World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction by Immanuel Wallerstein
Unless you're a grad student there's no reason to read the whole of Wallerstein's work. Fortunately he's put together this slim introduction.
The possibilities of the future open up when you begin to understand how much has changed over time. Wallerstein makes the argument that to really understand human history you need to look at their global experience, rather than their national experience. When we take a step back it's easier to see that throughout history there have been core nations and periphery nations. The core nations are the wealthiest and mightiest. They become influential in peripheral countries by taking resources to fuel their wealth and might. This core-periphery dynamic creates a shared stream of cultural exchange that's still not well understood.
Why this is progressive/liberal: Progressives are all about trying to improve the world (i.e. progress). Wallerstein's way of looking at global history helps those those thinking about our global present and our global future.
Also be sure to read: Can the Subaltern Speak? by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
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