ABSTRACT
The recurrent crisis "an sich", the world-system may well have entered a crisis "von sich", a crisis of itself, a crisis from which there is no exit via war, geographic expansion, increased proletarianization and commodification, or technological advances. The "an sich" approach looks toward the emergence of a variant version of the long-term structure of the capitalist world-economy. At present, the world-economy is encroaching upon the last redoubts of indigenous peoples and of wilderness, with tragic consequences for humans and other species alike. In contrast, the United States has retained overwhelming military superiority even as it has lost ground in production, commerce, and finance, shifting from a position as the world's leading creditor to that of the world's leading debtor. And for all the alleged democratizing potentialities of the Internet, it may well be that computer-based technologies are increasing the administrative and surveillance capabilities of powerful states even faster.
