Immanuel+Wallerstein


 * Immanuel Wallerstein**

Immanuel Wallerstein was born in 1930 and grew up in New York City. From the start of his education he was always particularly interesting in world affairs. As a teenager he attended an international youth conference in 1951, and he became particularly focused on post-colonial African affairs, eventually becoming an expert on the subject. He attended Columbia University and became a sociology professor at McGill university, where he was the president of the African Studies Association. Up until around 1970 he focused primarily all of his work on these African affairs. The main influences on all of his work throughout his life were Karl Marx and Fernand Braudel, historians and economists from long before him, until the early 1970's when he started to develop himself as a historian and theorist of global capitalism in the economy, with criticism of capitalism and champion of the "anti-systemic movement." This is also when he developed one of this core thoughts, his world systems approach. This is his theory on the division of the world into three types of nations: core, semi-periphery, and periphery. Core areas have high technological development and manufacturing, these are the more developed countries like the United States. Periphery areas provide agriculture, labor, and materials. They are much less developed countries with lots of poverty. Countries that are in the middle are the semi-periphery area's which find themselves benefiting through the exchange relationships with both the periphery and the core. These are the developing countries, like Brazil. Wallerstein believes that we have begun to decline as a world power, that we are loosing steam, or as he says "the plane is taking a sharp down-turn." Ever since 1970's we have begun to get worse rather than better. This relates to his world system's theory because he thinks that we will soon find ourselves at war over non-renewable resources, like food or oil. That soon high consuming countries like the United States will find themselves having not enough resources to support there population. This will cause a global problem, causing these resources to be huge asset, everyone will want them. He thinks that the world will side up according to these core, periphery, and semi-periphery labels. He believes that some of the semi-periphery countries will side with other countries opposed to the United States like China and Russia. While the United States will side other countries like parts of Europe and Australia. The world will be divided and fighting for the only thing left, resources, and arable land. It will all come down to who is on your side and supporting you. This also will relate back to his African affairs studies because according to his system, Africa will be the only country not lined up with one side of the other, as a core country it could go either way. This will then cause a global fight for Africa's support and the land and resources it can provide. Wallerstein's view on the world system and the United States as downward power will relate to how we believe he would side on the auto industry bailout. [|Immanuel Wallerstein-The eagle has crash landed]media type="youtube" key="TLiR2Gp720I" height="344" width="425" In the fall of 2008, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford asked the government for loan guarentees incase their companies should need to file bankruptcy. Ford found that it could use company money to stabilize itself and did not actually ask for or borrow any money from the government. GM and Chrysler, after sales decreased dramatically with the recession and increases in gas prices, received $25 billion in federal aid before filing bankruptcy. All three companies were forced to downsize dramatically and form partnerships and merges with other automobile makers in order to stay in business with hopes of paying off the government loans. 
 * Auto Industry Bailout Overview**
 * How would Immanuel Wallerstein respond to the US government bailout of the auto industry? Why? Would the economic thinker approve? Disapprove? Alter the bailout?** **Be specific with both your answer and your reasoning.**

Wallerstein would say that the bailout of the auto industry’s Detroit 3 (General Motors, Chrysler and Ford) would have had to happen eventually. The bailout ties into his theory that the U.S. is becoming less of a world-dominating nation because consumers are buying cars from foreign nations rather than purchasing American-made brands. Americans have been choosing cars made in other “core” or developed nations, such as Japan and Germany, and some are investing or purchasing automobiles from peripheral nations or semi-peripheral nations, like India and China. In accordance with Wallerstein’s theory, the U.S. government bailed out the auto industry in order to maintain the country’s status as a hegemon as a maker of automobiles. Wallerstein would have seen the bailout as inevitable because the U.S. is trying to stay at the top of a quickly leveling surface.

“The average rates at which people consume resources like oil and metals, and produce wastes like plastics and greenhouse gases, are about 32 times higher in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia then they are in the developing world.” ( // What’s Your Consumption Factor?//, Jared Diamond) Wallerstein’s deemed core nations are consuming over thirty times as much as his peripheral nations, and the developing nations could go through the modernization process within decades. “If the whole developing world were suddenly to catch up, world rates would increase elevenfold. It would be as if the world population ballooned to 72 billion people (retaining present consumption rates).” (//What’s Your Consumption Factor?//, Jared Diamond) If all of the peripheral nations caught up to the core nations, the planet would be in trouble. Yet it could be the fault of the core nations; by making their living standards look so appealing and by announcing themselves as world powers, the periphery nations are motivated to catch up. America’s flashy cars and massive trucks certainly announce the country’s superior status, yet car owners and enthusiasts are realizing that American-made cars just aren’t cutting it these days because foreign companies have the motivation to make quality automobiles. “T he American car business used to be the envy of the world. But thanks to too many years of pumping out uninspired, shoddily built, and overly thirsty vehicles, U.S. automakers dug themselves into a hole too deep even for a hedonistic, gas-guzzling full-size truck to climb out of.” ([]) Wallerstein’s theory that the U.S. is becoming less of an authority may be because all these other countries are developing to join these core nations, and the American auto industry was unprepared for this sudden revolution of foreign cars.
 * “What’s Your Consumption Factor?”**

