Unequal Exchange - Past, Present, and Future

Unequal Exchange: Past, Present, and Futureis Torkil Lauesen's definitive synthesis of sixty years of debate on the political economy of imperialism. Returning to Arghiri Emmanuel's groundbreaking theory of unequal exchange-the systematic transfer of value from low-wage regions of the Global South to high-wage countries in the Global North-Lauesen reconstructs the historical, theoretical, and political stakes of the concept with revolutionary clarity. Moving from the early structures of colonial extraction to contemporary global value chains, Lauesen demonstrates how wage differentials, outsourcing, and the international division of labor continue to polarize the world-system, shaping everything from living standards to global political alignments.