- Show your comprehension and apply the new anthropological terms in a thoughtful response.
- Cite pages of the terms you discuss and write ideas in your own words (avoid quoting).
- Your post will count in the AMNESTY period as extra credit towards your blog/blackboard grade.
- If you continue through December consistently, you could make up all the points you missed.
I want to offer some contemporary issues about the world system that are relevant to your future as prospective elites. Read the entire post and then respond to one of the two (2) questions posed below. Reading at least 5 other comments will augment the thinking in your post.
On page 237, Kottak states:
The modern world system is cross-cut by collective identities based on ethnicity, religion, and nationality (Shannon 1996). Class conflicts tend to occur within nations, and nationalism has prevented global class solidarity, particularly of proletarians....The current world stratification system features substantial contrast between both capitalists and workers in the core nations and workers on the periphery.In 1999, the proletariat from around the world banded together in Seattle at the international meeting of the World Trade Organization (the WTO).
World Trade Organization(WTO) the truth
Where we are today: For a glimpse of how intertwined the US economy is with other countries including core, periphery and semiperiphery nations take a look at this Fact Sheet on the WTO from the Office of the United States Trade Representive. The two page document shows the results of cases filed against other countries and the results of cases filed against the U.S. regarding free trade agreements.
QUESTION #1: Given the stratification of classes within the US and the seeming separation of those in the US from the working classes in other nations, how might global class solidarity become a reality given new technologies, new classes of US educated international students, and the desire to resist global corporate power? How might anthropological methods assist us in learning solutions that benefit everyone involved?
In a journal article published in Human Organization by Weaver, Thomas Summer 2001 we get an interesting analysis of how the modern world system works:
The world economy is made up of "commodity chains"-forward and backward connections in the processing of a commodity within and across these regions. These commodity chains encompass the exploitation of raw materials, labor, its reproduction, levels of processing, transportation, and consumption. The capitalist world-system in this context forces unequal exchange that simultaneously promotes core development and peripheral poverty and dependence (Grimes 2000:34). The collaboration of elite classes between and within core and periphery supports this transformation [italics added for emphasis].QUESTION #2: First, determine if the country in which you were born is a core, periphery or semiperiphery nation and according to what source? As a prospective "collaborator," as a future member of the elite class, what do you imagine you will do about the "unequal exchange" between the elite and the proletarian classes? How might anthropological methods assist us in learning solutions that benefit everyone involved?
Remember: The impossible is possible. Think Paul Farmer. Think William McDonough (Ted Talkster architect who is building new cities in China). “The impossible - what nobody can do until somebody does” Could you be that somebody in your small or large way? Will you?
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21 comments:
I was born and raised in France. France is obviously a core nation. As defined in the book (p232) the core is "the geographic center". In fact, every core share the same characteristics. First, France belongs to European union which is one of the most powerful place for economic activities and capital accumulation with United States and Japan. Moreover, another characteristic of core nation like France is their ability to send goods and products (exportation) to peripheries and semiperipheries,also the capacity to import primary goods and product from semiperipheries and peripheries (like coffee from Africa). Core countries like France tend to dominate others thanks to their advanced technologies. The last argument to justify Fance as a core country is the intense exchanges between core nations. These exchanges can take several forms such as people, products and trades but are the most important exchanges in quantity. All these features rank France obviously as a core nation.
In order to reduce the gap between elite and proletarian classes the most important thing to solve is the lack of communication, most people from differnt classes don't know each other because they don't live the same life. As a prospective "collaborator" i would try to urge people to communicate more and not to be afraid by the unknown."As a future member of the elite class" i would try to learn to my children the necessity to share with people that have a different life and never judged people on the criteria of social classes.School is the first and most important step that build a person in his future life, that's why i think private schools are stupid and keep people from different social classes far from each other.
Finally, some methods like partipant observation could help some people to realize what they are missing by evolving only in his social class.
