Individual report one

Globalization - Part I

SOCY 3720-E01 Global Perspectives on Social Issues

Summer 2019

Globalization – Part I

• For Part I of this lecture we will study:

 Globalization defined  History of Globalization  Global Citizenship  Bases of Globalization

o Economic o Political o Cultural

• For Part II of this lecture we will study:

 Globalization: o Characteristics o Institutions o Ideologies

Globalization

• Globalization is usually discussed within the principle of interconnectedness. The interconnection of

people, places, cultures, social, political, and economic systems.

• More specifically it can also be described as “an unprecedented compression of time and space reflected

in the tremendous intensification of social, political, economic, and cultural interconnections and

interdependencies on a global scale” (Steger, 2002).

• Globalization is a process where goods, information, people, money, communication, languages, values,

and social issues move across national boundaries (Eitzen & Zinn, 2009).

• Others also see globalization not only as a process but also as an institution, as a discursive practice, or

even an imaginary notion.

• The process of globalization can involve immigration, transnational travel, the flow of data and

communications via email and through the internet, manufacturing places, product marketing, the

offshoring and outsourcing of jobs to low-wage economies, multinational investments, satellite

connectivity, the influence of the oil market and oil-producing nation states, and even coffee and its

market around the world.

• It can involve and conclude in being able to find a McDonald’s or drinking a Coca Cola/Pepsi in almost

every major city in the world.

• Globalization is not only about economics but it also includes many simple and complex political,

social, and cultural implications (Eitzen & Zinn, 2009).

• Globalization also includes global changes that shape our world, changes that affect the lives of people

globally. If includes changes and effects for institutions, families, and individuals within societies

(Hytrek & Zentgraf, 2008).

• However, not everyone experiences globalization or is affected by it the same way. For many

individuals it can bring options for a better life, for more prosperity, it can give them more opportunities,

but for others it represents the opposite. For other individuals it can actually increase poverty and

hopelessness (Eitzen & Zinn, 2009).

• Periods of accelerated social change can easily threaten the familiar, destabilize old boundaries, and

upset established traditions. Globalization can be seen as the great destroyer by some and by others as a

powerful creator of new ideas, new exchanges, new values, identities, practices, and movements (Steger,

2002).

• Sociologically speaking, globalization includes a focus on places, scales, and diverse meanings as well.

This also translate into the correlated sociological study of social structures, practices, and institutions

(Sassen, 2007).

• Globalization opens a research window and gives up an exploratory opportunity to look into the global

economy, digital networks, global cities, international migration, global social classes, local and

international actors in global politics, global institutions and different research and media agendas.

• As Payne (2017) presents, globalization includes many different challenges as well. From how we see

and understand international relations, global issues, pluralism, interdependence, and sovereignty, to the

different forms of globalization, the globalization debate, and the different polarizing stances resisting or

defending this process.

History of Globalization

• Globalization is not necessarily a new phenomenon. “For thousands of years people have traveled,

traded, and migrated across political boundaries, exchanging food, artifacts, and knowledge” (Eitzen &

Zinn, 2009).

• “Consider the world around 1000 A.D. The Vikings plundered and traded, establishing settlements in

northern France, Britain, Iceland, Greenland, and Russia. The Byzantine Empire traded with foreigners

from the East and the West. India was linked by maritime routes to Africa, the Middle East, and

Southeast Asia. China used sea routes to trade cotton goods, spices, and horses. The Islamic world was

the first civilization to trade with the other major empires in Europe, Asia, and Africa. These cross-

boundary interactions involved not only trade but the transfer of inventions, knowledge, and other

cultural forms” (Sen, 2002).

• Globalization processes also accelerated during other periods. “In sixteenth-century Europe, trade and

exploration expanded to all parts of the world with Europeans settling in different regions.

• The 1800s and 1900s was a time characterized by great waves of immigration and high levels of trade

and finance across national borders.

• The period following World War II was the precursor to contemporary globalization. After that war

made the current global economy possible, the disintegration of the colonial empires of the British,

French, Dutch, Belgians, and Spanish established 88 new nations and later the Soviet Union collapsed,

creating 18 new countries.

• These “new” countries were freed to sell their raw materials and products on the world market and to

purchase goods. They could now establish local industries to compete with those in other countries.

• Following the war new technological innovations laid the foundation for the transportation and

communication advances of the current age.

• Another change in the post-World War II era has been the emergence of transnational political and

financial institutions. In 1945, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were created to help

rebuild Europe and Japan. Different trade agreements have been created with the intention of fomenting

more ‘free trade.’ The World Trade Organization (WTO) was also created.

