The Tripartite World System

Ma. Ana Christina A.
De Villa
CBET-20-202P
THE TRIPARTITE WORLD-SYSTEM
In the 1970s, an American Sociologist named Immanuel Wallerstein decided to

articulately formulate a world system theory with three echelons: the core, periphery, and semi-
periphery nation, which is why it is now identified as the Tripartite World System. A world-system,
according to this theory, is a social system with boundaries, edifices, member associations, political
legitimacy laws, and coherence. Its life is made up of opposing forces that retain it together by
tension and tear it apart as each group seeks to remold it to its advantage indefinitely. It acquires
the characteristics of an organism in that it has a lifespan during which its characteristics change
in some ways while maintaining stability in others. In accordance with the internal logic of its
procedure, its structures can be defined as strong or weak at different times.
In his book, "The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the
European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century," Wallerstein argues that capitalism as an
economic mode is based on the fact that economic factors operate in a larger arena than any
political entity can completely control. This offers capitalists with structurally based freedom of
maneuver. It has aided the global system's economic expansion, albeit with a very skewed
distribution of its incentives. The only alternative world-system that could maintain a high level of
productivity while changing the distribution system would involve the reintegration of political
and economic decision-making levels. This would be a socialist world government, the third
possible type of world system. This is not a current form, and it was not even remotely imaginable
in the sixteenth century.
To clarify his point, he created a three-tiered hierarchy to identify and categorize the
countries that wield great power and benefit from the capitalist system. The core nations are
dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries for labor and raw materials. They
have a high level of industrialization and urbanization. Core countries have high wages and high
technology production patterns, as well as lower levels of labor exploitation and coercion. They
1
share a few distinguishing characteristics, such as having a diverse set of resources at their disposal.
These countries have strong militaries, strong alliances all over the world, and control the global
market. Core-country residents are also thought to be the wealthiest. They have certain economic,
political, and military advantages over other countries. These countries are referred to as core
countries because they are at the heart of the global system. The United States, Japan, and Germany
are three excellent examples.
The next point to mention is that the peripheral nations which is more reliant on core
countries for capital and is less industrialized and urbanized. They are typically agrarian, have low
literacy rates, and do not have reliable Internet access. are those that are less developed than the
semi-periphery and core countries. These countries usually receive a disproportionately small
share of global wealth. They have a weak state and are typically behind due to obstacles such as a
lack of technology, an unstable government, and inadequate education and health systems. In some
cases, exploitation of periphery countries' agriculture, cheap labor, and natural resources helps core
countries maintain their dominance. In general, peripheral countries such as Africa and South
America supply labor and materials to core countries.
Lastly, the semi-peripheral countries, which are less developed than core nations but more
developed than peripheral nations, are the last in this category. However, it is not a statistical
cutting point ruse, nor is it a residual category. These areas play a role similar to, but not identical
to, middle trading groups in a civilization. These middle zones deflect some of the political
pressures that groups primarily based in the periphery might otherwise direct at core states and the
groups that operate within and through their state apparatuses. They act as a buffer between core
and periphery countries, such as South Korea, India, and Mexico.
RESOURCES:
• Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the
Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York:
Academic Press, 1976, pp. 229-233.
2
• Anon, 2021. World-Systems Theory. Available at:
https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@go/page/8190 [Accessed March 23, 2022].
• "Modern World-System Analysis." Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450.
Retrieved February 28, 2022 Available at:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-
andmaps/modern-world-system-analysis [Accessed March 23, 2022].

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Ma. Ana Christina A.

THE TRIPARTITE WORLD-SYSTEM

In the 1970s, an American Sociologist named Immanuel Wallerstein decided to

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