Chapter 14 - The World System Flashcards
Capitalism
A world system that dates to the 15th century which is committed to production for sale or exchange with the object of maximizing profits
Capital
Wealth invested with the intent of producing profit
World System Theory
Discernible social system, based on wealth and power differentials, that extends beyond countries
Fernand Braudel
Argued that society consists of interrelated parts assembled into a system
Wallerstein
Three positions of economic and political power
(Core, Semiperiphery, and Periphery)
Core
Dominant, nations with an advanced system of production
Semiperiphery
Industrialized nations that fill an intermediate position between core and periphery
Periphery
The world’s least privileged nations
Industrial Revolution
European transformation of traditional into modern societies through the industrialization of their economies
Marx
Two opposed classes
(Bourgeoisie and Working-Class)
Bourgeoisie
(Capitalists) Owned the means of production
Working-Class
(Proletariat/property fewer workers)
People had to sell their labor to survive
Marx’s Class Consciousness
Recognition of collective interests and personal identification with one’s economic group
(it can lead to revolutionary changes)
Proletarization
Separation of workers from the means of production
Modern Stratification System
Lenski and Max Weber
Lenski
Argued that social equality tends to increase in advanced industrial societies.
BUT differences in income and wealth that set off richest from poorest Americans is widening
Max Weber
Designed a three-component theory of stratification in which social difference is determined by class, status, and power
Colonialism
Political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended period of time
British Colonialism
Empire covered 1/5 of the world’s land surface
French Colonialism
Driven by state, church and, armed forces
Imperialism
Policy of extending rule of one nation or empire over others
Intervention Philosophy
Ideological justification for outsiders to guide local peoples in specific directions
Neoliberalism (A. Smith)
Government’s should not regulate private enterprise. Instead, free-market forces should rule
First World
Refers to the democratic west
Second World
Refers to former Warsaw Pact nations
Big “C”
Political movement and doctrine seeking to overthrow capitalism and to establish a form on communism similar to what prevailed in the Soviet Union
Small “c”
Social system in which property is owned by the community and people work for the common god
Communism
5 contemporary communist states:
China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam
Indigenous Peoples
Refers to the original inhabitants of particular areas
Indirect Colonial Rule
Governing through native political structures and leaders
Direct Colonial Rule
Imposing new governments upon native populations