QUESTION 1...AS FAR AS GLOBAL CLASS SOLIDARITY BECOMING A FORCE IN THE NEAR FUTURE, NEW STUDIES ARE ON THE RISE TO LEAD THIS TO A GREAT AFFECT ON ALL INHABITANTS OF THE US. THE US ISNT AS MODERN AS IT WAS CENTURIES EARLIER, AND NEW IDEAS AND TECHNOLOGY ARE FORMING THIS NATION INTO A SUPREME POWER. CULTURAL DIFFUSION IS ONE ANTHROPOLOGICAL METHOD THAT WILL BENEFIT THE NATION, ALONG WITH APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY AND ENCULTURATION. THESE METHODS WILL ALLOW ONE TO AQUIRE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHATS GOING ON AROUND THEM, IDEAS FROM FOREIGNERS WILL BE OF SOME HELP BECAUSE THEY'RE INTERMINGLING WITH INTELLIGENT AMERICANS, AND EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN VIEWS ON HOW THE WORLD SHOULD BE SHAPED.
Everton Hunt Said...
I was born right here in the United States, and it's not hard to tell it’s a core nation. Pg 232 defines core nations as countries that are strong and most powerful in the world; the U.S certainly fits that category. Core nations also export to other core countries even semi periphery and periphery countries. The U.S exports powdered milk to Jamaica and imports product from china. The U.S also has one of the greatest incomes of nations in the world. As a collaborator I would try to open people to the idea of bettering themselves and striving for what they want. As far as being a “future elite” I’d like to encourage my fellow elites to do what ethnographers do get to know people of different social classes, talk with them, and play with them. Don’t judge individuals by their check books, but morals and ideas, a little observation of those different from themselves might reveal some similarities they wouldn’t have noticed other wise.
Due to many of united states top company's outsourcing jobs(p233), I believe that global class solidarity may become a reality given new technology. The ability to create a product for less money in a semiperiphery or periphery nation (p 232), has begone to create middle classes in these nations. This can bring global solidarity, if there is a limit on the amount of jobs outsourced by core nations. Solidarity may also be achieved if the capitalist world economy is no longer the standard.
There are many difference between developed country and developing country. Why so many international student came here so young and study here pay double more than the residence in U.S. Do they prefer to be alone when they are young ,no parents take care of them,struggle live here? No , I think no one prefer to live in this way. But why , what push them to go to UK or US ,to study and try there best to live there in the rest of their lives?Because, money. Because if you are just a normal person, you just could make your life in the middle class, developed country could provide you the best live condition. If you could learn $5000 a month, you could drive Benz in U.S. But you will never ever be able to do this in China. You could afford a LV bag if you in middle class here, but never happen in China. I think that is why people try their best to be here and what the modern society charms people. Better life.
It was very difficult for me to fully come up with my own opinions regarding the issues of this chapter. America is full of corporate business and I believe that no one should attempt to resist that. Big businesses are beneficial to our economy and although only few may rise while the others remain poor, America has kept a stable balance between the two classes because something called competition exists.
There is a freedom of choice in America and if one company/corporation/business supplies the best services then it deserves to become rich and dominate...but because everyone has a different opinion and there are so many corporations, there will always be many companies in existence.
I was born and raised in Bolivia, a periphery nation according to our textbook. However, since I moved here right after high school, I think I have an idea about the social differences between core and periphery nations. In powerful nations such as the U.S. people have the opportunity to move up in society due to their accomplishments and abilities. In other words, nowadays theres is much more flexibility in terms of social stratification.On the other hand, nations such as Bolivia, there is this sense of caste system where you sometimes (NOT ALWAYS) still depend on your heritage in order to succeed. Thus, the separation between the proletarian and elite classes are well distinguished and easy to identify.
Antoinette Spina Said...
2. Being born and raised in the United States, it is easy for me to classify this country as a core nation.This country is definitley a powerful one, in that it is both technologically advanced as well as an importing and exporting country. Figure 11-1 on page 240 in "Mirror for Humanity," states that the United States is, in fact, a core country.Anthropological methods, such as enculturation and general reciprocity , may help in lessening the unequal exchange of core development and peripheral poverty between the elite and proletarian classes.
