On Tue, 28 May 1996, A. Gunder Frank wrote:
> The point Salvatore seems to be misisng is that IF there is any sense
> to the existence of a w s [long] before 1500 or 1800, then that has
> implications for what happened AFTER that date too.
> And one imnplication is that it is NOT "of course true" that we can trace
> back as per Wallerstein. That is we can, but we risk tracing in the wrong
> directioin, just backward within Europe. What happened in Europe in 1500,
> 1800 or whenever can only be accounted for in the WORLD economic terms
> of its relations primarily with Asia, within the structure/operation of a
> single world economy!
Is this existence of a World System or World-System? And is it
possible, as suggested in the casual story of my last message, that the
World System emerges as a result of efforts of participants in a
non-pre-eminent World-System to improve their contact with the
pre-eminent World-System of the day?
In other words, does a new, more encompassing World-System have
to emerge due to the expansion of a previous, less encompassing
World-System, or can it emerge by accretion of previous, less
encompassing, World-Systems?
And, of course, my apology if I have got World System and
World-System turned around. It should be obvious if I have, so if I have
I hope it will be corrected in this forum.
Virtually,
Bruce R. McFarling, Newcastle, NSW
ecbm@cc.newcastle.edu.au