The “Globalization” of the Human Person: A Normative Challenge 

Roland L. Aparece

Ancient people believed that the world was flat. However, the great voyages of
visionary persons revolutionized the peoples’ traditional conception of the world. In fact,
the first phase of globalization started when Christopher Columbus and company risked
globalizing their country, which opened up a discovery of a new world, and a big round
world by the expedition of Magellan. Those great voyages were among the factors that
lead to the transition from the ancient and medieval world to the modern period. The
second phase of globalization happened approximately in the 19th and 20th centuries
when multinational companies started to globalize themselves to different countries and
therefore maximize their profits. The third phase of globalization happens in the advent
of the 21st century when human persons started globalizing themselves because of the
advances in information and communication technology. A period “when individuals are
given the power to collaborate and compete globally”(Friedman 2005, 9). In effect, it
seems that the world now becomes smaller or according to Thomas Friedman’s claim,
“the world is flat.”

It is this period of personal globalization, which this reflection paper attempts to

investigate. The main issue here is about the normative criteria of personal
globalization. For this reason, this social issue reflection is divided into three sections:
the first deals with the icons of this emerging global-postmodern condition in the
Philippines; the second deals with the characteristics of globalization, and the third
deals with a proposed norm for personal globalization.

The first section concerns with the great icons of this emerging global
postmodern condition in the Philippines. Accordingly, these great icons are cable TV,
internet, cellular phones and the malls (Huang, 2000). Now, what are the common
characteristics of these great icons? First, all these icons break the traditional concepts
of time and space. All these icons are successful in defying time and space. Before, one
could not watch a foreign movie instantly. One has to go to that country first in order to
watch their entertainment programs. But with the invention of the cable television sets
and satellites, any individual is given the power to switch instantaneously from
televisions programs of one country to another country. The same is true with the
internet. In just a matter of seconds, one could have access to different libraries all over
the world. One could chat from one country to another country. The same is true with
the usefulness of cellular phones. Indeed, it is just a very small instrument, but its power
could not be underestimated. Through cellular phones, one is given an instant access to
communicate to people from one country to another. In this connection, the case of
malls is quite unique in compressing time and space. If one would inspect carefully, the
malls are well lighted and ventilated. It creates an illusion therefore that time is always
early so why not go on shopping and spends your money. Interestingly, one could also
notice that there is no wall clock displayed in every wall of the mall. We could seldom
find one. More so, the malls glorify the use of credit cards. Why? It’s because aside
from its instant usefulness, it also breaks the notions of time and space. Precisely, it’s
because the credit card makes the person’s money intangible, just like a mobile phone’s
load, so that the person will not concretely and existentially hold the money he/she is
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spending. At one point it is an advantage to have a credit card because it is light and
easy to hold instead of holding coins and bills. However, there is a latent invitation for
the person to keep on spending because one is not consciously holding the real money.
In other words, it makes the reality of money, a multipurpose medium of exchange,
intangible! Furthermore, the malls also compressed the concept of space because it
creates an illusion that whatever one needs in the world is contained in that big building.
Concretely, if one wants to buy fish, then one does not have to go to the seaport
because abundant fresh supply of these foods is displayed in the mall. Moreover, if
someone wants to eat, then one does not need to prepare the food in the kitchen.
Delicious cuisine is always available in the food courts and restaurants. Furthermore, if
someone wants to watch movie, then one could simply go to the movie theater.
Therefore, the mall appears to be a microcosm, a small universe, in which whatever one
needs, even goods from other countries, are contained in that big building. In effect, the
mall compresses time and space.

The second characteristic of these icons is that they provide multiplicity of

choices to the person concerned. Concretely, there are so many channels available
using cable television set. There are also many websites in the internet and so many
items inside the mall. For cellular phones, there are also many mobile numbers and
many people saved in the phonebook of the mobile phone’s subscriber’s identification
module or sim card. Consequently, these multiplicities of choices available challenge
the individual to choose alone for oneself. In this case, there is a dangerous tendency
towards individualism because the person is left all alone to decide for oneself.

