The History Of Global Stratification How did we get so stratified? Old textbook pages 248-253 The History Of Global Stratification

How did Global Stratification Start? The common answer = resources Lots of resources = rich country Few resources = poor country The problem is, many poor countries have a lot of natural resources, and many rich countries have few resources, so… what happened???

Theory #1: Colonialism Countries that industrialized first got the jump on the rest of the world Industrialized countries turned profits into weapons and ships Industrialized countries then colonized weaker nations and exploited their labor and natural resources

Theory #2: World System Theory Industrialization led to 4 groups of nations: Core: Countries that industrialized first Britain, France, Netherlands Semiperiphery: Economies stagnated because they grew dependent on the core nations Mediterranean Periphery: Fringe nations that developed even less Eastern Europe External area: left out of development of capitalism entirely Africa, Asia Globalization of capitalism: Capitalism spread around the world Countries become interdependent on each other for goods and trade All of today’s societies are connected, part of a world system

Theory #3: Culture of Poverty Cultures of poor countries holds them back Poverty perpetuates each generation Living on brink of survival leaves little room for risk, so they stick to traditional ways without experimentation Religion encourages them to accept their position as their position in life is as a god’s will