1. According to world-system theory, societies are subsystems of bigger systems, with the world system as the largest. What are the various systems, at different levels, in which you participate?

2. How does world-system theory help explain why companies hire thousands of workers in India, while laying off an equivalent number in Europe and the United States?

3. What were the causes of the Industrial Revolution? Why did it begin in England rather than France? How might this knowledge be relevant for an anthropologist interested in investigating the dynamics of industrialization today?

4. Think of a recent case in which a core nation has intervened in the affairs of another nation. What was the intervention philosophy used to justify action?

5. This chapter describes the labels "First World", "Second World", and "Third Word" as a common, although ethnocentric, way of categorizing nations. Why is it ethnocentric? Do you think there is any reason to keep using these labels, despite their problems? Why or why?