The West
and the Rest
3 main themes:
 The world’s cultural diversity in the age of
globalization – does it breed conflict and impede
cooperation?
 The distribution of power in the world system
 Organization of societies in the world system

3 main perspectives:
 liberal
 conservative
 radical
Francis Fukuyama, the liberal view – the world is
increasingly integrated on the basis of Western liberal ideas
Samuel Huntington, the conservative view – the world is
divided into civilizations which tend to come into conflict; the
Western experience is unique
Immanuel Wallerstein, the radical view – the world
capitalist system has a core and a periphery


The Smart Stitch
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/n
ew_portable_sewing_machine_lets

The first civilizations arise in the South
and the East – the West is “barbarian”
Levels of human development, UN Human Development Report, 2010
Western
Slavic Orthodox
Islamic
Latin
American
Sinic
Japanese
Hindu
SubSaharan
African
Contemporary civilizations, according to S. Huntington






Distribution of power, economic and political
Development of the modern state
Capital accumulation on a global scale
Result:
In the Modern Age, the West emerged as the core of the
world system
The past 500 years – the age of Western dominance
2 perceptions of the West
 The West as modernity and progress
 Development of more effective and successful forms of
social organization
 The West as aggressor and exploiter
 Ruthless exploitation of the Rest, backed up by military
superiority
Challenge to the Rest
 Adopt Western ways – and accept Western domination
 Fight for liberation from Western control; protect your
civilization; try to redistribute world power more
equitably

Power in the global markets
Three quarters of all transnational corporations are based
in North America, Western Europe and Japan
Ninety-nine of the 100 largest transnational corporations
are from the industrialized countries
The loss of languages: of 6,500 only 3,000 remain:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/enda
ngered.jsp
What happens with globalization
 Nation-states lose their ability to control the economy
 A single global hierarchy of wealth and power is created
 The West remains the core of the global system
 What happens in the periphery?




There is Africa at the bottom – ironically, with the highest
level of public support for capitalism
But the periphery is also the place of Rising Powers
Each of them has used its own policies of development
The West vs. Rising Powers?


The global power shift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N4Z
Cq9BJ2A


The Rise of China:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/c
hina_celebrates_its_status_as




Western colonialism was overthrown in the 20th century
Colonial empires were replaced with new independent
states
But in a globalized world, the West retains positions of
dominance
As more and more non-Western countries embrace
democratization, will democracy undermine Western
positions there?


The West is dependent on the Rest
Domination is increasingly difficult
 The Global War on Terror fiasco
 The global economic crisis
 Western prescriptions are often rejected
 Western confidence is shattered
 The global power shift to BRICs
The global society
 Integrated - and divided
 Power relations in the global political economy – who
owns and controls it
 Cultural differences and common challenges:
Prospects
 Divisions or unity?
 Conflict or cooperation?
 The liberal globalist perspective:
 Globalization, for all its problems, makes the world
safer and more prosperous
 Danger of de-globalization and fragmentation of the
world system into competing blocs
 A new world order can be created through collective
efforts of states to manage the global system
A conservative perspective
 Nations compete, the West is challenged, new wars are
likely
 Geopolitical conflicts
 The West will remain distinct
 The West must struggle to maintain its hegemony and
advantage
 Peace and security can be achieved only through
Western strength and unity
Radical perspectives: globalist and nationalist
 Globalist
 The main axis of conflict in the world is not between
the West and the Rest, but between global capital and
global labour
 Organizing workers everywhere, building solidarity of
the oppressed
 Struggles for democracy, human rights, disarmament,
ecological recovery – everywhere
 The goal – a world order based on democracy and
justice, to be achieved through either reforms or
revolutions
Nationalist
 Agrees with the radical globalist vision, but emphasizes
the role of nation-states as key instruments in the global
struggle for a new world order
 National sovereignty vs. global control
 Economic nationalism (protectionism)
 Preservation of national identity, defence of national
interests