Myths of Globalization: Noam Chomsky

and Ha-Joon Chang in Conversation

Global Policy article by C. J. Polychroniuo, 2 June 2017

Introduction

Globalization
Usually referred to as a process of interaction and integration among the economies and people of
the world through international trade and foreign investment with the aid of information
technology.

Ha-Joon Chang: Myth about Globalization

● First Liberal era

Started in the years 1870 to 1914, mainly relied upon steamships and wired technology though
the world was almost more globalized than it was during the first less liberal period. Mid-20th
Century (1945 & 1973) was the year where it was stated to be the less liberal period. There were
already many types of technologies such as transportations and communication, though not the
same thing we have in today’s generation.

REASONS WHY THE WORLD WAS LESS GLOBALIZED IN THE LATTER PERIOD:
It was said that there was restriction of movements of the following:
- Goods
- Services
- Capital
- People

● Latter Period
It was said that during the latter period it had the fastest growth rate, a lesser degree of inequality,
greater financial stability, and advanced capitalist economies. It was even called the “Golden age
of Capitalism” due to it being held for 250 years. It was also said that during those years it was
well market-oriented and corporate-driven globalization.
 Noam Chamsky: Myth about Globalization
Globalization - international integration, long predates capitalism.

Pre-Christian Era - silk roads were an extensive form of globalization.

Rise of industrial state capitalism has changed the scale and character of globalization.

The Masters of Mankind - named by Adam Smith

- Pursuing their vile Maxim: "all for ourselves,and nothing for other people."

Recent Period of Neoliberal Globalization

- Quite substantial changes until the last part of the 1970s with Reagan and Thatcher,
even the rules were a little different during the administration changes.
- The Transnational corporations are a driving force and their political power more shapes
the rules of state to their interest.
- Policies of the states support all they manage. The transitional Corporation formed a
Global Value Chain (GVCs) where products are outsourced by the "lead firm" through
intricate global networks that are established and controlled.
Given Example: The Apple's company, the iphone design in the US, the parts from the
suppliers in US and East Asia are assembled in China, in the factories owned by
Taiwanese firm called Foxconn. Apple's profit is estimated to be about 10 times more
than Foxconn, while the added price and profit is for China. Apple set-up an office in
Ireland to prevent the tax in the US and recently was fined $14 billion by the EU in back
taxes.

2013 World Investment Report Of The United Nations Commission on Trade and
Development
- According to the study, transnational businesses build and manage global value chains
that account for around 20% of jobs globally and account for about 80% of all trade in
the world.
- Political economist Sean Starrs has researched who owns what in a globalized
economy. He makes the argument that in the era of neoliberal globalization, standard
assessments of national wealth expressed in terms of GDP are deceptive. As the globe
deviates more than ever from the concept of nationally distinct political economies,
corporate ownership of the world's wealth is turning into a more accurate measure of
global power than national wealth. This is because of complex interwoven supply chains,
subcontracting, and other such tools.
- Starrs' study reveals that US businesses dominate global economies, owning nearly
50% of all sectors. Despite a 20% decrease in wealth from 1945 to present, the US
remains a dominant player in the global economy.
What is Globalization: The Paradoxes of
the Economic and Political Substance of
Markets
Written by Yvon Pesqueux

Introduction

● Globalization
Emerged in the mid 80s in US management schools and in the English-American press, a
Western ideology.

The current state of globalization

Globalization is now described to be abused by multinational corporations to describe
their workings. Now holds political ties, “specific-universal” (used for a political
understanding of societies) compared to its former definition of “local-general”
(describing business activity).

The different senses of the concept of globalization

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE POLITICAL DIMENSION
● Evolution of content and practices associated with national interest
● States’ and international institutions’ capacity to cope with these political
developments
● Development of conceptual frameworks for environmental, health, and security
issues
 SIX SENSES OF GLOBALIZATION
● Economic sense, relating to multinational corporations’ activities
● Geographic sense, tying together multinationals’ footless activities
● Political sense, growth of supranational organizations and the importance
attached to transnational political issues
● Dogmatic sense, globalization is a necessary doctrine
● Historical sense, verbalization of capitalism
● Organizational sense

A descriptive perspective of globalization

Around the 19th century, trade began to experience a great boost with the help of
technological advancements, particularly telecommunications and travel. Upscaling trade
into the international level was becoming a thing, hence a few groups came about to
foster this growth. However, they are still driven by protectionism*. This led to the birth
of larger organizations (in individual national levels and on the worldwide level) to better
monitor trade.

