World-System or World Society? A systematic comparison between Wallerstein ́s and Luhmann ́s analyses

Abstract

As a consequence of the global crisis that have been happening in the first part of 21stCentury, in the field of sociological theory, there has been an increasing agreement on the need to take seriously the world social system as the main unit of social analysis. However, its indication is usually imprecise and sometimes coexists with assumptions that are not entire compatible with it. In this article, we explore two alternatives that are available to the conceptualization of this planetary social formation: Imannuel Wallerstein ́s world-system theory and NiklasLuhmann ́s world society approach. Here, we reconstruct each of these proposals, focusing on the divergences, but also in its convergences, which are relevant to the elaboration of a common diagnostic about the historical and evolutive novelty of the indicated phenomenon. The dimensions com- pared are: the definition of the unit of analysis; its worldwide characterization; its main structuring mode; and their understanding of regional inequality.