gunder's round

Wed, 04 Feb 1998 15:06:38 -0500
christopher chase-dunn (chriscd@jhu.edu)

Andre Gunder Frank has written a new paper on Eurocentrism and it is
available for reading from the World-Systems Archive at
http://csf.colorado.edu/wsystems/archive/papers/gunder/gunderpap.htm

Here is the abstract of Gunder's paper:

Part I begins with a brief review of how Western conceptions of
Asia changed from pro to con and to denigration of 'Orientalism.'
Its major late nineteenth and twentieth century theoretical
consequences are notred, which continue to dominate much of
popular thought and social theory as well as historiography to
this day. Part II examines the beginnings of critiques of the
same, grouped into: A. The 'Orient' was not really like it was
made out to be; B. The 'West' did not really do it on its own
the way it claimed: A re-examination of the Western
'exceptionalism' as explanations of 'The Rise of the West;' C.
East/West comparisons can reveal and reflect what really
happened: A review of some more systematic comparisons and their
theoretical pretensions; and D. The West did invent 'capitalism'
but its colonial imperialism was used to develop the west and
underdevelop the rest, but still identify Europe and America as
the birthplace and 'center' of a world-economy and world-system.
Arguing that none of these revisions are sufficient, Part III
offers a more holistic world systemic analysis of the early
modern global economy, its transformation, the world economic
reasons for the industrial revolution, and the only temporary
rise of the West, which presage the renewed emergence of the East
with China as the 'Middle Kingdom.'

chris