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• The World System Theory UNIT

LESSON 2
1

Let’s Discover

We will now discuss a theory which classified the countries according to classes,
either rich or poor. This theory will provide you perspective on why some countries
become progressive in the process of globalization and why others struggle to keep
up with it.

The World-System Theory by Immanuel Wallerstein

medium.com

The World Systems Theory suggests that wealthy countries benefit from other
countries and exploit those countries' citizens. This model recognizes the minimal
benefits that are enjoyed by low status countries in the world system. The theory
originated with sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, who suggested that the way a
country is integrated into the capitalist world system determines how economic
development takes place in that country. In his view, the world economic system is
divided into a hierarchy of three types of countries:

Core countries (e.g., U.S., Japan, Germany) are dominant, capitalist

countries characterized by high levels of industrialization and urbanization. Core
countries are capital intensive, have high wages and high technology production
patterns and lower amounts of labor exploitation and coercion. They own most of the
world's capital and technology and have great control over world trade and economic
agreements. They are also the cultural centers which attract artists and intellectuals.

Semiperipheral countries (e.g., South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, India,

Nigeria, South Africa) are less developed than core nations but more developed than
peripheral nations. They are the weaker members of "advanced" regions or the
leading members of former colonial ones.

Peripheral countries (e.g., most African countries and low income countries
in South America) are dependent on core countries for capital and are less
industrialized and urbanized. Peripheral countries are usually agrarian, have low
literacy rates and lack consistent Internet access.
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Peripheral countries generally provide labor and materials to core countries.

Semiperipheral countries exploit peripheral countries, just as core countries exploit
both semiperipheral and peripheral countries. Core countries extract raw materials
with little cost. They can also set the prices for the agricultural products that
peripheral countries export regardless of market prices, forcing small farmers to
abandon their fields because they can't afford to pay for labor and fertilizer. The
wealthy in peripheral countries benefit from the labor of poor workers and from their
own economic relations with core country capitalists.

In addition, if we look back to the definition and purpose of globalization, it

suggests that it’s supposed to provide fair and equal opportunities for growth to all
countries--that all may reach this goal and enjoy sustainability and progress. This
theory suggests, however, that the true purpose of globalization needs to be
questioned. Why are there factions that enable rich countries to get even richer while
poor ones seem to get poorer?
It is interesting to note that in this unequal distribution of economic power, the
rich countries actually depend on the poorer countries in terms of sourcing raw
materials and manpower. In turn, poor countries depend on monetary support and
economic power provided by the rich countries.
Tariff is introduced globally to facilitate the smooth flow of products from one
country to another. However, as the imported products enjoy low taxes, they
compete with the products produced locally. The latter tends to suffer decreases in
price due to increased supply.
For example, when the government implemented zero tax on rice imported
from other countries, our local farmers were forced to compete for the price of rice in
the market. Prior to the implementation of the tariff, our local farmers can sell 1 kilo of
rice for 50 pesos. But due to this tariff, the farmers can only sell a kilo of rice by 50%
less than the original price.

https://www.ig.com/us/news-and-trade-ideas/top-10-largest-economies-in-the-world-190819

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UNIT
LESSON • The World System Theory 2
1

Let’s Extend and Link

The Philippines is one of the poorer countries dependent on richer countries in

terms of economics. Though struggling to keep abreast with globalization, our country
participates in economic globalization by providing raw materials and manpower to
rich countries, engaging in various global economic fora, following tariff protocols and
implemented laws that promote free market operations and competitions locally and
globally.
The Philippines is known for its agricultural resources and labor force – we
export products and services like rice, sugar, native crafts, fruits, vegetables, nurses,
teachers, among others. But why is our country still considered a developing nation?
This theory may provide an answer to that question. As Wallerstein said, exploitation
takes place in relationships between countries whether core, peripheral or semi-
peripheral. The Philippines is no exception.

