Defining Globalization (CONTEMP REV.PDF)

CHAPTER 1 DEFINING GLOBALIZATION III. The Globalization and Regionalization The regionalization of the world system in I. Dynamics of Local & Global Culture economic ac...

CHAPTER 1 DEFINING GLOBALIZATION III. The Globalization and Regionalization The regionalization of the world system in I. Dynamics of Local & Global Culture economic activity undermines the potential Three Perspectives on Global Cultural Flows benefits coming out of a liberalized global economy. This is because regional organizations 1. Cultural Differentialism prefer regional partners over the rest. Regional This emphasizes the fact that cultures are organizations respond to the states’ attempt to essentially different and are only superficially reduce the perceived negative effects of affected by global flows. globalization. The interaction of cultures is deemed to contain Regionalism, is a sort of counter-globalization. the potential for “catastrophic collision.” Samuel Huntington’s theory on the clash of the Globalization vs. Regionalization civilizations proposed in 1996 best exemplifies Nature: Globalization promotes the integration of this approach. economies across state borders all around the world but, regionalization is precisely the opposite 2. Cultural Hybridization because it is dividing an area into smaller This approach emphasizes the integration of local SEGMENTS. and global cultures (Cvitkovich and Kellner, Market: Globalization allows many companies to 1997). trade on an international level so it allows a free Globalization is considered to be a creative market but in a regionalized system, monopolies process which gives rise to hybrid entities that are are likely to develop. not reducible to either the global or the local. IV. Origins and History of Globalization A key concept of “glocalization” or the 1. Hardwired interpenetration of the global and local resulting in According to Nayan Chanda (2007), it is because unique outcomes in different geographic areas of our basic human need to make our lives better (Giulianotti and Robertson, 2007, p.133). that made globalization is possible (e.g., African Another key concept is Arjun Appadurai’s Ancestors). “scapes” in 1996, where global flows involve “Commerce, religion, politics, and welfare are the people, technology, finance, political images, and “urges” of people toward a better life. These are media and the disjuncture’s between them, which respectively connected to four aspects of lead to the creation of cultural hybrids. globalization and they can be traced all throughout history: trade, missionary work, adventures, and 3. Cultural Convergence conquest (Chenda, 2007). This approach stresses homogeneity introduced by globalization. 2. Cycles Cultures are deemed to be radically altered by Globalization is a long-term cyclical process and strong flows while cultural imperialism happens thus, finding its origin will be daunting task. What when culture imposes itself on intends to destroy is important is the cycles that globalization has at least parts of another culture. gone through (Scholte, 2005). Subscribing to this John Tomlinson’s idea of “deterritorialization” – it view will suggest adherence to the idea that other is much more difficult to tie culture to a specific global ages have appeared. There is also a notion geographic point of origin. to suspect that this point of globalization will soon II. The Globalization of Religion disappear and reappear. Accelerated globalization of recent times has enabled co-religionists across the planet to have 3. Epoch (Wave) greater direct contact with one another. Global Ritzer (2015) cited Therborn’s (2000) six great communications, global organizations, global epoch to globalization: finance, and the like have allowed ideas of 1) Globalization of Religion (4th to 7th Muslims and the universal Christian church to be centuries) European colonial conquest (late given concrete shape as never before.” (Scholte, 15th century) 2005). 2) Intra-European wars (late 18th too early 19th Globalization has also allowed religion or faith to centuries) gain considerable significance and importance as a 3) Heyday of European imperialism (mid-19th non-territorial touchstone of identity. century to 1918) 4) Post-World War II period 5) Post-Cold War period 4. Events  The following are some points that can be treated CHAPTER 2: THE GLOBAL ECONOMY as the start of globalization: Gibbon (1998), for example, argued the I. Economic Globalization and Global Trade Roman conquest centuries before Christ were Economic globalization refers to the increasing its origin. interdependence of world economies as a result of the In an issue of the magazine the Economist growing scale of cross-border trade of commodities (2006, January 12), it is considered the and services, the flow of international capital, and the rampage of armies Genghis Khan into Eastern wide and rapid spread of technologies. It reflects the Europe in the 13th century. continuing expansion and mutual integration of Rosenthal (2007) gave premium to voyages of market frontiers, and is an irreversible the trend for discovery – Christopher Columbus’s