Frank identifies three assumptions behind the failure of Western social thought to apprehend the rise of civilization, including its own. The assumptions are that European development was generated by social processes unique to Europe, that global and regional social systems that existed prior to the rise of Europe were less dynamic and therefore safe to ignore, and that the relevant time period around which scholars should focus their studies were those years during which Europe emerged. The focus of scholarship should be the world system, he argues, because the incentives for rise and decline are global in nature, and local processes are rarely determinative. Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)