This comment on Carchedi’s paper was part of the important 2001 conference organised by the Laboratorio per la Critica Sociale del Centro Studi Trasformazioni Economico-Sociali (CESTES-PROTEO), Rome University La Sapienza, La Sapienza, Rome, 1st June 2001. Itconcerns the issue of measurement in assessing the relative performance of the global South and global North. It is a precursor of a growing volume of work on the empirical structure of the modern world economy, and on the persistence of imperialism.

For my main paper to this conference, see ‘Europe, the UK and the World Economy’.