economic development in the whole world at the turn discovery of America in 1942, Vasco the of the Millennium (United Nations as cited in Gama in Cape of Good Hope in 1498, and Shangquan, 2000). Ferdinand Magellan’s completed circumnavigation of the globe in 1522. There are two different types of economies associated with economic globalization – protectionism and 5. Broader, More Recent Changes trade liberalization (free trade). These broad changes happened in the last half of 1) Protectionism – a policy of systematic the 20th century. government intervention in foreign trade with the Three notable changes as the origin of objective of encouraging domestic production. globalization: This encouragement involves giving preferential 1) The emergence of the United States as the treatment to domestic producers and global power (post-World War II) discriminating against foreign competitors 2) The emergence of multinational corporations (McAleese, 2007 as cited in Ritzer, 2015, p. (MNCs) 1169). 3) The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of 2) Trade liberalization (Free Trade) - refers to the the Cold War removal or reduction of restrictions or barriers on V. Global Demography the free exchange of goods between nations. Such barriers could include tariffs, such as duties and Demographic transition is a singular historical period surcharges, and non-tariff barriers, such as during which mortality and fertility rates decline from licensing rules and quotas. high to low levels in a particular country or region. The broad outlines of the transition are similar in Leapfrogging, is the idea that countries can countries around the world but the pace and timing of skip straight to more efficient and cost- the transition have varied considerably. Examples are: effective technologies that were not available in the past. Mid- or late 1700s in Europe: During that time, Fair trade, as defined by the International death rates and fertility began to decline. Fair-trade Association, is the “concern for the High to low fertility happened for 200 years in social, economic, and environmental well- France and 100 years in the United States. being of marginalized small producers” In the 20th Century, mortality declined in Africa (Downie, 2007, pp. C1-C5). and Asia, with the II. Economic Globalization and VI. Global Migration Sustainable Development “Vagabonds” and “Tourists” Sustainable development is the development of our Vagabonds world today by using the earth’s resources and the ▪ They are on the move “because they have to preservation of such sources for the future. be” (Ritzer, 2005, p. 179). ▪ Refugees are vagabonds forced to flee their One significant global response or approach to home countries due to safety concerns economic globalization is that of sustainable (Haddad, 2003). development, which seeks to chart a middle path Labor Migration between economic growth and a sustainable Driven by the “push” and “pull” factors environment (Borghesi and Vercelli, 2008) Labor migration mainly involves the flow of less-skilled and unskilled workers, as well as The relationship between globalization and illegal immigrants who live on the margins of sustainability is multi-dimensional – it involves the host society (Lander, 2007). economic, political, and technological aspects.  Environmental Degradation III. Economic Globalization, Poverty, & Inequality Development, especially economic development, The Swedish statistician Hans Rosling once said, was hastened by the Industrial Revolution. This “The 1 to 2 billion poorest in the world who don’t period in human history made possible for the have food for that they suffer from the worst cycle of efficiency. disease, globalization deficiency. The way Efficiency means finding the quickest possible globalization is occurring could be much better, way of producing large amounts of a particular but the worst thing is not being part of it.” product. This process made buying of goods easier Economic and trade globalization is the result of for other people. Ex: companies trying to outmaneuver their The Earth’s atmosphere is damaged by competitors. While you search for the cheapest more carbon emissions from factories place to buy shoes, companies search for the around the world. cheapest place to make those shoes. The destruction of coral reefs and marine The multiplier effect means an increase in one biodiversity as more economic activity can lead to an increase in other and more wastes are thrown into the ocean. economic activities. Then, there is an increased demand. Ultimately For instance, investing in local businesses there was an increased efficiency. This cycle will lead to more jobs and more income. harms the planet in a number of ways. Economic globalization has helped millions of Harvey (2005) noted that neoliberals and people get out of extreme poverty but the environmentalists debate the impact of free trade challenge of the future is to lift up the poor while on the environment. at the same time keeping the planet livable. Environmentalists argue that environmental issues should be given priority over economic issues Global Income Inequality (Antonio, 2007). Free