Explain How Capitalism Has Divided The World Into A Core, Se ✓ Solved

Explain how capitalism has divided the world into a core, semi-periphery, and periphery

The assignment involves analyzing Wallerstein's World Systems Theory and understanding the division of the global economy into core, semi-periphery, and periphery regions. The core consists of highly developed, industrialized countries with strong service sectors and technological advancements, such as the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. These nations dominate global economic and political institutions, benefiting from their advantageous position in international capitalism (Wallerstein, 1974).

The semi-periphery includes countries that are in transition, exhibiting characteristics of both core and periphery. These nations are developing industrially and economically but still maintain certain characteristics of less developed countries. Examples include countries like Brazil, South Africa, and India. They often act as buffer zones, both exploiting peripheral countries and being exploited by core nations (Arrighi, 2007).

The periphery comprises the least developed countries, often dependent on a single or limited resource exports, with weak state institutions and low technological capacity. These countries, such as many in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Southeast Asia, are often kept in poverty through global economic structures. The core countries control capital, technology, and trade systems, which enable them to extract resources and wealth from peripheral nations, perpetuating global inequalities (Wallerstein, 1974).

Global capitalism maintains the economic disparity by structuring international trade, investment, and resource flows in a way that benefits core countries. Periphery countries often receive unfavorable terms of trade, export raw materials at low prices, and import expensive manufactured goods, leading to economic dependency and persistent underdevelopment (Friedman, 2005).

This systemic arrangement sustains the cycle of poverty in peripheral nations by limiting their capacity to develop local industries and achieve economic independence. Multinational corporations and international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, enforce policies favoring core interests, often imposing austerity measures or structural adjustments that exacerbate inequality and suppress local economic growth (Wallerstein, 2004; Amin, 2010).

In conclusion, Wallerstein's World Systems Theory illustrates how capitalism divides the world into hierarchical zones—core, semi-periphery, and periphery—each with specific roles that sustain global economic inequality. The core exploits peripheral countries through control of capital, technology, and markets, thus perpetuating persistent poverty and underdevelopment in the periphery (Wallerstein, 1974; Arrighi, 2007). Understanding this division is crucial for addressing global inequality and fostering more equitable development policies worldwide.

References

• Arrighi, G. (2007). Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century. Verso Books.
• Amin, S. (2010). The Imperialism of Free Market. Monthly Review, 62(10), 1-16.
• Friedman, T. L. (2005). The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Wallerstein, I. (1974). The Modern World-System I: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. Academic Press.
• Wallerstein, I. (2004). World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. Duke University Press.