Wallerstein and the French Riots

An interesting article from the Guardian by Immanual Wallerstein about how the French riots are a sign of more to come...all over the world. Wallerstein argues that the tensions between the underclass in France are representative of those in many other countries as he writes:

Throughout the world today, metropolitan areas are filled with people who match the profile of the rebels in France: poor, jobless, socially marginalised and defined as "different" - and therefore angry. If they are teenagers they have the energy to rebel, and lack even the minimal family responsibilities that might restrain them. Furthermore, the anger is reciprocated. Those in the more comfortable majority fear these young people precisely for the characteristics they have. The better-off feel that the poor youths tend to be lawless and, well, "different". So, many of the better-off (but perhaps not all) tend to endorse strong measures to contain these rebellions, including total exclusion from the society, even from the country.

Click here to read the full article.


Wallerstein is famous for his "World Systems Theory", which is also interesting and worth reading about.


--Tom Hayes