Further Readings:

https://lwww.boundless.com/sociology

https://study.com/academy/lesson/world-systems-theory-core-vs-peripheral-societies

https://web.mit.edu/esd.83/www/notebook/WorldSystem.pdf

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-74336-3_372-1

Bibiliography:

https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/islamicarchaeology
glossary/1282.html

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjb_663304/zwjg_665342/zwbd_665378/t169392
5.shtml__
https://medium.com/@kendallgrace15/periphery-role-in-the-world-systems-theory-
fa5d291cac55

Federman, Mark (2003). McLuhan for managers: New tools for new thinking. Viking
Canada.

McCutcheon, Mark A. (2018). The medium Is the monster: Canadian adaptations of

Frankenstein and the discourse of technology (PDF). AU Press. ISBN 978-1-771-

Photos used in this lesson are taken from the web.

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UNIT
LESSON
• The Global Village Theory 2
2

Let’s Discover

In doing the previous activity, you may have realized that media plays a vital
role to deliver information from one person to another around the globe especially
during a crisis. Our next lesson will be about a theory that states how medium plays a
significant role in creating a global village.

The Global Village

The late Marshall McLuhan, a media and communication theorist, coined the
term “global village” in 1964 to describe the phenomenon of the world’s culture
shrinking and expanding at the same time due to pervasive technological advances
that allow for instantaneous sharing of culture.

Hence, we are no longer alienated from one another but we have created a
global village from which people are well aware of what is going in a community from
another country. It made the world closer to each other through advance technology,
media and internet. We become aware of what is going on around the world with just
one click away. The products, music, movies and news shown in the media carry with
it a culture. So there is a greater possibility that one culture can influence the other
that results to the shrinking of a weaker culture as the superior ones expand.

McLuhan’s insights were revolutionary at the time, and fundamentally

changed how everyone has thought about media, technology, and communications
ever since. McLuhan chose the insightful phrase "global village" to highlight his
observation that an electronic nervous system (the media) was rapidly integrating the
planet -- events in one part of the world could be experienced from other parts in real-
time, which is what human experience was like when we lived in small villages.

For McLuhan, the media is a nervous system because it involves in the

receiving of information about the environment around us and generating responses
to that information. The information collected by the media from the community or
from a country is transmitted to the people around the world through television, radio,
newspapers and web.

McLuhan's second best known insight is summarized in the expression "the

medium is the message", which means that the qualities of a medium have as much
effect as the information it transmits. The effectiveness of the message lies in its
purpose and the appropriate channel that we used. For example, verbal
communication is best used when we want to establish relationship with another
person but it’s not effective in legal matters – written communication is the best
choice. The web can disseminate information faster than radio and newspaper, the
reason that radio stations used social media during their programs.

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UNIT
LESSON
• The World System Theory 2
2

Let’s Extend and Link

Colonial mentality in the Philippines may drive Filipinos to patronize imported

goods over local products. Stereotyping and cultural representation in the media affect
how we perceive the world today. According to Violet K. Dixon (2009), countries with
more economic influence will eventually control the cultural standards by which the rest of
the world will have to live. To learn more about the theory, please check the following
links for additional readings:

Violet K. Dixon (2009); Understanding the implications of a global village.

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1681/understanding-the-implications-of-a-
global-village

Mark Federman (2004). What is the meaning of the medium is the message?;
https://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthemessage.htm

All the pictures used in the lesson are taken from the web.

Bibliography:

Chase-Dunn Ch. K. (1991), 'Global formation: Structures of the world economy'

London, Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell.
Frank A. G. (1981), ‘Crisis in the third world’ New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers.
Gernot Kohler and Emilio José Chaves (Editors) "Globalization: critical perspectives"
Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, ISBN 1-59033-346-2. With
contributions by Samir Amin, Christopher Chase-Dunn, Andre Gunder Frank,
Immanuel Wallerstein
"Globalization or the age of transition? A Long-term view of the trajectory of the world
system," International Sociology 15:2 (June 2000), 251–267.

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