Lastly, the great icons of this emerging global postmodern condition challenge to
break the traditional notion of metanarrative. Metanarrative refers to the big story that
constitutes the self-understanding of a given community. It is the overarching story
which makes our individual stories meaningful. In theological studies, this refers to the
technical meaning of myth, like the Jesus myth wherein our individual stories of
sufferings and salvations find meaning when we relate it to the big story, the salvation
history which culminated in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, these icons of this emerging global-postmodern condition glorify only bits
and pieces of small stories. The MTV generation and “telenobelas” are cut by
advertisements that shift our attention from the big picture of the story. So, the self is
challenge by fragmented pluralism, a self bombarded by so many stories without a
unifying whole.

The second section of this reflection deals with the characteristics of globalization
that we could draw from our engagement with these great icons of this emerging global
post-modern condition in the Philippines. At this point, I will just run through the different
characteristics of globalization because they are very much similar to our discussion of
the first section of this reflection. The first and most obvious is the association of
globalization with deterritorialization Second, contemporary theorists “conceive of
globalization as linked to the growth of social interconnectedness across existing
geographical and political boundaries.” Third, globalization includes reference to the
speed or velocity of social activity because of the high-speed transportation, and

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information- communication technologies (ICT) which defy the geographical and
territorial boundaries of different countries. Fourth, even though analysts disagree about
the causal forces that generate globalization, most agree that globalization should be
conceived as a relatively long-term process. Fifth, globalization should be understood
as a multi-pronged process, since deterritorialization, social interconnectedness, and
acceleration manifest themselves in many different (economic, political, and cultural)
arenas of social activity. (William Scheuerman, “Globalization”).

The third section of this reflection deals with the normative challenge of the third
phase of globalization, that is, the person globalizing oneself in a very personal way.
The good thing which happened during the first phase of globalization was the
existence of clear goals. The great voyages of imperial Spain, for instance, were guided
by three goals: To spread Christianity, to find gold and to work for the glory of Spain.
Obviously, the Spanish conquistadores may have cruel intentions, mistakes and failures
in their quest but they tried at least to be faithful to their goals. The same also is true
with the multinational companies in the second phase of globalization. The multinational
companies have clear goals in the expansion of their business abroad and hopefully
they were also guided by sound principles in business ethics. But the case is totally
different during this third phase of globalization. Indeed, when the person is given the
chance to globalize oneself, there is no clear norm to follow. It appears then that
everything remains relative to the human person concerned. 

In this connection, let me share my personal experience of globalizing myself.

Last summer 2007, the Philippine national and local election was a great opportunity
when I decided to globalize myself seriously. Because of the summer program of MAT
Philosophy at Ateneo, I missed the opportunity to exercise my right to vote. But I feel I
did something heroic. It was Saturday then, 2 weeks approximately before the election,
when I decided to send approximately all the profiles of the senatorial candidates to all
my Filipino friends in the Philippines and abroad. I did this with the hope that the profiles
could help them make a good discernment and thereby be responsible voters. I was so
passionate then and it seems to me like a miracle. Imagine, I was just seated at one
corner of Rizal Library yet I was able to communicate all my friends in my address book
and most of their respective friends too who are living in different parts of the country
and abroad. Thanks to the great help of yahoomail.com and Friendster.com. Indeed, I
spent my entire working day doing that mission and I was a bit stressed yet felt
consoled that I did something for the Philippines. 

