Pasaulinė Naujųjų Amžių Sistema Statiniu Pjūviu: Immanuelio Wall Ersteino Įžvalgos
The Modern World-System According to Immanuel Wallerstein: The Static Approach

Summary/Abstract: In the article, Immanuel Wallerstein’s static approach to the modern world-system is discussed. Arguments are provided for the translation of the English term “world-system” into its Lithuanian equivalent “pasaulinė sistema.” The similarities and differences between the concept of world-system and the related concepts of world-empire and hegemony are explained. The true foundation for the unity of the modern worldsystem - capitalism and its endless accumulation of capital - is unearthed. Finally, a large-scale spatiotemporal picture is drawn. Starting with the sixteenth-century process of colonization and the subsequent establishment of metropolitan and peripheral trade relations, the country members of the modern worldsystem develop a type of axial division of labor. This division situates them within an enduring structure of core, semiperiphery, and periphery. The core countries are in a strong position to monopolize the highly profitable production of secondary goods while leaving the peripheral countries in a weak position to limit themselves to the less profitable production of primary goods. The end result of this axial division of labor is the continuously growing inequality of wealth distribution between the core and its periphery, a phenomenon known by the name of economic polarization.

• Details
• Contents