[Class Title]
Is World-System a Useful Tool to Understand Globalization?
Introduction
Alongside many theories behind the rise of globalization, the world systems theory is perhaps the most accepted and recognized. According to proponents of this theory, globalization is largely influenced by capitalism, which emerged in the 16th century in Europe. Driven by a capitalist economy, Europeans spread out to different parts of the globe and in the process, absorbed “all existing mini systems and world-empires, establishing market and production networks that eventually brought all peoples around the world into its logic and into a single worldwide structure” (Robinson, 2007, p.128). The world systems view is believed to have been developed by, Immanuel Wallerstein, an American social scientist in 1970’s in his seminal work, “The Modern World System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century” (Martínez-Vela, 2001, p.1). Wallerstein believes that certain things and circumstances can only be understood and explained thoroughly when they are observed in a broader perspective. The modern nation-state, for instance, can be best understood when one looks into the global economic, political and legal framework that influenced its existence. In the light of this argument, this paper would like to explore the meaning of the world-system theory and how it can serve as an effective theoretical framework in understanding globalization.
The systems perspective is not a new concept. In fact, the word system is often used to describe intricate and often complex network of interrelated parts that collectively comprises a whole. The ancient philosopher, Aristotle, for instance, exclaimed that “the whole is something over and above its parts and not just the sum of them all” (Trewavas, 2006, p.2420). Most often, people have studied things by dissecting them into parts and studying each part as if they are an independent component. This approach is also known as reductionism and has found many proponents in the realm of science and mathematics (Trewavas, 2006, p.2420). There are, however, things that could not be fully explained by reductionism. Independent components, for instance, seem to behave differently when they are combined with other components. As a whole, a system develops unique properties that could not be fully understood by studying the properties of its individual components alone. Also referred to as holism, the systems theory can be best understood when viewed in a biological perspective. Most scientists that are studying living organisms, for instance, observed that their components resemble a system. Accordingly, “it was impossible to try and reassemble the behavior of the whole from the properties of the individual components, and new technologies were necessary to define and understand the behavior of systems” (Trewavas, 2006, p.2421). The world-systems theory is almost congruent to this perspective. Wallerstein, the social scientist who developed this theory, for instance, believed that “Just as individual behavior cannot be understood without reference to the sociocultural system in which they are members, individual societies or nation states cannot be understood without reference to the world-system in which they are embedded”. According to Wallerstein, there exist three major social systems in the world. The first one is the mini-system, which he described as small, homogenous societies; the second is the world-empires, which refer to political entities and their dominions; and the world-economies, which refer to the business entities of the world. Mini-systems are self-sustaining and self-producing economic units such as small agricultural societies. World-empires extract their goods from outlying districts and rely on politics for the administration and control of resources. World-economies, on the other hand, may not have a unified political system like world-empires, but they also have their own form of governance that influences other social systems. The world-system is a combination of these three systems, which developed with the rise of capitalism that began in Europe in the 1500s.
World-System as a Theoretical Framework of Globalization
Globalization is perhaps one of the most talked about topic in contemporary society. This global phenomenon has caught the attention of most scholars and many theories emerged that attempts to explain its occurrence. Globalization has been defined as a process, which results to the increasing global interconnectedness. There are some scholars, however, who are skeptical of globalization. There are those who argue that globalization is just a passing trend, and will eventually die out because of the inability of the international institutions to create a strong global clout. There are also scholars who believe that globalization is inevitable; that it is the result of human activity and man’s propensity to communicate and become interconnected with each other. The world can be viewed as a global community wherein societies are interdependent towards each other. With the advent of modern modes of transportation and communication, a time will come wherein societies will share not only economic resources, but also expand their political and cultural links. Some see globalization as a process driven by capitalism. As a force, globalization impacts social systems, whether it is social, economic or political. In trying to understand globalization, it is inevitable that scholars should look into its historical development and the world-system theory snugly fits into this historical picture. Wallerstein, for instance, believes that the interconnectedness of contemporary societies did not just emerge on their own. These links were forged by early European capitalism in their penchant for economic and political dominion. As observed, “the interest of early European capitalists was the establishment of a world-economy based on an extremely unequal division of labor between European states and the rest of the system”. As observed by scholars, since the 16th century, imperial societies of Europe have tried repeatedly tried to establish control over outlying nations in order to serve their economic and political interests . As a result, social systems became consolidated, which eventually led to the worldwide phenomenon of globalization.
Conclusion
The world-system theory is a useful concept in understanding globalization primarily because it views globalization as a product of the merging of political and economic systems of the world over time. The theory points out to capitalism as the major driver of globalization, but in understanding globalization, one has to consider the unique outcome that resulted from the consolidation of social systems. Today, the world economic and political systems are still driven by capitalism or free-market system that is still dominated by capitalist states. Capitalism may have started in Europe, but it did spread throughout the world and in its wake, it established not only economic links but also political and social ones. With Europe and other capitalist countries such as the United States and Russia at its core, the propensity to exploit outlying societies is still observable. In fact, most of the capitalist nations’ endeavors are profit-driven. The technological advancements in communication, transportation and other industries that developed out of these regions, for instance, have extensive applications in the advancement and growth of business entities around the globe and most of these entities serve the interest of the capitalist states. For this reason, the world-system will continue to drive global interconnectedness through capitalism and is, thereby, a useful tool in understanding the phenomenon of globalization.
Works Cited
Martínez-Vela, C. World Systems Theory. 2001. January 2016 <http://web.mit.edu/esd.83/www/notebook/WorldSystem.pdf>.
McGrew, A. Globalization and Global Politics. n.d. March 2015 <https://business.blackwell.co.uk/extracts/9780199297771_baylis.pdf>.
Robinson, W. Theories of Globalization. 2007. January 2016 <http://kisi.deu.edu.tr/timucin.yalcinkaya/Theories%20of%20Globalization.pdf>.
Rosenberg, J. Globalization Theory: A Post Mortem. 2005. January 2016 <http://justinrosenberg.webspace.virginmedia.com/Uneven/Writings_files/Rosenberg%20on%20Globalisation%20Theory%20Post%20Mortem.pdf>.
Trewavas, A. A Brief History of Systems Biology. 2006. January 2016 <http://www.plantcell.org/content/18/10/2420.full.pdf+html>.
Wallerstein, I. World-Systems Theory. n.d. January 2016 <http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Wallerstein/Presentation/Wallerstein.pdf>.
Ziltener, P., & Künzler, D. Impacts of Colonialism – A Research Survey. 2013. January 2016 <http://www.jwsr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Ziltener_Kuenzler_vol19_no2.pdf>.
