LESSON 1:WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?

Different scholars have different viewpoints of what globalization is. Some would view
globalization as a positive phenomenon some would see its detrimental effects on society which
cannot be separated from issues of global economic and cultural imperialism.

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson you are expected to:

 Describe the contemporary world.

 Craft one’s own working definition of globalization based on the different meaning
of globalization
 Differentiate the meaning of, globalization, globality and globalism
 Be familiarize with the dimensions and characteristics of globalization

Before reading the discussion below, choose whether to create a poster/collage,

compose and perform a song, or compose poem and deliver spoken poetry which shows
or depicts your concept of the world today. Provide a short essay of your description of
the contemporary world.

HELPFUL POINTS

Giddens (1990) points out that globalization is the intensification of worldwide social
relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events
occurring many miles and away. In a conference in 2000, Giddens explained, “globalization is
not a single set of processes and does not lead into a single direction. It produces solidarities in
some places and destroys them in others. It has quite different consequences on one side of the
world from the other. In other words, it is a wholly contradictory process. It is not just about
fragmentation. I see it more as a shake-out of institutions in which new forms of unity go along
with new forms of unity go along with new forms of fragmentation.” Wallerstein (1998) believes
that globalization is a reflection of the triumph of a capitalist world economy bonded by a global
division of labour. Khor (1995) in discussing the world politics expressed that globalization has
long been experienced by the Third World called colonization.

For Mcgrew (1990) globalization is composed of multiple sameness and

interconnectedness that go beyond nation states where individuals and organizations in one
part of the world is affected by the activities, affairs, and convictions on another part of the
globe. Holm and George (1998) described globalization as the intensification of economic,
social and cultural relations across borders. Similarly, it is the processes by which the peoples
of the world are incorporated into a single world society, global society (Albrow, 1990). Simply,
Kanter (1995) said that it is a condition where the world is becoming a global shopping mall in
which ideas and products are available everywhere at the same time.

One of the most popular definition of globalization is provided by Steger (2009) which
defined globalization as a set of social processes that appear to transform our present social
condition of weakening nationality into one of globality. It is about the unprecedented
compression of time and space as a result of political, economic and cultural change, as well as
powerful technological innovations. Manfred Steger further differentiated globalization, globality
and globalism. While globalization is a process, globality signifies a future social condition
characterized by thick economic, political and cultural interconnections and global flows that
make currently existing political borders and economic barriers irrelevant. On the other hand,
globalism means globalization as an ideology reflecting shared ideas, norms, values accepted
as truth. He adds that there are three kinds of globalism namely:

• Market globalism advocates promise a consumerist, neoliberal, free-market world. This

ideology is held by many powerful individuals, who claim it transmits democracy and
benefits everyone. However, it also reinforces inequality, and can be politically
motivated.
• Justice globalism envisages a global civil society with fairer relationships and
environmental safeguards. They disagree with market globalists who view neoliberalism
as the only way.
• Religious globalism strives for a global religious community with superiority over
secular structures.
Steger (2009) further defines globalization as the expansion and intensification of social
relations and consciousness across world-time and world space. He explained that globalization
has several dimensions:

Economic: ‘The economic dimension of globalization’ explores how the way people
have undertaken economic production has changed. The global economic order
emerged after World War II, when the Bretton Woods Conference laid the foundations
for the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. In the 1980s neoliberalism liberalized financial
transactions. However, this unstable growth led to the Great Financial Crash, where
banks traded toxic assets without regulation. Transnational corporations rival nation-
states in economic power, and have had a profound effect on the structure and function
of the global economy. The Washington Consensus was drafted to reform indebted
developing countries, but it has thus far rarely helped countries develop.

Political: The political dimension of globalization’ looks at political arrangements beyond

the nation-state. Traditional politics harboured an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality.
Contemporary globalization has led to a permeation of those borders. The modern
nation-state came into being after the Protestant Reformation, characterized by
centralized government and self-determination. The rise of organizations such as the
United Nations has threatened the nation-state, according to globalization sceptics.
However, national governments still hold significant powers. There has been a rise in the
 number of supra-territorial institutions, operating from the local level all the way to the
global level

Cultural: The cultural dimension of globalization’ explores the intensification and

expansion of cultural flows across the globe. Critics of cultural globalization claim that
the world is being homogenized or ‘Americanized’. However, advocates say that
globalization reinvigorates niche cultures instead of eliminating them. The existence of
the global imaginary is linked to the rise of global media networks. These networks are
owned by a small group of transnational corporations, which can affect journalistic
integrity. Several different hypotheses exist about the effects of language globalization.
Some say that it leads to protection of native tongues. On the other hand, some foresee
the rise of a ‘Globish’ language.

