Re: hegeomony guns and money

Well, yes and no.  Yes, Genoa and Spain were a split of guns and money, however, Arrighi focuses on Venice as analogous to the UP, UK, US.  Venice in Arrighi's view was unusual in being a capitalist state -- entrepreneurs ran the state and military.  The UP marks the split of state and private enterprise functions that continues to this day.  So, yes, the split of today (US, Asia) being the spatial split between guns and money, is perhaps analogous to Genoa and Spain, but then again no because there is no Venice -- yet alone an interstate structure and UN, IMF, WB -- around today as there was then.  The systemic structures and processes are entirely different.

-----Original Message-----
From: savasir [mailto:tunel@superonline.com]
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 7:52 AM
To: wsn-owner@csf.colorado.edu
Cc: Elson Boles
Subject: hegeomony guns and money

 

Elson Boles wrote:

For the first time, guns and money are split while states are
being displaced by, yet are also key to the formation and strengthening of,
world-government agencies and transnational forms of capital (not just TNCs)

This is just nitpicking- but if I Understand Arrighi right, he claims that guns and money were already split at the Renmaisance period (the Iberian-Genoese coalition). I am not sure that I agree with Arrighi's anaylisis of Renaissance in all its details, but it certainly is an eye-opener.

 

I wil try to refrain on commenting on the current form of guns and możney split, but just let me point out that that there ae certain ecological limits to this kind of split. When "guns" mean "nukes" and so forth... tthen the hegemon too may have to act in a way that is different than the Renaissance case...

 

regards,

iskender