we must have in order to understand and postulate effectively and
act accordingly. The author finally alerts us of the difficult task we are
confronted with, while showing us a road-map whereby creating something new.
Immanuel Wallerstein: World-System Analysis; 5th Edition 2007; 2004
Duke University Press