The Club of Rome is a global organization that acts “as a global catalyst for change through the identification and analysis of the crucial problems facing humanity and the communication of such problems to the most important public and private decision makers as well as to the general public.” ([]) A few of the major focuses of the Club are Environment and Resources, Globalization and International Development. The organization attempts to make the general public aware of the declining amount of resources and the issues of hunger and poverty around the world. While Immanuel Wallerstein discusses modernization and how peripheral nations are trying to catch up to core nations in terms of technology and manufacturing, and the Club of Rome converses growth in regards to preventing climate change and depletion of resources, they have a similar message; “ Trade produces few if any benefits for poor people in poor countries.” ([]) The Club of Rome is currently trying to promote local farming and industries in order to stabilize poor nations, since their trades with richer countries often end in little to no profit. Wallerstein believes that “Economic exchange between core and periphery takes place on unequal terms; The periphery is forced to sell it’s products at low prices, but has to buy the core’s products at comparatively high prices.” (“StateMaster-Encyclopedia: Immanuel Wallerstein”) Both the Club and Wallerstein agree that poorer nations are suffering from the trade relations established by the differences in the economic statuses of the core and peripheral nations. In regards to the bailout, the Club of Rome may be helping the financial states of these nations which allows them to sell their automobiles for lower prices in the United States, thus hurting the American-made car industry. Though the Club may only be trying to help the other countries to stabilize, their assistance is proving Wallerstein’s theory that the developing nations can eventually reach the core countries and cause less of a dominance in different industries.
 * The Club of Rome**

The JFK Library Federal Budget Simulation showed the nation’s priorities and what government programs are currently receiving the most funding. After last year’s recession and the bankruptcy of many corporations and industries, President Obama needed to finance bailouts and stimulus packages to restart the economy. He proposed “a three-year hard freeze on non-security discretionary spending, to last from 2011 through 2013,” according to ABCNews.com. But a few weeks later it was announced that plans for an additional $250 billion in case of another bailout were dropped because the economy had stabilized. (Washington Post) Wallerstein would argue that the President and Congress now should include in the appropriation process a portion of money set aside incase industries go bankrupt; with the development of poorer nations, the U.S.’s power over many industries is going to weaken and the need for government money is going to increase. Though Wallerstein might not agree with a three-year freeze, he would say that America should be prepared for economic chaos with the introduction and development of foreign products, even if that means setting aside billions of dollars to keep the market afloat.
 * JFK Library Federal Budget Simulation**

Cash For Clunkers is a program that helps to get older models of vehicles off the road and encourages people to buy more eco-friendly cars. It takes large cars and “gas guzzlers” off the road and gives car owners a credit to buy a less harmful automobile. President Obama signed a bill that gave the Transportation Department the authority to design the program and set the regulations regarding what cars could be traded in. After being written into a law, it was named CARS, or Car Allowance Rebate System. This organization connects how the auto industry is trying to lessen its harmful emissions and make more fuel-efficient automobiles after news from sources like the Club of Rome spreads. Once people hear how damaging cars are, they want to trade theirs in for one that is less harmful, and CARS allowed hundreds of thousands of people to do so. It also ties in the idea of the government budgeting money for programs that stimulate failing industries. The CARS program was initiated after the bailout of the auto industry and it helped to get people back to the dealerships while also allowing Americans to go green. With this step towards a more eco-friendly auto industry, there must be some discussion on why American cars were so bad for the environment in the first place. It connects back to our consumption factor. America is miles above other countries in terms of technology, and just the size of our cars shows that it’s not about efficiency; it’s about wealth and showing it off. Wallerstein might say that all of this is evidence that America is a core nation; we have programs to fix the problems we have caused over the past few decades and they actually work. 450,000 old or fuel-inefficient vehicles have been traded in for more eco-friendly cars since CARS began operating, which never would have happened if the nation were still in a developing stage ([]). media type="youtube" key="dc2MKlpr1oE" height="385" width="480"
 * “Cash For Clunkers” Connection**

 Works Cited "About | Cash for Guzzlers." //Cash for Clunkers//. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Anderson, Nick. Cartoon. //Http://www.mije.org/richardprince/writers-tie-blacks-fate-auto-bailout. //Washington Post Writers Group. Web.// "The Best Reasons to Buy American - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver." Car Reviews - 2010 Car Reviews at CARandDRIVER.com - Car Buying Resource. June 2008. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. . Cars Allowance Rebate System. Advertisement. //YouTube//. Dealer Fire. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. . "CARS.gov - Car Allowance Rebate System - Helpful Q&As for Consumers - Formerly Referred to as “Cash for Clunkers”." CARS.gov - Car Allowance Rebate System - Home - Formerly Referred to as “Cash for Clunkers”. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. . Diamond, Jared. "What's Your Consumption Factor?" The New York Times 2 Jan. 2008, OP-ED sec. Print.  George, Susan. ""Ethical and Humanitarian Challenges - Goals and Strategies to Achieve Sustainable and Equitable International Development."" 16 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. Immanuel Wallerstein on Why the Eagle Has Crash Landed//. Perf. Immanuel Wallerstein. Youtube, 2009. "Immanuel Wallesrstein."// Wikipedia//. Web. 10 Apr. 2010. . Nankin, Jesse, Eric Umansky, Krista Kjellman, and Scott Klein. ""History of U.S. Gov't Bailouts.""// Pro Publica//. Creative Commons, 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. "Obama 2011 Budget Request: Treasury Department - Washingtonpost.com."// Washingtonpost.com - Nation, World, Technology and Washington Area News and Headlines//. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. . "Organisation."// THE CLUB OF ROME. 2009//. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. . "President Obama to Push 3-Year Spending Freeze on Non-Security Discretionary Spending."// Political Punch//. 25 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. . "StateMaster - Encyclopedia: Immanuel Wallerstein."// StateMaster - US Statistics, State Comparisons.// Web. 25. Mar. 2010. < [] >.