Economy and Democracy

We must also be mindful of the fact an economy cannot be disembedded or disentangled from a culture and society. For instance, the American economy is embedded in American culture, and the Chinese economy is embedded in Chinese culture. It follows that we must assess the role which culture plays in the overall functions and operations of the … Continue reading Economy and Democracy →

Interlinking Hegemonic Powers

Perhaps the key to understanding current events is to understand that there has never been a single global hegemon, but rather, the world system has always been characterized by “interlinking hegemonic powers.” To borrow from one scholar: “The world system as a whole is certainly never simply dominated by one great hegemonic power, but rather … Continue reading Interlinking Hegemonic Powers →

Class Situation

Coincidentally, White Americans are no longer among the top ten richest ethnic groups in the United States based on average income. As evinced by the Trump movement or the “MAGA” movement and so forth, many White Americans see themselves as being part of a marginalized class which is now getting the short end of the stick from … Continue reading Class Situation →

An Asymmetry of Power

But even in matters of foreign policy and international relations, one cannot escape the issue of class, given that class pertains in large part to the issue of structure, and in the end, we are dealing with structure. As Marx and Engels wrote: “The proletariat and wealth are opposites. As such they form a whole. … Continue reading An Asymmetry of Power →

Varieties of World Order

In the end, culture imposes itself on the individual. Yet, culture is the least studied issue in the social sciences, even though it is the most important issue for social scientists. As Le Bon wrote: “The factors which determine the birth and development of the basic elements of a civilization are just as numerous as … Continue reading Varieties of World Order →