wage labor The arrangement by which workers get a regu-
lar paycheck in exchange for performing a specific task, rather
than being paid for the end product of their labor.
white-collar crime Edward Sutherland’s term for the illegal
actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf, by using
the authority of their position to commit crime.
world religions Those religions with long histories, well-
established traditions, and the flexibility to adapt to many
different cultures.
world system theory Immanuel Wallerstein’s theory that
the interconnectedness of the world system began in the
1500s, when Europeans began their economic and political
domination of the rest of the world. Because capitalism
depends on generating the maximum profits for the minimum
of expenditures, the world system continues to benefit rich
countries (which acquire the profits) and harm the rest of the
world (by minimizing local expenditures and therefore
perpetuating poverty).
zero population growth Paul Erlich’s (1968) modern solution
to the Malthus’s concerns, it entails a global effort to ensure that
the number of births does not exceed the number of deaths, pro-
viding global population stability, a decrease in poor countries,
and a redistribution of resources to those countries.664 GLOSSARY