Chapter I Introduction to the Study of Globalization

Lesson 1: Concepts

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the chapter, you should be able to:

A. Differentiate the competing conceptions of globalization

LESSON 1: CONCEPTS

The emergence of globalization brought us to have

to become more sociable and increase the awareness on
technological through this we have interactive movement
on different sphere such as political, social, cultural,
economic and technology which we best describe as “
globalization” .

Before, the “global age,” people, things,

information, places, and objects tended to harden over
time. Their common characteristics was “solidity,” which is
the characteristic of being limited to one place. Wherein
solidity also refers to the persistence of barriers that
prevented free movement of people, information, and
objects in that period. Although solidity persists yet it is
“fluidity” that is more describe the face of the “global age”.
 Many years it seemed solid has tended to “melt” and
become increasingly mobile or turn into liquid state.

Consequently, a range of technological developments in transportation and communication

have enabled far greater global movement of what was previously solid. ” Globalization is
increasingly characterized by flows of liquid phenomena including people, objects, decisions,
information, and places. In spite of greater liquidity and ever - more flows of various types, the
world is still characterized by great inequality. While globalization flows more easily through the
developed world, it bypasses many locales in the less developed world.

Thus, concept of globalization can be also assess through metaphors of heavy, light, and
weightless. In the early years, there has been movement from that which is heavy to that which
is light and most recently to that which approaches weightlessness. Pre - industrial and industrial
societies were characterized as “ heavy, ” by that which is difficult to move. Moreover, advances
in transportation and technology made goods, people, and places lighter. Since we are currently
in an era defined not only by lightness but also increasingly by weightlessness.

Globalization is reshaping how we have

Globalization is a transplanetary process (es)
traditionally gone about studying the social world
involving increasing liquidity and growing multi
-directional flows as well as the structures they and human culture and a fi eld of globalization
encounter and create. studies is now emerging across the disciplines
(Appelbaum and Robinson)
Globalization is the worldwide integration of
economic, technological, political, cultural, and Nayan Chanda (2007: xiv) argues that
social aspects between countries “globalization stems, among other things,
(Hamilton, 2008 ) from a basic human urge to seek a better and
more fulfilling life” (2007)
This is in line with Held and McGrew’s (2002: 1) definition of globalization as growing world
interconnectedness.

The manifestations of globalization include the spatial reorganization of production, the

interpenetration of industries across borders, the spread of financial markets, the diffusion of
identical consumer goods to distant countries, massive transfers of population. (Mittelman,
2000)
.

These are the core claims of globalism in the study conducted by STEGER, 2005

Globalization is about the liberalization and global

integration of markets

Globalization is inevitable and irreversible

NOBODY is in charge of globalization

Globalization benefits everyone

Globalization requires a global war on terror

Globalization further the spread of democracy in the

world

Globalization further the spread of democracy in the

world

The path of globalization will, of course, be changed not only by the force of ideas and
experiences (ideas about whether trade or capital market liberalization will improve growth and
the actual experiences with these reforms, for example) but also by global events. (Stiglitz,2006)
GLOBAL ISSUES
These are the contemporary issues involve in a multifaceted dimensions such as political,
economic, social historical and geographic components. The interconnected and series of event
happened in the global perspectives affected all human kind.

• Population
Six • Food Production

• Energy
Global • Economic

• Environmental
Issues • Poverty

Impact of Globalization

The wider effects of globalization, increased global awareness and the growth of illicit cross
border activities. Moreover, the global interconnectivity which probably facilitated the
illegitimate transaction of activities such black market and other human trafficking.

For the people living in deprived parts of the world , global awareness raises their expectations
and lower their tolerance of the situation they are in. this is probably a factor in the spread of
democracy and growing demands for political freedoms where these are still denied.

Whereas, people in richer countries, the information revolution is helping to forge a sense of
global community and transnational solidarity. This is a manifestation of global coalitions
among nation states involving different universal issues such as human rights, humanitarian aid
and labor exploitation.

Further, the unskilled and indigenous people are particularly the vulnerable one. The high rising
building and increase mobility of economic enterprise lead them to displaced and massive
dislocation, environmental degradation and violations of human rights.
These are the underlying philosophies of the varying definitions of globalization:

Imperialism is a broad concept that describes various methods employed by one

country to gain control (sometimes through territorial conquest) of another country
(or geographic area) and then to exercise control, especially political, economic, and
territorial, over that country (or geographic area), and perhaps many other countries.

Neo-liberal and laissez-faire (Hands off style)

- Are economic ideologies favoring free trade, free circulation of capital, and freedom to invest
anywhere have encouraged the growth of a complex international system of economic
interdependence that transcends national borders. (Filmer 1995).
 COLONIALISM

Involves settlers as well as much more formal

mechanisms of political control than those of
imperialism.

Development theory known as dependency theory (Cardoso and Faletto 1979).

It emphasizes the fact that the kinds of programs discussed above led not so much to the
development of the nation - states of the South, but more to a decline in their independence and
to an increase in their dependence on the countries of the North, especially the US.

Further, Dependency theory has tended to wane, but it has been replaced by, and to some
degree incorporated in, a broader theory known as world system theory (Wallerstein 1974). This
theory envisions a world divided mainly between the core and the periphery with the nation –
states associated with the latter being dependent on and exploited by, the core nation - states.

Neo - Marxian Theories

Neo- Marxists have done more than critique neo- liberalism, they have developed their own
perspectives on, and theories of, capitalism. While neo - liberalism is supportive of capitalism,
the neo - Marxists are, needless to say, critical of it. In this section we offer two examples of a
neo - Marxian approach that are explicitly and implicitly critical of the neo - liberal theory.

Imperialism

Imperialism is a broad concept that describes various methods employed by one country to gain
control (sometimes through territorial conquest) of another country (or geographic area) and
then to exercise control, especially political, economic, and territorial, over that country (or
geographic area), and perhaps many other countries.
Americanization

Americanization is another process that, like those discussed above, is related to globalization,
but is not identical, or reducible, to it. However, there are certainly those who think it is. For
example, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (1999) says that “globalisation is really
another name for the dominant role of the United States.”

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