world-systems theory and the environment. the unequal ecological exchange thesis due to their...
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World-Systems Theory and the Environment
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The Unequal Ecological ExchangeThesis
Due to their economic, military, and political power, wealthy nations have the capacity to:– Make environmental “withdrawals” from poor
nations (in terms of natural resource extraction), and,
– Make environmental “inputs” in poor nations in terms of pollution or waste.
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World-systems theory pays great attention to the historical development of capitalism…
Why are some countries wealthy (core) or others relatively poor (semi-periphery) or very poor (periphery)?
• The establishment of an international division of labor.
• The creation and maintenance of unequal terms of exchange.
• Processes of underdevelopment.
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Three Periods of Colonialism
• Global Expansion 1492-1776: Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and the English.
• 1776-1870: British Dominance.• 1870-1914: The “New Imperialism.”
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European colonies in 1674
World colonies, 1900
World colonies, 1800
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Colonialism and the Slave Trade
– Peaked in 18th C– Colonial
expansion and triangular trade – exchange between Europe, Africa, and the Americas – built from slave trade routes.
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Colonial Commercial Relationships
• Shaped colonial economies.– Orientation away from a subsistence to a cash economy.– Extractive / external-market focus.
• Established a new international division of labor.– Colonies produce and export raw materials (minerals, timber,
monoculture commodity agriculture).– Colonizers export manufactured goods.– Set up export dependence.
• Established unequal terms of exchange.• Underdeveloped colonies.
– Extracted tremendous wealth in terms of natural resources.– Created vast amounts of upheaval and social disruption.
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The Unequal Ecological ExchangeThesis
Due to their economic, military, and political power, wealthy nations have the capacity to:– Make environmental “withdrawals” from poor
nations (in terms of natural resource extraction), and,
– Make environmental “inputs” in poor nations in terms of pollution or waste.
![Page 9: World-Systems Theory and the Environment. The Unequal Ecological Exchange Thesis Due to their economic, military, and political power, wealthy nations](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022062515/56649c725503460f949240dc/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Potosi, as described by Galeano in The Open Veins of Latin America
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The Recent History of Colonialism.
Africa:• Ethiopia: 1944• Ghana: 1957• Seventeen African nations achieve independence
in 1960.• South Africa: 1994Asia:• Indonesia: 1949• Vietnam: 1954, 1973
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World-systems theorists argue that relationships of unequal ecological exchange continue to characterize relationships between nations today.Two examples and a counter-example:
• Oil in Nigeria.• Electronic waste in China.• Possible counter-example:
China and rare earth minerals. (Or is it simply an indication of a changing world.)
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World-systems theorists argue that unequal ecological exchange continues to characterize core-periphery relations.
• The international division of labor established during periods of colonialism still largely exists.
• Economic “development,” is often geared toward export production.– i.e. development in the form of railways or roads
between mines and ports rather than meeting community needs.
• Economic development in the periphery is often its continued “underdevelopment.”
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Modernization Theory: A Competing Perspective
• Natural resource extraction is a viable means of economic development, providing:– Influx of capital.– Local high-paying jobs.– Provision of services to communities.– Tax revenues for countries to invest in further development.
• Proposes the “environmental Kuznets curve” thesis:– As a poor nation’s economy grows in terms of GDP, its rates
of environmental degradation will also increase.– As a nation develops, and its GDP reaches a certain size,
rates of environmental degradation will decrease.
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Criticisms of World-Systems Theory?
• Core/periphery relations between nations might overlook similar kinds of relations within nations?
• Overlooks real success stories in development?
• Other criticisms…?