Why did social science so miserably fail to predict
the collapse of Soviet Union? What can the world-system
theory (perspective) offer in the form of explanation and
prediction? In what ways can the world-system theory
succeed where social science failed?
These questions loomed large in the back of
my mind when I asked questions about the collapse
of communism.
I am glad that I received some responses, very useful
directions, and insightful comments from Profs.Rozov
and Frank.
Much of what I have read so far, both from social
science and from world-system perspective
are ideographic, historiographic, and post ad hoc.
Isn't the purpose of social science, and especially
the promise of world-system theory the ability to
predict events, events of historical importance?
The discussion I wish to provoke on this net is
thus threee-fold: What can the world-system theory do
where social sceince has failed? What are the
verifiable nomothetic theories the w-s theory
can offer? Can we compare the Soviet communism
with Chinese communism in terms of time and place?
Quee-Young Kim
Department of Sociology
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY 82071
> Date sent: Mon, 02 Oct 1995 11:24:43 -0700 (NSK)
> From: Nikolai Sergeevich Rozov <ROZOV@nw.cnit.nsk.su>
> Subject: re: collapse
> To: WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
> Send reply to: ROZOV@nw.cnit.nsk.su
> Prof. Frank asks me to forward this message to philofhi but
> I think that it is informative also for wsn.
> Nikolai Rozov
>
> From: "A. Gunder Frank" <agfrank@epas.utoronto.ca>
> To: Rozov <rozov@ns.cnit.nsk.su>
>
> Please forward this mesage to the net, since my attempt got bounced back
> to me.
> gunder frank
>
> 1. I did not receive or at least not see Dr. Kim's message = request?
> 2. I have nothing to say about Alex's model. Too abstract for my limited
> comprehension, which tries to concentrate on the real world.
> 3. In this attempt, I HAVE written several things about the "collapse of
> communism" [NOT MY terminology, since I - and most others! - never
> thoiught that there is/was any "communism" to collapse!],
> - in 1990 ... on the REvolution of 1989 [ published many times, including
> in Problems of Peace and Socialism, whre it appeed under the title "The
> events of 1989" at least in russian!
> - in 1991/2 ... on Econmic and Political Ironies ofEast-West [especially
> European] relations, also publised two ormore different articles
> published several times, among them in the UNESCO Social Science Journal No.
> 131 [in english] and 132 in other languages
> -in 1993/4 .... on "What Went Wrong in Soviet and East European "Socialism"?
> A World Economic Interpretation [also subtitles an International
> Political Economic Interpretation] becaue the latter publshed in Nr. 2
> of the new REVIEW OF INTERNATINAL POLITICAL ECONOMY, also punished in
> substantally the same form as "The Thirdworldization of the Soviet Union
> and Eastern Europe"
> 5. With soe EFFORT and TIME, I could make a list of WHERE these articles were
> published - if there IS sufficient INTEREST on this net - so that netters
> could find one or more here or there.
> 6. I may also have some abstracts somewhere on disc, which I cold post to
> the net [also if there is sufficient interest only since i would have to
> search soft disc, since I have moved from Europ to Canada and abandoned my
> old Europen hard disk over there]
> 7. ALL of these articles, and especially the last one, are world SYSTEM
> inteerpretations of what went on- and is still going on. and therevofe also
> whistorical ones!
> 8. My Friends Andrea Komlosy and Hannes Hofbauer [or names in reverse?]
> published a similar interpretatin in the journal CONTENTION about number
> 5or 6.
> 9. Te shortest summary of my argument [explanation?] is that these economies
> were dependent/underdeveloped parts of the world economy/system for a
> long time, and still are, and that "{socialism" was a catch-up attmept which
> mostly failed, and especially was not enough to permit them to
> compete in the presentKondratieff B phase/world economic crisis since l967,
> so that they were made to bear the burdens of it like Lat Am and Africa
> and parts of Asia - and of course many sectros in the Western economies
> also - and therefore were pusehd into economic depression, which brought
> on political collapse. of course the econ deepression continuues and got
> even worse after the political change, since the latter was done at the
> worst possible time [but the only possible time] during this 5th world econ
> recession , which is the deepest since the world econ crisis began in 1967.
> 10 regards
> gunder frank
>
>
> Nikolai S. Rozov
> Professor of Philosophy
> PhD., Dr.Sc.
>
> Moderator of the mailing list PHILOFHI
> (PHILosophy OF HIstory and theoretical history)
>
> Dept. of Philosophy Tel.: (3832) 397488
> Novosibirsk State University Fax.: (3832) 355237
> 630090, Novosibirsk E-mail: rozov@nw.cnit.nsk.su
> Pirogova 2 rozov@adm.nsu.nsk.su
>