Response to Wallerstein: The Struggle for Global Society in a World System

As Wallerstein has shown, the contemporary global economy is in crisis, and this creates opportunities for change. Moreover, the rise of a broad-based and globally networked popular movement against neoliberal globalization both reflects and contributes to the system's crisis and to the possibilities for transformation. I agree that we now see a unique opportunity for shaping a very different global order, and in this essay I explore the specific ways that sociologists might contribute to this effort. If, as Michael Burawoy argues, sociologists have a responsibility to help "represent humanity's interest in containing the unbridled tyranny of market and state" (2004:257), we need a theory that integrates our understandings of global structures with concrete ideas to guide our actions.

Rather than focusing our attention on the structures and vulnerabilities of global capitalism, we might instead ask questions of how, given the material conditions society faces, might we help empower global civil society as an agent for change in the world system (see Waterman and Timms 2004, who encourage just such a shift in the international labor movement). The key objective, I think, is to politicize the global economy. This requires a strengthening of international institutions such as the UN to enhance their deliberative and enforcement capacities relative to global financial institutions and the capitalist forces that shape those. While a stronger global polity would help empower and nurture civil society, it will not come about without concerted efforts by a solidly committed and globally networked civil society. This requires efforts to enhance global solidarity based on notions of a common humanity while fostering tolerance and pluralism. The spirit of Porto Alegre provides a good foundation here, and sociologists might think about how we can and should relate to social movements in order to help bring about a more just and democratic world system.

Sociology for Civil Society

Washing one's hands of the struggle between the powerful and the powerless is to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.

(Freire 1985:102)

A vibrant civil society in today's information-rich world requires creative and forceful efforts to enhance access to knowledge and to communicate effectively our research results. Economists have received Nobel prizes for "proving" things that sociology has long established, such as the fact that no actors have perfect access to information (Joseph Stiglitz) and that hunger is a function of politics and not production capacity (Amartya Sen).¹ We can complain that those in power don't listen to critical social scientists, but what are we doing to try to find new ways to communicate sociological research to broader audiences? We should work harder to provide information that is relevant to public deliberation about policy, and we must ask continually how our work might be shaped by, as well as how it contributes to, existing conflicts over power and resources.

As educators, we play important roles in strengthening the public sphere by cultivating interest in the social world and by helping strengthen the knowledge and skills people have for being active and critical citizens. We must be more self-conscious about this role and more active in helping to promote life-long learning in our communities. From our campuses, we can work to both expand the audience we reach and find ways to reinforce ideas about global solidarity and pluralism through the material we teach. By engaging our students in discussions about the benefits and challenges of pluralism and the ways different societies have managed differences among diverse groups, we can help foster the kind of culture required for a more democratic world order.²

As a scholar of social movements, I am sometimes challenged (usually when I venture outside of sociological and movement circles) for being "biased" because my analyses explicitly aim to strengthen movements I study. The unspoken assumption of those challenging my scholarly integrity is...