*Protectionism - government policies that restrict international trade to help domestic

industries

A political perspective of globalization:

globalization and sovereignty
The Free Market Moment (the basis of an economic system) is said to bring four types of
sovereignty:
1. Corporate Governance - a “controlled” type of sovereignty when it comes to
economic territory
2. Market Governance - an “uncontrolled” type of sovereignty
3. Supranationality - e.g. the European Union
4. Infra Territory - a political and territorial driven sovereignty

A historical perspective of globalization: the

argument of Fernand Braudel
Long distance trade was part of the development of capitalism, which had an effect on the
politics of various nations at that time. Braudel states that capitalism aims to reduce
competition and increase the chance of gaining profits.

Braudel proposes a premise regarding how one can understand the history of
globalization
 - Geography, economics, politics, social sciences and culture affect the contents of
the history of a nation
- Human activities have led to the creation of specific rules to organize space
- Cycles (e.g. the four seasons) tell the time (when it comes to economic subjects)

With this, Braudel says that there is no such thing as globalization, but rather an existing
economic movement dating back to the Middle Ages. It has been a recurring
phenomenon in human society, only under a modern label.

A cultural perspective of globalization

The cultural perspective of globalization is correlated to the industrial revolution by Mattelart
(2008). The author defines globalization as "the process of economic integration and integration
in trade, finance, technology and other aspects of social life" (Mattelart 2008). In this research,
globalization will be defined as the cultural influence of Western culture on non-Western
cultures.

Culture has also been affected by this global phenomenon. The author argues that culture is
becoming more diverse due to globalization and this diversity will continue to grow as long as
there are people who belong to different cultures around the world sharing ideas with each other
through technology. It discusses how these new technologies can lead to more rapid change in
society due to their ability to connect people from all over the world together in ways never
before possible.

An anthropological perspective of globalization

and Appadurai’s model of the area culture
Appadurai’s anthropological interpretation of culture in globalization is a study of the effects of
globalization on cultural life. Appadurai argues that as societies become more interconnected,
they lose their ability to develop independent national cultures. The result is that people all over
the world are now capable of sharing cultural experiences and creating new ones.

Appadurai uses the term “globalization” to refer to the processes occurring around the world and
in different parts of it simultaneously. He does not believe that globalization is a single
phenomenon but rather many different phenomena that occur at different times, in different
places, and with different meanings for different groups.

Appadurai's anthropological interpretation of culture in globalization is a very interesting

concept. He describes it as the area studies, which is a culture that has been studied and
understood over time, but not necessarily by the people who inhabit it. This is different from
culture in the sense that it does not have to be adapted or changed for the people who live
there. It can also be replaced by a different one. Appadurai uses this idea to explain why
globalization happens at all because it has been studied and understood by people who live
outside of their own cultures.

He discusses the concept of cultural areas and post-colonialism in today's globalization. The
author proposes a post-patriotism based on the movements of ideas, populations, and
individuals of recent nationalisms. Immigrant communities also carry transnational loyalties. The
concept of community, which is at the core of communitarianism, is viewed in relation to a
deterritorialized collective. To explore these disjunctures, the author proposes using
ethnoscapes and technoscapes to challenge the simplifications of primordialisms.
Technoscapes factor in the fluid disposition of global capital, while mediascapes represent
electronic capabilities that make it easy to produce and disseminate information. Appadurai
considers imagination as a social fact central to all forms of action, and homogenization and
heterogenization work together.

Conclusion
The term Americanization, coined after World War II, refers to the cultural offshoots of the
Marshall Plan and the emergence of the social category of senior executives. It paved the way
for a larger ideological perspective called Third-worldism, which is characterized by
simplification and wishful-thinking attributes specific to an ideology. Globalization, which
emphasizes the economic nature of the perspective, aims to create a fair and universalist
situation involving all producers and consumers. Mass consumption plays a specific role in
homogenizing a medium to be neutral, transparent, and universal and empowering. The United
States is represented as the first society to adopt a new socio-technical system of an global
economic nature, leading to the construction of large free trade spaces and universal cultural
symbols. The cosmopolitism of globalization is viewed as a project to reduce diversity of groups
and homogenize them. This leads to a dual quest for differentialism, justified by the reference to
numerical criteria and axiological principles. Multinational corporations are recognized for their
competitive advantage in race and cultural diversity, but also for their environmental and
environmental benefits. The term "globalization" is used to refer to a culturalist commentary on
mass production and consumption after 1945. The end of the Vietnam War eliminated any
referencing to the imperialistic character of its power towards building a new consensus.

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