What this chapter made evident to me is that almost everything revolves around money and wealth. Many of our grandparents and parents came to this country so that we could have opportunity. But this ideal of gaining wealth as the most important thing in life should not be your only focus. Just imagine what the world would be if wealth and money did not exist. Would people be unmotivated to do anything? or Would we as human beings construct another form of wealth. What we should consider is as business students, how would we assume our corporate positions and still stay true to "resisting global corporate power" expansion. For the second question I was born in Belarus but my father is from Ukraine and mother is from Belarus. But there weren't any of these countries in the 1980's but only the soviet union which i would say was a core country because of its self sufficiency. The question on what should be done about the unequal exchange is that the proletarian classes should be offered stock so they receive profits from the company they work for. Another action that can be taken is to develop policies that would increase the education level and literacy level of the US which would increase social mobility.
According to kottak pg 240, Colombia, my country of origin, is a semi periphery nation. In view of that, as a member of the elite class in my country, I would focus on how to reduce the gap between the elite and the proletarian classes. But, how can you do that? According to Gerhard Lensik, Core and semi periphery nations are more likely to allow social mobility. This, he argues, is due to the increasing number of professional workers who are making the class structure more complex. In order words, we could increase the access to money and power by increasing the number of professional workers. So, a feasible solution it would be for the Colombian government to invest in the education system by financially encouraging more people to get into college.
Another measure that would need to be implemented in complement to education is to reduce the dependability of the national economy on core nations. This is important to achieve higher levels of industrialization.
Consequently, by having a strong education system we can suggest that a social rank can actually be achieved(Kottak 239). If one wants to be economically stable and even achieve some level of power, I believe education can be a great instrument. Additionally, as I mentioned in class, most South American nations have a great potential to becoming core nations. Most of us, young people who have left our countries, still feel very much emotionally attached to them. So, in my perspective, countries like Colombia will be eventually benefited as a result of well educated people returning to their countries and feeling the need to contribute.
david.
Refering to page 240 Kottak, Russia, the country of my origin, is considered a semi-periphery nation. I wouldn't rank it so, the classification here is not enough to put it in one of those three categories. I would put it between core and semi-periphery. Russia does export a big range of goods like mechanical ones, cars agricultural goods, but still the main source of foreign income is natural resources export. It is very apparent in Russia - the gap between proletarian class and the elite one. As a future member of elite class, I will try to change the attitude to 1) business and )2proletarian, 3)elite class and 4)government in Russia because people really count only on themselves and don't care about country's overall prosperity because of mistrust to the government. The anthropological approach of first hand research and ethnology (comparing with similar conditions in other countries) can help in designing and implementing policies in order to improve the situation.
Question # 2
I was born and raised in the United States and it is a core nation. A nation that is definitely strong, powerful as well as have advanced systems of production. The United States has proven to be extremely resourceful especially when dealing with exporting and importing goods and materials as well as becoming advanced with new technologies. As a prospective “collaborator” and as a future member of the elite class I would encourage people to voice their opinions as well as encourage others to become more open-minded towards new people and their ideas in order to resolve the issue of unequal exchange between the elite and the proletarian classes.
~*Ashley Wright*~
I was born and raised in Trinidad. My country is a semi-periphery nation. This is so because it exports many goods from its agriculture lands, like the products from sugar cane. They are major in oil production and the US is one of the countries that demands oil from there.
There is a very high level of education in Trinidad, but there aren't many jobs available that compliments ones education. When my father was in Secondary School(High School) he had the 4th highest overall score on a nationwide test. He attended the "best of the best" Secondary School in my country, but after all that joy of being recognized, came reality; Finding a job. Welding was mainly what he did, but even with that, he barely got by, having to support a wife and four children.
If i were ever able to make a change between the elite and the proletarian classes, i would make sure that the elite classes support the proletarian classes in some way so that the proletarian would, more or less, feel like they have a real reason to work. It is like saying....i want my child to bring home good grades from school, no excuses, but yet i fail to help him in areas he may have trouble in. Eventually my child would stop caring about the importance of his education.
