The World Systems

Gezon and Kottak. (2012). The world system and colonialism. Culture. Retrieved from: http://create.mcgraw-hill.com. (Transformational Global Leadership. McGraw-Hill Create p. 6-28).

Traveling to other countries throughout my life, I have witnessed different levels of living. I have observed how nations vary in degree of financial standing. However, I have not taken the time to learn about the differing levels of world systems. Therefore, this vocabulary and information is new to me:

·         Core: powerful nations with control over finance and technologies (US, Germany, Japan)

·         Semi periphery: cheap labor and distributes both above and below their level of living(Brazil and India)

·         Periphery: cheap labor and exports raw materials and agriculture (Haiti and Guatemala)

It seems, basically our entire way of life: what we eat, drink, wear, and usages of communication have been derived from some sort of expansion due to industrialization. Goods and services are moved from one continent to another-country to country-state to state-city to city until everything is one big rotation. I don’t know if I’ve thought of goods and services this way before, but it’s comforting to think that we all have something to share and provide for one another. The question now is why are these same services worth more or less in varying countries? I guess it could be because of the worth of the good in that particular region and the amount of effort put into the service. But, I can’t help but wonder if the service would be better if it had more worth tied to it? 

I like the blurb on McDonalds. The idea was to bring to our attention where foods come from and what we eat daily. It’s amazing that by eating one hamburger, we are really eating one item that has products that originated all over the world. It makes me think there is no such thing as “Chinese food” or “Italian food”. It makes me think that I need to be more aware of how lucky I really am to have my favorite foods right on my table.

Culture Think: I agree with the idea that many Americans believe they are middle class; I too identify with the middle class. Some of the values include work ethic, usage of time, family structure, understanding needs and wants, and education. High class individuals may also value some of these areas, but I think they are valued to a different degree. Middle class families are happy to work for what they want/need and value the fact that they had to work so hard in order to achieve so much. Middle class families also seek a strong balance between work life and family life. They strive to be grounded. Education is essential and they strive for life-long learning rather than monetary items.

It’s sad to look at the map showing which nations are semi periphery, periphery, and core. Obviously, I am grateful that I live in a core nation. However, I feel bad for those who are periphery. I can’t help but wonder what more we could do to help those nations build themselves to move up in the classification. Especially since our country is in such financial danger; it is hard to think about helping other countries when there are plenty of people to help in our own neighborhoods. I think, again, it comes down to needs vs. wants and how people live. The standard of living is very different in other places of the world and I believe our standard to be much higher and our needs to be much stronger since we have lived in such luxury for so long.