--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world system wide reality is the…" description: "\"“The world system wide reality is the competitive dog-eat-dog war of all against all (à la Hobbes), in which only the few can win and the many must los..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/andr-gunder-frank-41877_hobbes_the-world-system-wide-reality-is-the-com_1163716.jpg" --- # The world system wide reality is the competitive… ![“The world system wide reality is the competitive dog-eat-dog war of all against all (à la Hobbes), in which only the few can win and the many must lose. And so it has been for millennia, thanks to the world system's unequal structure and uneven process, which Wallerstein helps us identify.” quote by André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/andr-gunder-frank-41877_hobbes_the-world-system-wide-reality-is-the-com_1163716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/andr-gunder-frank-41877_hobbes_the-world-system-wide-reality-is-the-com_1163716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12e/andr-gunder-frank-41877_hobbes_the-world-system-wide-reality-is-the-com_1163716.jpg) > ““The world system wide reality is the competitive dog-eat-dog war of all against all (à la Hobbes), in which only the few can win and the many must lose. And so it has been for millennia, thanks to the world system's unequal structure and uneven process, which Wallerstein helps us identify.”” [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The global system is a ruthless competition where a minority dominate while the majority suffer, shaped by structural inequalities over centuries. **In simple terms:** The world is a competitive system favoring a few. Key Takeaway Recognize structural inequality. Themes inequality power globalization Mood cynical analytical Type critical theoretical When to use this quote - politics - economics - development studies Key Concepts World-systems theory Hobbesian conflict Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect policy? - Can change occur within such a system? A Different Perspective It overlooks individual agency and possible reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Most economic histories of the "world" not only omit most extra-European production and exchange (even most of that outside West Europe or even northwest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/most-economic-histories-of-the-world-not-only-omit-most-extra/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [If the U.S. is the richest country in the world, why is it also the most unequal?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-kasparian/if-the-u-s-is-the-richest-country-in-the-world-why-is-it-also-the/) [Ana Kasparian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-kasparian/) > [The problem with this world is the unequal distribution of capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-problem-with-this-world-is-the-unequal-distribution-of-capitalism/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [It was simple reality - most competitive tennis players in my day were privileged, spoiled, entitled and white. 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Today almost all humans share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/it-took-the-afro-asian-giant-several-centuries-to-digest-all-that-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Inequality and poverty, unhealth and no wealth are hand in hand. And if we are all born equal that should be true in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/inequality-and-poverty-unhealth-and-no-wealth-are-hand-in-hand-and-if/) [Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/) > [“The world is wide and beautiful and there are many wonderful places in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/the-world-is-wide-and-beautiful-and-there-are-many-wonderful-places/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [The world is wide, full of happenings. 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Inc., your modest proposal of partial equilibrium for the general good is not without its own internal contradictions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/arnold-harberger-milton-friedman-co-inc-your-modest-proposal-of/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [“The crisis is a period in which a diseased social, economic, and political body or system cannot live on as before and is obliged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/the-crisis-is-a-period-in-which-a-diseased-social-economic-and/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [“It is ironic that Keynesianism originated as a weapon to combat depression, but became universally accepted and "successful" only during (and because of!) the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/it-is-ironic-that-keynesianism-originated-as-a-weapon-to-combat/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [“As to the efficacy of the policy recommended by Rostow, it speaks for itself: no country, once underdeveloped, ever managed to develop By Rostow's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-gunder-frank/as-to-the-efficacy-of-the-policy-recommended-by-rostow-it-speaks-for/) [André Gunder Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-gunder-frank/) > [“Modern history, both early and late, was made by Europeans, who "built a world around Europe", as historians "know", according to Braudel. 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That was considered completely normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/i-never-felt-ostracized-or-made-to-feel-strange-by-obsessing-over-the/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [Hobbes clearly proves, that every creature Lives in a state of war by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/hobbes-clearly-proves-that-every-creature-lives-in-a-state-of-war-by/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Calvin: Know what I pray for? Hobbes: What? Calvin: The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-know-what-i-pray-for-hobbes-what-calvin-the-strength-to-change/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [We want everything in a hurry because our primary aim must be survival in the short term. 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Rousseau's acount of natural man was no more real than Hobbes's, but following the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wiker/as-with-hobbes-we-see-again-the-power-of-fiction-rousseau-s-acount-of/) [Benjamin Wiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wiker/) > [The fact is that philosophy has been a decisive source of inspiration in all the great crises that Europe has faced. It has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-esposito/the-fact-is-that-philosophy-has-been-a-decisive-source-of-inspiration/) [Roberto Esposito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-esposito/) > [I hope some historian will confirm that I was the first cartoonist to use the word 'booger' in a newspaper comic strip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-hope-some-historian-will-confirm-that-i-was-the-first-cartoonist-to/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I wonder where we go when we die?” “…Pittsburgh?” “You mean if we’re good or if we’re bad?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-wonder-where-we-go-when-we-die-pittsburgh-you-mean-if-we-re-good-or/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Aristotle thought that humans are rational animals and Hobbes thought that we act on the basis of rational self-interest. If only! It's not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/aristotle-thought-that-humans-are-rational-animals-and-hobbes-thought/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) Browse all 101 Hobbes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The world system wide reality is the competitive dog-eat-dog war of all against all (à la Hobbes), in which only the few can win and the many must lose. 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