Nor it is simply a question that the three arenas are closely interlinked. It is that human activity within a given world-system moves indiscriminately and imperceptibly and among all three arenas. Do they really then constitute separate arenas? It is sometimes suggested that, although they were not separate arenas before the advent of a capitalist world-system, they became so in this system. But the descriptive work of world-systems analysis up to now on how historical capitalism has actually operated leads one to be very skeotical that the separation of spheres has had any functional reality even in that system. If so, then we are pursuing false models and undermining our own argumentation by continuing to use such language. It is urgent that we begin to elaborate alternative theoretical models.