The World-System after the Cold War  

"The certainties of the post-1945 era are now over, in particular two. (1) The United States dominated the capitalist world-economy, being the most efficient. This is no longer true. (2) The USA and the USSR were engaged in an all-encompassing 'Cold War,'which shaped all interstate relations. The Cold War is no more. Indeed, the USSR is no more. To understand what this portends, we have three relevant pasts: the past of the US hegemonic era, 1945-90; the past of liberalism as the dominant ideology of the capitalist world-system, 1789-1989; the past of capitalism as an historical system, which started in 1450 and will perhaps be no more by 2050."" --incipit "The World-System after the Cold War" (1993) by Immanuel Wallerstein

éIf we now turn to the third past, that between 1450 and today, we see a third 'success story', that of capitalism as an historical system. The raison d'etre of capitalism is the endless accumulation of capital. The historical system that has been built, slowly and steadily, has been remarkable in its accomplishments. It has sustained a constant expansion of technology permitting an incredible growth in world production and world population."--"The World-System after the Cold War" (1993) by Immanuel Wallerstein