trade, through its emphasis on the expansion of manufacturing, is associated There are two main types of economic inequality: with environmental damage. wealth inequality and income inequality. Neoliberals see the efforts of environmentalists as 1. Wealth serious impediments to trade. This refers to the net worth of a country. It takes Food Security into account all the assets of a nation – may they be natural, physical, and human – less the Global food security means delivering sufficient liabilities. food to the entire world population. The security In other words, wealth is the abundance of of food also means the sustainability of society resources in a specific country. This means that such as population growth, climate change, water wealth inequality speaks about the unequal scarcity, and agriculture. distribution of assets. The demand for food will be 60% greater than it is 2. Income today and the challenge of food security requires In order to measure global economic inequality, the world to feed 9 billion people by 2050 economists usually look at the income using the (Breene, 2016). Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The challenges to food security can be traced to Income refers to the new earnings that are the protection of the environment. A major constantly being added to the pile of the country’s environmental problem is the destruction of wealth. natural habitats, particularly through deforestation Income inequality means that new earnings are (Diamond, 2006). being distributed: it values the flow of goods and Ultimately, global warming poses a threat to the services, not a stock of assets (Economist, 2012). global supply of food as well as to human health Branko Milancovic (2011), described the (Brown, 2007). “economic big bang” we’re in the industrial The United Nations has set ending hunger, revolution caused the differences among achieving food security and improved nutrition, countries. and promoting sustainable agriculture as the Through this explosion of industry and modern second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals technology, some nations became economically (SDGs) for the year 2030. developed while others were developing. The World Economic Forum (2010) also Harvard economist Richard Freeman (2011) addressed this issue through the New Vision for noted, “The triumph of globalization and market Agriculture (NVA) in 2009 wherein public-private capitalism has improved living standards for partnerships were established. billions while concentrating billions among the few” (as presented in OECD Policy Forum, Paris, May 2).  The Third World & the Global South IV. Theories of Global Stratification 1. Modernization Theory Dating back to the Cold War, Western Modernization theory rests on the idea that policymakers began talking about the world as affluence could be attained by anyone. having three distinct political and economic blocs Modernization theory argues that the tension (Tomlinson, 2003). between tradition and technological change is the Western capitalist countries were labeled as the biggest barrier to growth. “First World.” The Soviet Union and its allies A society that is more steeped in family systems were termed the “Second World.” Everyone else and traditions may be less willing to adapt new of was grouped into “Third World.” technologies and the new social systems that often After the Cold War ended, the category of Second accompany them. World countries became null and void, but 1.1 Walt Rostow’s Four Stages of somehow the terms “First World” and “Third Modernization World” stuck around the public consciousness. 1. Traditional Stage. This refers to societies that are Third World countries, which started as just a structured around small, local communities with vague catchall term for non-alliance countries, production typically being done in family settings. came to be associated with impoverished states, Because these societies have limited resources and while the First World was associated with rich, technology, most of their time is spent laboring to industrialized countries. produce food, which creates a strict social Global North - refers to the First World countries, hierarchy. such as the United States, Canada, Western 2. Take-off Stage. People begin to use their Europe, and developed parts of Asia. individual talents to produce things beyond the Global South – includes Caribbean, Latin necessities. Their innovation creates new markets America, South America, Africa, and parts of for trade. In turn, greater individualism takes hold Asia. These countries used were to be called the and social status is more closely linked with Third World during the Cold War (Reuveny & material wealth. Thompson, 2007). 