• The United Nations, with its organizational units such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and

UNESCO, seeks to reduce tensions among nation-states and to find transnational solutions to political

and social problems. The same way The World Court seeks to adjudicate international disputes and to

try war criminals” (Eitzen & Zinn, 2009).

I am a Global Citizen

• Global Citizen

• As Chirico (2014) points out we are becoming and perceiving ourselves as a common humanity. The

term humanity has been redefined in many ways through the process of globalization.

• Who are you in this world? What global effects can you have as an individual or member of a group?

How are you a global citizen? Can you choose not to be? Why would you choose to be a global citizen?

• What about globalization and human rights? Chirico (2014) argues that humanity is now a category of

existence with its own social standing and status, endowed with rights and owed protection of those

rights. When discussing human rights, there are no longer “others” but instead only “us.”

• Constantly, through the Internet, television, radio, newspapers, friends, and family we are exposed to

global events. Events such as wars, famines, and natural disasters. We also learn about people’s lives

and lifestyles from every corner of the world.

• We see the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, and we can do so in great detail.

“The media can easily expand the magnitude of connections and awareness among people who will

never meet or whose lives will never intersect but who are impacted by the same global forces and who

affect one another’s lives.

• Media, probably more than anything else, have made the subjective sense of the world as a single place

real. Regardless of their attitudes about them, it is impossible for most people to ignore the plight of

others in faraway corners of the world, or the impact that events in other countries have on their own

lives.

• People have begun to feel that they belong to something larger than their own society” (Chirico, 2014).

Bases of globalization

• Globalization has a very palpable effect and impact on every aspect of social life.

• Social life is very intricate and when we add a global scale it becomes even more complex.

• Volume of trade, rates of migration, mentions of human rights in constitutions around the world, the

amount of social media connections around the world, global environmental footprint and issues, global

inequalities, and hundreds of other examples help us understand the interconnectedness we are

experiencing nowadays.

• How we analyze the bases of globalization is critical in studying and understanding this process.

• As Chirico (2014) exemplifies, “if a multinational corporation is subject to regulations concerning its

environmental responsibility or its obligation to pay a living wage regardless of where it operates that is

a function of globalization.

• But is it political, cultural, or economic globalization?

• It is all three because the values underlying the regulations are part of global culture. The regulations

were brought about by political processes to regulate the global economy.

• Culture, economy, and polity, however distinct they may appear, are only analytically distinct. Culture

permeates both polity and economy” (Chirico, 2014).

• Economic Basis of Globalization:

• Capitalism can be seen by many as ‘the law of the land’ and even though most nation states around the

world include capitalistic economies, those who do not actually have some variation of it one way or

another.

• “Globalization has shaped economic relations among societies, and there is now a global capitalistic

economy (Chirico, 2014).

• From international trade to prime matter acquisition, from the production of goods to global markets of

these goods and even services and labor. Most noticeable, multinational corporations and the creation

and moving of jobs, the resources these corporations need, and their global sales we are living in an era

of global capitalism.

• As Chirico (2014) also points out, finance, global banking, and many other economic processes are also

part of our economic globalization. The electronic flow of money in out of different societies, as it is

invested and divested, is one of the most powerful forces of the globalization process.

• Individually we may worry about how the global oil market affects us and our costs of living, and our

lifestyle as well. What opportunities are available in our society, what wages are in place, what is the

price of goods.

• Do governments have control over these factors and these material goods, or have they lost power and it

now lies within the capitalistic enterprises?

• This is the question that constantly gives way to many debates, criticisms, and social fears. Has global

capitalism improved the lives of billions of people, including the poor?

• Is global capitalism a new way of subjugating millions of people after colonialism now through

multinational corporations and the amassing of debt by Third World Countries/Developing nations?

• Do you agree with the notion that many theorists still maintain when they decry that capitalism has

created the conditions for its own demise? What other system could replace capitalism? (Chirico, 2014).

• Political Basis of Globalization:

• Nation states, borders, political actors, political connections, chain reactions, international treaties,

global agendas, these are but a few notions we consider when discussing the globalization of politics.

• Different societies are expanding in different ways. Some are acquiring more political and economic

power, others are aligning with those in power. Political dominance and hegemony is now globalized.

International political organizations have become actors in the global political stage.

• People are now, more than ever, demanding more justice in international relations and relations within

societies. The new global category of being a global citizen and belonging to humanity instead of just

being a citizen of one nation includes new challenges, effects, and responsibilities; even more

accountability through international law.

• Equally important, we are experiencing that “constitutional governments now blanket the world. The

constitutions bear striking similarities to one another. The spread of democracy over the last few

centuries has been significant and has intensified since the late 1960s.

• Global opinion is converging on what it means to be a legitimate state or society. The importance of the

rule of law, representative governments, civil liberties, and human rights are now normative.

