Old fart, that is surely to be gone anyday now, but, ive read some fragments of his works, and im really starting to like him (like Weber)... i think hes very precise and cuts thru the bullshit:
Quote from: The Cold War and the Third World: The good times past? in "After Liberalism" (1996)
...I think that the essential characteristics of the period between 1945 and 1990 can be summarized in four affirmations:
1)USA was the hegemonical power in a unipolar world system. Its power, based in the overwhelming advantage of economic productivity in 1945 and in a system of alliances with occidental Europe and Japan, arrived to its maximum at around 1967-1973
2)USA and the URSS maintained an extremely structured conflict, carefully contained, formal (but not substantial), in which the URSS acted as a subimperialist agent of USA.
3) The third world imposed to the lack of attention of the USA, the URSS and occidental Europe by reclaiming fuller rights, before the countries in the North anticipated or wanted. Its political power just as its weakness was based on the belief and optimism about the conjunct objectives of auto-determination (anti-colonialism) and national development.
4) The decades of the 70s and 80s were a period of economical swamping, resistance of the USA to its decline and the disillusion of the third world in its own strategy.
Quote
The very important situation that opens itself upon us as we enter the first half of the XXI century (when the capitalist world economy will be in total and agitated crisis) is if there will be new movements, with new projects of strategy and programs. It is very possible, but its far from being sure. The reason is that nobody has proposed strategies and programs of action to replace the deceased leninist-wilsonist strategies for the third world, which in themselves were not a thing other than the extensions of the strategy of the XIX century to take the state power, employed bye both the socialists and the nationalists.
I mean, he spells doom in right about the ways that is happening now (i will add more parts of the text within the next days), 15 years later, i think it would be worth it to see his more recent works.
Wallerstein is...interesting. I haven't had enough time to dig into his World Systems theory in detail, despite very much wanting to, but he can also be read here http://fbc.binghamton.edu/cmpg.htm
Quote from: Subetai on November 20, 2010, 01:08:46 AM
Wallerstein is...interesting. I haven't had enough time to dig into his World Systems theory in detail, despite very much wanting to, but he can also be read here http://fbc.binghamton.edu/cmpg.htm
thanks for the link. read the "U.S. Concerns: First Germany, Now Japan?" article. wasn't really feeling everything he was saying about the military situation in japan, but i'm definitely gonna check out some more of his stuff.
Heres a list of the latest articles:
Quote from: http://fbc.binghamton.edu/eng2010.htm
ยด272. "U.S. Concerns: First Germany, Now Japan?" Jan. 1, 2020
273. "How to Think About China" Jan. 15, 2010
274. "The United States Misreads Brazil's World Policy" Feb. 1, 2010
275. "Chaos as an Everyday Thing" Feb. 15, 2010
276. "Greek Mess, Euromess, Western Nations Mess, World Mess?" Mar. 1, 2010
277. "Ancient Dilemma of the Left: The Case of Brazil" Mar. 15, 2010
278. "Winners and Losers in the Israeli-Palestinian Deadlock" Apr. 1, 2010
279. "Ahmadinejad says, Thank you America" Apr.15, 2010
280. "Is Europe Imploding?" May 1, 2010
281. "The Anatomy of Fear" May 15, 2010
282. "Iran and North Korea Again: The Perils of Brinkmanship" June 1, 2010
283. "Impossible Choices in a World Depression" June 15, 2010
284. "Why McChrystal Did It" July 1, 2010
285. "Whose Taxes Are Going Up?" July 15, 2010
286. "Ponzi Solitaire" Aug. 1, 2010
287. "Contradictions in the Latin American Left" Aug. 15, 2010
288. "Xenophobia All Over the Place?" Sept. 1, 2010
289. "Democracy - Everywhere? Nowhere?" Sept. 15, 2010
290. "Does Social-Democracy Have a Future?" Oct. 1, 2010
291. "Afghanistan: Does Anyone Want the Burden?" Oct. 15, 2010
292. "Currency War? Of Course," Nov. 1, 2010
293. "Brazilian and U.S. Elections: Opposite Outcomes," Nov. 15, 2010