Question 2:
I was born and raised in the United States, according to the map of figure 11-1 on page 240 of "Mirror for Humanity" the United States is considered a Core nation. Core nations are defined as nations that play a major role in the worlds economic system. "the geographic center or core, the dominant position in the world system, includes the strongest and most powerful nations...The complexity of economic activities and the level of capital accumulation is the greatest". Looking at table 11-3, The US clearly fits into the category of Core nations, consuming nearly 1/4th of the worlds total energy output. Core nations such as the US are highly advanced in terms of technology and are able to export goods to to other core nations. This is when it gets tricky...The US Imports a LOT more goods and services then they Export. But the book also says Core nations "monopolizes the most profitable activities", In our day and age high tech military related goods such as planes, weapons and things of that nature are clearly the most profitable and as a core nation the US monopolizes that field. The profits the US gains from selling military related weapons makes up for the amount lost in importing goods more then we export. As a future member of the elite class I would try and solve the issue of the growing inequality between the elites and proletarians. Currently people in the US and in almost any other nation the rich are getting ever richer and the poor are getting even poorer. People have to stop thinking "money is everything" and start looking at the bigger picture of helping those in need and start benefiting our race as a whole and not as an individual(...sounds like communism but many people tend to link the word communism as negative thing). That would be the ideal way of thinking things but I would be lying if I said I didnt want to be rich.
The country I was born in is Odessa, Ukraine. Ukraine is a semiperiphery nation. As of today, if you look at the country as a whole, it is very poor. On the other hand however, there is the elite 20% that live almost exactly, and even better than the wealthy class here. The problem with Ukraine is that there is no middle class. There is the upper class, the people that put whatever they could to use after communism fell, and made a good living for themselves, and then there is the poor class who has to work night and day doing whatever jobs they can to support their families. Fortunatley, Ukraine is slowly but surely working itself out of it's situation socially and economically. The number one thing has to be education. Right now for example, you can see more Lexus' and BMW's on the streets of Odessa than is imaginable to be afforded by the population. One might ask how come is this? For the first time in the history of Odessa, people are able to take out money on credit. That is an amazing step. Young families who cannot afford a house or a car today, can borrow the money and jumpstart their lives and pay for it as the money comes. The negative effect of this ofcourse being the fact that most of these people do not know what credit REALLY is, and they dont know what INTEREST is really is. Therefore, many citizens are borrowing money at high interests rates and are not thinking about tomorrow. That is really bad news. You cannot only live in the moment, when a nation's future lies ahead of you. What essentially has to happen in Odessa is education for everybody. No biased selection of students into the schools. No biased selection of workers into the workplace. Job opportunities have to become available for those who are in the shape to perform them. The problem is that only a certain few are getting educatated due to the fact that teens have to start working at a young age. Odessa is such a unique place with such a unique selection of people. People who have been through some of the worst dictators, and wars. Ukraine is making progress, and decades from now just might be a core nation.
Valerie Grebenyuk
Question #2....the country which i was born into was the Philippines. Philippines is overall a semiperiphery country with industrial areas within the major parts of the country or within cities. However the area i was born into was somewhat more of a periphery area, consisting mostly of farmlands without any industrial area to be found for miles. However i moved to a semiperichery part of philippines around 2 years old. I moved into Surigao, a city within the lower island of Philippines. In the city it exemplifies what a core nation city would look like, but at a more lower level or in a backwards state. Philippines is also a semiperiphery nation because it exports commodities such as shirts and other products to core nations such as America. The separation of social class in the Philippines is contributed by the corruption with the system of government and corporations. It is hard for some individuals to move up the social ladder because of the extremely poor conditions presented to them at birth. There is a small window of opportunity but it isn't presented to everyone. To lessen the social gap within the Philippines, i believe corruption needs to be eradicated first, and a better stable government needs to be established.
Nicole Rosario
Question #2
I was born and raised in the USA which is a core nation. According to table 11-1 p.240 in the book USA has been a core since the late 1860's.
As a prospective elitist I am not sure what I can do to diminish the inequalities between the working class and the bourgeoisie. I think the American culture needs to stop incorporating class consciousness. Class consciousness allows for everyone to be aware of their status, giving it more importance. It creates discrimination and fear. As we spoke about in class people feel comfortable with those who are in the same class. Why should it matter what class you are in? Society along with proletarianization has created a distinct division between those who own the factories and those who work in them. The bourgeoisie are fearful of losing their power. I think I would help through example. Create a business with cap on my income as Duncan's friend did, or offer services to those who cant afford them free of charge. As Americans we are greedy and individualistic. We need to think about the good for the whole not just what I can do for me. I believe if the elites give up some of their unnecessary wealth and help the working class the exchange will be appreciated and soften the class distinctions.
