Immanuel Wallerstein
Wallerstein is
not advocating a new theory in sociology, rather he is advocating a whole new
way of doing social science. The focus of social science, Wallerstein believes,
is tied much too closely to the nation state or more vaguely, to “society.” He
asserts that states as well as the organizations and groups that make up such
structures exist within a much broader economic, political and legal framework
he calls “world-systems." World-systems, according to Wallerstein, are the only
true social system—they alone contain all social relations that are necessary
for survival, they alone comprise the complete division of labor necessary for
sustenance and growth. Nation states must be understood in terms of the world
context of their era, and modern nation states can only be fully understood in
terms of the modern world-system of capitalism. It is thus world-systems that
are the proper subject of the social sciences.
Read:
Chapter 3: "Wallerstein's
World-Systems Analysis" in Macrosociology: Four Modern Theorists.
D emonstrate
to me that you have read and mastered the course
material. Answer the following essay questions
to be turned in during class before your exam over this unit. For full credit,
list the question, a ddress the questions fully and
completely in your own words and voice. Length should be about
500 words per question.
According to Wallerstein, what is the relationship between the
state and capitalism?
According to Wallerstein, why is the capitalist world-system
about to fail? Evaluate his arguments.
The following short answer questions are from your
readings and are to be turned in during class before your exam over this unit.
Each can be answered with a short paragraph of three or four sentences; use your
own words and voice.
Compare and contrast the two types of world-systems.
What are the functions of the Core?
What is the function of the "periphery"? The
"semi-periphery"?
How does the capitalist world-system maintain political
stability?
What does Wallerstein mean by a "liberal state"?
What is Wallerstein's criteria for a "total social
system"? What is Wallerstein's position on the debate
between the nomothetic and the idiographic? How does
Wallerstein characterize the specializations within social science?
According to Wallerstein, what is the role of the social scientist? What is a hegemon?
What is the life cycle of a hegemon?
What advantages do the core states have over the
periphery and semi-periphery? By what mechanisms does the
capitalist world-system maintain its political stability?
According to Wallerstein, what was the liberal ideology that dominated the
world system from 1848 to 1968? How has the spread of
democracy hindered the capitalist world-system? According
to Wallerstein, why is state power declining since 1968?
Video:
Immanuel Wallerstein on the end of Capitalism
VIDEO
Links:
Wallerstein's World-System Theory
The Modern World-System
U.S. Weakness and
the Struggle
for Hegemony
Summary of
Wallerstein on World System Theory
Biography
The Commentaries
Bibliography:
Wallerstein, I. (2003). The
Decline of American Power. New York: The New Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1999). The
End of the World as We Know It. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Wallerstein, I. (2000). The
Essential Wallerstein. New York: The new Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1980). The
Modern World-System II: Mercantilism and the Consolidation of the European
World-Economy, 1600-1750. New York: Academic Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1989). The
Modern World-System III: The Second Era of Great Expansion of the Capitalist
World-Economy, 1730-1840. New York: Academic Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1974). The
Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European
World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic Press.
Wallerstein, I. (1998).
Utopistics: or, Historical Choices for the Twentyfirst Century. New York: WW
Norton.
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©Frank
Elwell
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