• Governments that do not institute these reforms often face sanctions in the global community and

rebellion at home” (Chirico, 2014).

• Another important factor is the expansion of different layers of governance.

• Nowadays, international governmental organizations (IGOs) as well as non-governmental organizations

(NGOs) can exercise power and pressure around the world. Some IGOs have governance functions and

can even be regulatory agencies. Multinational corporations and financial institutions can greatly

influence governments and even multilateral decision making processes.

• These agencies, corporations, and institutions can even make independent decisions and take

independent action which can carry influence global markets and the global community.

• Is the balance of power changing? How will these multiple global actors affect nations states and how

they are governed?

• More importantly, can a global system of power and authority be held accountable? Can it be

democratic? (Chirico, 2014).

• Cultural Basis of Globalization:

• Societies cannot exist without culture and culture cannot exist without societies. Without culture we

would not be human (in the most basic sense we understand the term), and humanity would be a very

different concept. Culture includes values, norms, languages, symbols, and material goods.

• Culture can easily influence and dictate social relations. Norms prescribe or forbid behaviors. Social

control and cultural conformity are essential ‘enforcers’ to following these norms and shaping behaviors.

• Cultural differences makes societies and different social groups unique. Subcultures also contribute to

cultural diversity by representing values and norms different from the majority. Subcultural

communities are also created and they may live side by side.

• When looking at material culture it includes the very influential modern aspect of technology.

• After the Industrial Revolution, the concept of culture would never be the same and we experienced the

globalization of culture. The creation of a global culture.

• As we may be moving towards a unified economy (in many different aspects) social interactions

transcend national borders, and cultural connections are more globalized than ever before.

• For good or bad, no society remains completely untouched and no culture is completely isolated.

• We now have very strong forces that produce a global culture. Forces such as the media, a global

economy, global citizenship, international organizations, and technology.

• Time and distances have a very different meaning nowadays as we globalize social relations and social

life. We are also globalizing social problems, religious competition, ideologies, and values. All of these

having immense effects around the world, in different societies, and as a global society.

• Economic and political decisions can be easily made through the influence of cultural elements, through

norms, values, beliefs, regulations, and policies. Once again, showing the interconnection of these

different bases.

• Social media, cellular phones, YouTube, Facebook, and many other sources/outlets not only contribute

to the globalization of social interactions but also the globalization of technological skills and needs.

• Flash mobs, YouTube challenges, gaming, social movements, protests, and many other aspects of our

social life and our lifestyles can influence and be influenced by not only modern technology, but also

creates cultural globalization (Chirico, 2014).

• When discussing the globalization of culture, “the idea that people are not just members of societies, but

of humanity, and have human rights is accepted globally” (Chirico, 2014).

• People everywhere are owed human rights and regardless of the debate to define these human rights,

now, more than ever, the world community is obliged to protect them and this is one of our many

responsibilities as global citizens as well.

• Cultural globalization is constantly in flux. Whichever your stance may be regarding billions of people

wearing jeans, drinking Coca Cola, eating fast food, or cultural hegemony for that matter we also need

to see the influence of different values from different parts of the world.

• Aside from the Americanization or Westernization of culture, Asian, African, Latin American, and

many other cultural values are spreading as well. Foreign movies, foreign foods, foreign languages,

imported goods, yoga, meditation, herbal remedies, lifestyles, fashion, traditions, holidays, and even

cultural identities (Chirico, 2014).

• In the end, we also have choices. Choices that can determine our behaviors and our involvement. We

can choose how much we want to be a global citizen, a national citizen, a local citizen, or all of three.

• How do you think then that cultural globalization contributes to the notions of cultural diversity,

multiculturalism, and even ethnocentrism and culture shock?

• Will cultural globalization influence protectionist needs in matters of culture?

Globalization

• As we move on to our second part of this unit let us remember that globalization is a process, more

accurately, a complex set of processes experienced and influenced by many people all over the world.

• It is a process, an institution, an ideology with many different actors and different factors that influence

our global economy, our global politics, and or global culture.

• Our needs, values, norms, expectations, issues, can easily change and can easily be influenced by all

these social forces, organizations, and social systems.

• As Chirico (2014) points out, “globalization can represent an epistemological dilemma for the social

sciences. It can also challenge our interdisciplinary skills as we need to consolidate knowledge gained

from diverse disciplines such as sociology, political science, anthropology, geography, economics, and

so on” (Chirico, 2014).

• Globalization can also be considered “a charismatic concept” (Tsing, 2000). It has “attracted scholars

and inspired popular imagination through its futurism and newness, through its energetic

multidimensionality, through the overcoming of boundaries and restrictions, while presenting both many

different challenges and opportunities” (Chirico, 2014).