Introduction
There is no
existence of societies that
are isolated today. The current world
communities have found themselves depending on each other. The distance
between them is no barrier. A country in the Pacific is an economic partner to a country in Southern
Africa through imports and exports. The
political ties that exist between countries and their colonial masters that exist today is a description of a world system. The
interdependence has partly been made a success
by globalization. The relationship
between nations has created the global system. World system, therefore,
refers to the modern world in which countries depend on each other economically and politically.
Period and
reasons why global system developed
The modern
world-system originated around the
fifteenth century. There was
a long-term crisis in the
feudal system. Feudalism is a social
system that existed in the medieval Europe during the middle ages.
The peasants worked and worked
for nobles. The nobles in exchange gave them protection and were
allowed
to use the land
in return (Ganshof, 1964). The
long-term crisis in feudalism paved
way for innovations
in technology and rise of market institutions such as banks. Technology led to the advancement
in production and incentives for long
distance trade.It stimulated Europeans to travel to other parts
of the globe.
The Europeans superior
military strength and transportation means them to establish ties with other regions
especially those that favored their accumulation of wealth in their core. During the sixteenth century, Europeans established an occupational and geographical division
of labor. Sophisticated production was reserved
for core countries
while peripheral nations produced low-skilled labor and raw
materials. However, there was an unequal relationship
between the European center and non-European periphery. The relationship generated
uneven development. Europeans
started with taking small advantages of the situations during that time. They
fully exploited the situation to establish
capitalism image in the world. The
Europeans have succeeded in doing this. The
world is now concentrated on an endless accumulation of wealth and seeking profits.
In the market goods and human
labor are treated alike as commodities.
The world-system reached
its geographic limit in the
twentieth century. The
capitalist market and state system extended
to all regions. The century also
witnessed the rise of United States as a superpower. Newly
independent states and communist regimes challenged the control
of the core nations throughout the century. Some formerly
peripheral countries improved their economic power. While all these
changes were happening, none shook the foundations of the world system.
State
of the world system today
In his argument,
Wallerstein (2011) shows that
world systems did not just develop
from nowhere. A series of events triggered the system. The
global capitalist economy shapes
most of the interdependence within the system. A capitalist economy is a system in which private individuals entirely own economy
and the means
of production. Capitalists’
global economy produces goods and services
with the aim of making maximum profits.
They don’t enter
the economy with the aim of supplying
domestic products. Profit is the defining feature of capitalism (Boltanski & Chiapello, 2005).
World system theory claims that
there is a social system
based on powers and wealth differentials. The system extends beyond boundaries to states and nations. According
to Maurice (2005), the nations
within the world system occupy three positions within political and economic powers:
Core, Periphery, and semi periphery. The center holds
the strongest and the most
powerful nations. They make the
world finance their monopoly. They have
a sophisticated and
mechanized production. They produce goods for
other core countries.
On the other hand, there is the semi-periphery.
Semi-periphery nations are industrialized. They export industrial
products and commodities. Unfortunately, they do not match
the power and
economic of the core countries. The
third economy is the periphery countries
whose economy is less mechanized than the
semi-periphery nations. They
are the developing countries.
Their primary focus is the production of raw materials and
agricultural goods for export to the
core and semi-periphery. They also export
human labor along those commodities.
There is exploitation in the relationship between core nations and
periphery nations. The trade and
other economic relations between the two sets of nations benefit
the capitalist in the core countries.
Today, there is a high influx of immigrants from periphery countries to provide cheap labor
in the core nations. Example are where Mexicans
who illegally migrate to the United States to provide cheap labor while
Turks go to Germany. The companies
in the primary countries are increasingly taking advantage of the readily available
cheap labor. They refer to this
exploitation as outsourcing the jobs
while critically it is
exploitation.
The development
of colonialism
Colonialism refers
to the political, social, economic, and cultural domination
and a region by foreigners (Mwaura, 2005). Modern
colonialism and imperialism began in the fifteenth century during what was called the
age of discovery. It was started
by the Spanish and
Portuguese. They explored the Americas and some
coasts of Africa, the Middle
East, India, and Asia. The
Portuguese exploration of coasts
led European colonization. The Portuguese had both financial and
religious motives behind
their exploration. They succeeded. Portuguese success led to Spanish following and started to explore
alternative routes. Due to their successes
other European nations;
Netherlands, France, and England wanted
to follow. The nations’ reason for
exploration was no better than Spanish and Portuguese. They wanted to gain from the research.
Due to an unavailability of enough land to conquer,
they decided to cross the Atlantic. They ended up in America and Canada where they
grew cotton and tobacco. As
time was moving,
and the colonies
wanted their freedom, the European nations still wanted new
lands. It led
to the third wave of colonialism, the scramble for Africa. They shared
Africa among themselves and established
their rules and traditions. They made
Africans work for them in the production of raw materials for
their industries back in the mother countries.
Their legacy still lives even after colonialism.
How
colonialism, development, industrialization, neo-liberalism, and communism
exemplify intervention philosophies
Midgley (2012) defines
an intervention philosophy an
ideological justification for
outsiders to guide natives in the directions
the intruders want. On development, the colonialists had a plan. They wanted
industrialization, modernization, and westernization.
Their individualism becomes a desirable
evolutionary advance that is going
to bring long-term benefits
to the natives. But this did
not happen. The residents are left to live in degradation. Neo-liberalism
states that governments should not regulate private companies. A free market
should be left to take effect. A free
market is the best way to lead
a country into development
since there are no barriers. Manufacturing is free, no restrictions to commerce, and there are no tariffs imposed.
The system existed
in the United States until a new
deal in the 1930s. Communism was a barrier
to liberalism. Since the fall of communism, the economic system
has been revived. In exchange for loans,
developing countries must accept this premise.
Communism is an economic system where the
community owns everything, and people work
for the common
good. There are very few communist states today as compared to the high number
at the beginning of the cold war.
Conclusion
The world system is an exploitative system
that should go away. It is exploitative, and it leads to the
creation of social classes at international level. The nations should look for other
better ways to gain from countries that are considered developing in preventing the dominance of their economies by few individuals.
Boltanski,
L., & Chiapello, E. (2005). The New Spirit of
Capitalism: New York: Verso.
Maurice,
W. I. (2005). World-systems Analysis: An
Introduction. Durham: Duke University Press.
Mwaura,
N. (2005). Kenya Today: Breaking the Yoke of Colonialism in Africa. New York: Algora Publications
Wallerstein,
I. (2011). The Modern World-System 1: Capitalist
Agriculture and the Origins
of the European
World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. Los
Angeles: University of California Press.
Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in custom speech writing companies services. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from affordable term papers services.
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