Useful Anthropological methods may be: participant observation - both classes study each other and become involved or study other nations who are holistic. maybe try leveling mechanisms to keep everyone the same
Question #2...I was born in Peru, looking at the whole picture i would say its between a semiperiphery and periphery. Most of the industrialized places, such as the city( Lima) are considered semiperiphery. Although they export to the US and other countries they lack global economic power. Many European and Us businesses have established themselves in Peru, creating jobs but they have also created an unfair distribution of wealth. Foreign business tend to ruin the local business.For example many indigenous people are driven out of their homes, they can no longer compete,since they lack the market power of the bigger companies.
In peru the wealthy class moslty consist of spanish decendants, whereas the poor class are either of black or indeginous decendants. Peru is known to have many rich natural resources,but they lack the ability to form economic equalities.
The government doesn't understand the importance of the local business. In a recent event Peru and the Us agreed to a free trade agreement. This will result in many companies coming in and nominating the markets. The local farmers find it hard as it is, and now they will be totally driven out. Many oil companies are said to look for oil in the amazons, this could have environmental damages in the future. I feel this agreement is a disadvantage not only to Peru, but also to Americans,since many jobs will go somewhere else.
How can we have a free market and a open access to wealth. I feel it is important to help the small business man. Many of our
indeginous people are artisans
or have other skills,if only they had the means to produce and sell,
I think this would make a difference.They would promote prosperity in their local communities and could teach others.
They would not have to give up their livelyhood, and conformed to nation-states where they essentially become minorities.
For peru to progress it's
important to realize our cultural
differences and the advantages of having our own businesses, instead of letting too many foreign companies come in.
-Cynthia Via
I was born in the Dominican Republic which is a periphery nation. It is known that my nation has always been and, with no change, will always be a periphery nation. I found it amusing when Pro. Gaunt said the quote "the richer get richer while the poorer get poorer” because that's exactly what is happening in D.R. I find it unfortunate that by the time a child is born, they are forced to become slaves of the nation. The only way, like many nations, in which a Dominican can travel is if they become Americans by marriage and becoming citizens or traveling with a visa. It's not that people leave the Dominican Republic and that no one wants to go back, it's just that people leave because there are little job opportunities for the massive amount of people that occupy the country.
As a future member of the elite class, I would go back to D.R. and produce jobs where people get paid fairly and don't have to over-work themselves. I wouldn't want to make D.R. and industrial country like the United States because I don't think the people would appreciate the pollution that comes with it, but I would also like to start programs in colleges so that students that graduate could automatically qualify to go to the United States with a visa and temporarily get a job. This method would probably increase the education rate and would give the people some sort of hope. Because D.R. isn't a bad country, students would then want to go back and do other things to help benefit D.R. as I would.
I was born in Slovakia. At the time I was born Slovakia was a semiperiphery nation becasue of 40 years of communism, which made once one of the richest cou ntries in the world a periphery nation. However Slovakia went through a significant economic and social transformation and is now a member of European Uion, OECD, Nato and other "core" nations organizations. The reason why we are a core nation si that Slovakia liek other core nations depends on third world countries cheap labor and production that fullfils its markets. There are imigrant workers who coem to find jobs in Slovakia form countries around the world, which proves the economical lucrativity. While slovakia's GDP is still not as big as for example UK, Germany or Belgium the economy is experiencing 10% growth every year, which predicts a great future for this young nation in the middle of central europe.
I was born in the United States and grew up ere. I moved back and forth from California and New York, but I never left the country. After reading the chapter it was obvious that the United States is a core nation. I always knew we were a super power, and supposedly the best country in the world, but I never knew the difference between our country and others, and why we were a core nation and others were periphery and semiperiphery. It all has to do with the economy, and how wealthy a country is. Although many countries are growing, and growing quickly, it will be hard for a semiperiphery nation, to catch up to a core nation like The UK.
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