The world-System Prespective¹ by : Syaifudin Zakir

There were many aktivities in the capitalist world economy that could not be eplained by both the mordernization and dependency theoriest. For explaining this, the new researcher tried to find another explanation base on: first, remarkable rate of economic growth of East Asia countries such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Second, the crisis in the socialist states, such as the crisis of Sino-Soviet spit, the failure of cultural revolution, economic stagnation, and gradual opening of investment. Third, there was crisis in the US capitalism, which caused by watergate crisis, oil embargo, Vietnam war, and the rising of protectionism.

Theoritical Heritage

According to Kaye (1979), the neo-Marxist and French Anales School influenced Wallerstein World system perspective. First, the neo-Marxist he has learned was based on his experience in the Africa countries. Second, another thing that influenced Wallerstein’s work is French Anales School.

Methodology

From his view, traditional scienfic theories have closed many important research question rather to open it and could not explain the real historical alternatives. first, the social disiplines have organization with boundaries, structures, and personal to deffend their collective interest. Second, there was the separation between history and social sciences analysis. Third, human being are organized in entities we may call societies, which constitute the fundamental social frameworks within which human life is lived. Fourth, capitalism is a system base on competition between free producers using free labour with free commodities, free meaning its availabillity for sale and purchase on a market.

The  Semiperiphery Countries

Wallerstein proposed trimodal model, core, semiperiphery, periphery, instead bimodal to explain the capitalist world neeeds the semiperiphery for two reasson: first, there should be the creation of the middle sectors in the world that bette off than the lower countries. Second, there should the countries, which ale ti absorb the capital from the declining sector in the capitalist sector. In relation with that, Wallerstein stated that it is important for periphery country to move to the semiperiphery status. He asserted that the periphery country shoul pratice the three strategies of development. First, seizing the chance refered to activity that tried to expand outward, to substitute an external market for an internal market, and produced the products, which core countries no longer bother to manufacture. Second, promotion by invitation refered to the activity to invite the foreign investmen into semiperiphery country. Third, self-realience refered to the activity that built the economy independence.

History of the Capitalist World-Economy

On his book “development lodestar or illusion”, he asserted that there were two periods of history of world-economy: from the sixteenth century to 1945 and from 1945 till now. According to him, a capitalist world-economy began to form centered in European continent in the sixteenth century and started to form the polarization zones. In this era, the commodity chain was concentrated to a disproportionate in some zones rather in other. According to Wallerstein,the growing disillusionment of antysystemic movement can be explained by two contracdiction goals.The first goal was to seek greter internal equlity (which involves fundamental social transformation),and the second goal was a desire of rapid economic growht (which involves catching up with the core states).

Policy Implication

The political impilcation for that movement based on the assumption,which the objective is truly egalitarian world.Wallerstein argued that we should substitute a new world level class movement for the prevailing national-level popular movement.But he thinks that the national level popular movement found themselves in impasse because of the goal of this movement was to capture the state power. To solve this problem,Wallerstein advocates a New World strategy that requires implementation by the world-level movement.Suppose that the antysystemic movement concentrated their energies everywere the twin goal,the rapid economic growht and internal equlity,will be achieved.

Comparison of Dependency and World-System Perspective

Althought the world system perspective can be traced from the dependency perspective,however,the world-system school becomes more advanced.There are some difference between them.First,the unit analysis for the world-system perspective is the world system whereas the dependency school focuses on the national level. Second,from historical methodology,Wallerstein perceives social reality as in a state of flux.Unlike the dependency school studies the historical dynamic of teh world economy. Third,the world-system has a unique theoritical structure.Instead of using bimodal assumption,the core and periphery,it used teh trimodal :core ,semiperyphery and peryphery. Fourth,based on the direction of development ,the Wallerstein world-system e perspective avoid the deterministic statement of the dependent development because of the core always exploits the peryphery. Fifht,the world-system perspective has extended their research focus.It not only studies the backward of the third world,but also the advanced of the capitalist cores,the socialist states and the future of capitalist world economy.