Oliver Cox

Oliver Cromwell Cox (24 August 1901 – 4 September 1974) was a Trinidadian-American sociologist. Cox was often misconceived as a Marxist due to his focus on class conflict and capitalism, however, Cox fundamentally disagreed with Marx's analysis of Capitalism. While Marx and other classical economists viewed foreign trade as trade in surpluses, Cox felt that foreign trade was the primary driving force in capitalist development. For Cox, capitalist systems were not isolated, but rather there was an interconnected network of global capitalist systems.

Cox was born into a middle-class family in Port of Spain, Trinidad and emigrated to the United States in 1919. Growing up in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Cox was removed from the racial discrimination and hostilities that are present in the United States. Cox grew up as a member of the majority group, in a predominantly black world where white Europeans were considered outsiders. This perspective influenced Cox's research and sociological exploration.

Cox was a founding father of the world-systems perspective, which is a socioeconomic system that encompasses part or all of the world. Additionally, Cox was an important scholar of racism and its relationship to the development and spread of global capitalism, and a member of the Chicago School of Sociology. In 1929 he developed poliomyelitis (polio), causing both his legs to be permanently crippled and that was when he gave up his plans to study law. He was the son of William Raphael Cox and Virginia Blake Cox. Provided by Wikipedia