3. Drive to Technological Maturity. The The terms “Global North” and “Global South” are technological growth of the earlier periods begins a way for countries in the South to make a stand to bear fruit in the form of population growth, about the common issues, problems, and even reductions in absolute poverty levels, and more causes in order to have equality all throughout the diverse job opportunities. Nations in this phase world. typically begin to push for social change along with economic change, like implementing basic The Global City schooling for everyone and developing more The rural-urban differentiation has a significant democratic political systems. relationship to globalization. Globalization has 4. High Mass Consumption. It is when a country is deeply altered North-South relations in big enough that production becomes more about agriculture. For instance, the relations of wants than needs. Many of these countries put agricultural production have been altered due to social support systems in place to ensure that all the rise of global agribusiness and factory farms their citizens have access to basic necessities. (McMichael, 2007) 2. Dependency Theory & Latin American In this scenario, the South produces non- Experience traditional products for export and become In other words, rather than focusing on what poor increasingly dependent on industrialized food countries are doing wrong, dependency theory exports from North. Consequently, this leads to a focuses on how poor countries have been wronged replacement of the staple diet as well as the by richer nations. It further argues that the displacement of local farmers. prospects of both wealthy and poor countries are Although cities are major beneficiaries of inextricably linked. globalization, Bauman (2003) claimed that they Dependency theory was initially developed by are also most severely affected by global Hans Singer and Paul Prebisch in the 1950s and problems. Therefore, the cities face peculiar has been improved since then. political problems, wherein it is often fruitlessly The terms “core nations” and “peripheral nations” seeking to deal locally with global problems and are at the heart of dependency theory. local politics has become hopelessly overloaded. Peripheral nations are countries that are less developed and receive an unequal distribution of the world’s wealth. Core countries, on the other hand, are more industrialized nations that receive the majority of the world’s wealth.  This theory emphasizes two main sub-theories – 1. Poor Nations tend to have few resources to the North American Neo-Marxist approach and export to rich countries. However, the Latin American Structuralist Approach corporations can buy these raw materials (Sanchez, 2014). cheaply and then process and sell them in 1. North American Neo-Marxist Approach richer nations. As a result, the profits tend to Andre Gunder Frank (1969) bypass the poor countries. The less developed countries would develop by 2. Poor countries are also more likely to lack following the path taken by the developed industrial capacity, so they have to import countries. Developed countries were undeveloped expensive manufactured goods from richer in the beginning but not underdeveloped. nations. This means that the path taken by the developed Dependency theory is also very narrowly countries does not guarantee the same fate for the focused. It points the finger at the capitalist underdeveloped countries. market system as the sole cause of stratification, 2. Latin American Structuralist Approach ignoring the role of things like how culture and Developed by Latin American Scientists. political regimes play in impoverishing countries. Palma (1978) noted that chief among the There is no solution to global poverty that comes arguments accounting for Latin American out of dependency theory – most dependency underdevelopment was the “excessive” reliance theorists just urge poor nations to seize all on exports of primary commodities, which were contracts with the rich nations or argue for a kind the object of fluctuating prices in the short term of global socialism. and a downward trend in relative value in the long However, these ideas do not acknowledge the haul. reality of the modern world economy, which make As a result of the influence of structuralist them not very useful for combating the real thought, most Latin American countries adopted pressing problem of global poverty. strategies nominally conducive to autonomous, self-sustaining development (Seers, 1981). In essence, they sought to diversify exports and accelerate industrialization through import substitution. High tariff walls were to be erected that would reduce the region’s dependence on foreign manufacturers and thus on the developed North. 2.1 The Modern World-System Immanuel Wallerstein ✓ American sociologist ✓ Capitalist world economy ✓ Wallerstein described high-income nations as the “core” of the world economy. ✓ This core is the manufacturing base of the planet where resources funneled to become the technology and wealth enjoyed by the Western world today. ✓ Low-income countries, meanwhile are Wallerstein called “periphery,” whose natural resources and labor support the wealthier countries, first as colonies and now by working for multinational corporations under neocolonialism. ✓ Middle-income countries, such as India or Brazil, are considered “semi-periphery” due to their closer ties to the global economic core. ✓ In Wallerstein’s model, the periphery remains economically dependent on the core in a number of ways which tend to reinforce each other.