Ecological: ‘The ecological dimension of globalization’ examines the effects of global

alliances on ecological issues. There is an inexorable link between all humanity and the
planet Earth. The Industrial Revolution has caused many ecological problems, including,
resource and food shortages, overpopulation, reduced biodiversity, pollution, and climate
change. All these problems are global — the result of aggregated human action — and
require a coordinated response. However, there are still debates about the seriousness
of ecological issues, and, whilst progress has been made, few multilateral measures
have been implemented.

Furthermore Cox (1999) provides the characteristics of globalization trend:

 internationalizing of production
 globalizing of finance and securities trading
 changing international division of labor
 vast migratory movements from South to North
 competitive environment that accelerates these processes
 internationalizing of the state making states into agencies of the globalizing
world

Globalization as an Uneven Process

Do you know the story of the blind men and the elephant? This is a folktale from India that
teaches an important lesson on how different perspectives can result to various points of view—
a story that can be related to how might be able to understand globalization.

The story is set in a village where there lived six old men who were all born blind. Because of
their disability, they would only imagine what the world looks like. They also listen to the stories
of the villages to learn about things outside of their village. One of the things they were curious
about was the elephant—some say, it was a dangerous animal as it could crush forests, carry
heavy load and can frighten people with the trumpet-like sound it makes. But the blind men also
heard that the rajah’s daughter rode an elephant to travel to other places. So if it was
dangerous, why would the rajah allow his daughter to ride it?
To satisfy their curiosity, they decided to visit the Rajah to learn about the elephant. Because
they were blind, the only way for the blind men to “see” the animal was to touch it. One touched
the side of the elephant and said that the animal was smooth and solid like a wall; another
touched the trunk and said it was like a snake; another the tusk thus concluding that the
elephant was like a spear; the fourth touched one of the legs and said it was like a very large
cow; the fifth felt the ear, describing the animal as a huge fan or magic carpet; while the sixth
one touch the tail and said it was only a rope.

They started arguing with one another because each had his own image of what an elephant is
based on the part they touched. The Rajah heard them and shouted at them to stop.

“How each of you be so sure that you are right when each of you only touched one part of the
elephant which is a very big animal?” said the Rajah. “Maybe, if you add all the parts together,
you would be able to see the truth?”

Globalization is like the elephant. The “truth” of globalization is among the most contested areas
in the study of the contemporary world. The scholars who study globalization are like the blind
men. They described globalization and its effects based on “the parts they touched”.

Therefore, Steger reminds the learners and scholars alike that globalization is an uneven
process. Around the globe, people are “affected differently by the gigantic transformation” that
globalization brings. Steger also points out that being an uneven process, it is also
geographically limited. Not everyone experiences that same kind of globalization. Areas,
particularly in the Global South or what used to be termed the “Third World”, do not have the
same access to the growing global networks and infrastructures. Thus to say that globalization
is only about economics or only about culture or politics, only gives us a perspective of one part
of the phenomenon and not the entire picture of it.

ACTIVITY

1. Craft your own personal definition of globalization. Relate your definition to your outputs
about depicting the contemporary world.

REFERENCES

Albrow, Martin (1990). Globalization, Knowledge and Society. London: Sage

Giddens, Anthony (1990). The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press

Holm, Hans-Henrik and Georg Sorensen (1995) “Introduction: What Has Changed?” in Hans-
Henrik Holm and Georg Sorensen, eds., Whose World Order? Uneven Globalization and the
End of the Cold War (Boulder, CO: Westview), 1–17.
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss (1995). World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy (New
York: Simon and Schuster, as cited in J. A. Scholte, “The Globalization of World Politics”, in
J. Baylis and S. Smith (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics, An Introduction to
International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Khor, Martin (1995). "Address to the International Forum on Globalization," New York City.

Mcgrew, A. (1990). A Global Society: Modernity and its Futures as cited by Brazalote and
Leonardo (2019) The Contemporary World: Outcome-Based Module. Quezon City: C & E
Publishing Inc.

Steger, Manfred. B. (2009). Globalization: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

Wallerstein, Immanuel (1974). The Modern World-System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins
of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic Press