Looking back the past election, I really don’t know if what I did created a strong
impact to my friends. But the reality is, I feel I did something worth doing well which
either affirms this world is getting smaller or the world is FLAT! The advances offered by
information-communication technology (ICT) indeed breaks the traditional concept of
time and space. Indeed, by just a matter of seconds, one could chat to someone living
in London while that person is situated in the Philippines. More so, one could open
several sites simultaneously starting from the most professional to the most naughty
pornographic sites. This technological advancement offers a good opportunity to serve
humanity and at the same time a challenge. Concretely, after doing my finishing

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touches on this reflection paper, I will send this via e-mail to Ateneo De Manila
University, Quezon City. It is a little bit far from my dormitory. I could not beat the
deadline anymore unless I’ll fly like superman. But thanks to the internet and the brilliant
minds who invented this technology. I believed I could make it.

On the other hand, this same technology could be subject for abuses. One
terrorist can use this same technology to collaborate terrorist activities simultaneously
through the internet. This might be the case of Osama bin Ladin during the 9/11 attack
of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the White House. May be he was just
seated at one corner of his office but he was able to globalize himself (Thomas
Friedman, The World is Flat). To mention a few, we have the bloggers.com and
websites like friendster.com, multiply.com,wayn.com, sms.ac., facebook.com and
others. Here the individual person is globalizing oneself by posting pictures, daily journal
and even one’s curriculum vitae in one’s profile. So the challenge is given to the person
who is expected to have a mature conscience in this global undertaking.

Responding to these challenges, Pope John Paul II said ”globalization, a priori, is

neither good nor bad. It will be what people make of it. No system is an end in itself, and
it is necessary to insist that globalization, like any other system, must be at the service
of the human person; it must serve solidarity and the common good. The code of ethics
of globalization must be grounded on the very nature of the “human person, that human
person must always be an end and not means, a subject and not an object, nor a
commodity of trade.” (Pope John Paul II, April 27, 2001). Finally, how could we direct
the seemingly virtual yet real world of information-communication technology towards
the good? This is a very crucial question. The question is open ended, and the
challenge is the same. We must therefore have a mature conscience in order to apply
our fundamental orientation to the good, our final end, to concrete situation calling us for
a moral decision here and now (Norris Clarke, “Conscience and the Person”). However,
our fundamental inclination to the good could be fallible. In effect, conscience could be
limited because it needs to be informed. Indeed, how could one choose the good if that
good is unknown to him. It is clear here that freedom is a function to knowledge. If
freedom means the power to choose, then the more knowledgeable you are, the greater
will be the range of choices available to you. Consequently, the more you know, the
more free you will be! Therefore, the normative challenge in this stage of personal
globalization is an informed conscience through education which is a never ending
process. It is only through education, by daring to use one's ability to think and embrace
the light of wisdom, that one could push forward the dignity of humanity (Immanuel
Kant, "What is Enlightenment") by emancipating ourselves from the darkness of
ignorance and informing our conscience to the Good, our ultimate end. 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. BOOKS

Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

Harvey, David. The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell, 1989.

Robertson, R. Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture. London: Sage, 1992

Scholte, Jan Aart. “Beyond the Buzzword: Towards a Critical Theory of Globalization,” in
Eleonore 

Kofman and Gillians Young (ed.), Globalization: Theory and Practice. London: Pinter, 1996.

Scholte, Jan Aart. Globalization: A Critical Introduction. New York: St. Martin's, 2000.

Tomlinson, John. Globalization and Culture Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1999.

B. LECTURE

Dy, Manuel. “Globalization”, Social Philosophy Class notes, MAT Philosophy, summer 2008,
Ateneo De Manila University, Quezon City.

Huang, Daniel Patrict, SJ “The Emerging Global Post-Modern Culture in the Philippines,”
Lecture on the occasion of the Religious Life Week, ICLA, UST, 2000.

Ibana, Rainier. “Paradoxes of Globalization,” Class notes, MAT Philosophy, summer 2008,
Ateneo De Manila University, Quezon City.

Pope John Paul II, Address of the Holy Father to the Pontifical Academy of 
Social Science, April 27, 2001.

C. INTERNET RESOURCES

Clarke, Norris. Conscience and the Person

http://pilosopotasyo.tripod.com/conscience.pdf

William Scheuerman. “Globalization,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 

(http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/globalization)