ABSTRACT
The previous chapter closed with an argument that acknowledged the concomitant effects of the levelling power of capitalism and the fragmentation of the world along the lines of cultural diversity. This view corresponds with the world system approach that in general concedes the relative autonomy of culture but emphasizes the determining weight of economic relations giving shape to the position states and nations have in relation with each other. This chapter will put this generalized assumption into perspective. It examines the position of Japan and East Asia within global sport apparel manufacturing, which provides an excellent case for the critical evaluation of the developmental aspects of border-crossing production networks, industrial upgrading and the varieties of capitalism. While the homogenizing effects of the capitalist mode of production can be taken for granted to some instant, the power of culture to oppose streamlining and standardizing effects cannot go unnoticed.
