The World-system Theory is Black and Caribbean: Capitalism and Racism in Oliver Cox’s critical thinking

Daniel Montañez Pico
Orcid ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9660-9499
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
danielm9876@hotmail.com

Abstract:

Oliver Cox’s work brought forward the key tenets of the capitalist world-system theory over a decade in advance. Trinitarian in origin, Cox lived most of his life in the United States, joining together both paths in his analyses. As a Caribbean Black, he was aware of the historic global character of the capitalist system; as an Afro American Black, he would analyse the ins and outs of the nation running the whole system from within. In this work we will look at how he supports his systemic theory in the historic study of capitalism to link it to the emergence of racism, anticipating various sides of world-system theories, Cepal-minded and dependence-driven debates on Latin America, and contemporary decolonial approaches.

Keywords: world-system, capitalism, racism, Oliver Cox.