ABSTRACT
The designation in time of the origin of the world system depends very much on what concept of system is employed. In the case of the world system it would be possible to place its origins far up stream in the Neolithic period. Historical materialist political economy begins with the recognition that "getting a living" is the ultimate basis of human social organization. The subsequent "Urban Revolution" and the states that developed on the basis contributed to the formation of our world system. The rise and decline of urban centers and states can be made more understandable by placing them within the world systemic context. Accumulation is a major incentive for, and the ultimate cause of, economic, political, and military expansion by and inter-linkage within the world system. The cumulation of accumulation in the world system implies not only a continuous, but also a cumulative, historical process of ecological, economic, technological, social, political, and cultural change.
