Introduction to

Globalization
Concepts of Globalization
Globalization???
Lorenz is a college student. He drinks Milo with his usual corned beef, Z? ??
EN
egg, and rice for breakfast every school day. While eating, he watches LOR
E
Cartoon Network on cable TV to make his morning light. Afterwards, TheO
E R V
rushes to brush his teeth using Colgate. Then, he is B
O S to go. Once
good
inside the university campus, he sends anY O U
I-am-at-school message to his
D ID he sends his "Hi" message to his
mom using his new iPhone X. Likewise,
AT Galaxy S9. More so, Lorenz and his friends
WHSamsung
special friend via his
love to wear Vans shoes and use Vans school bags. They love to hang out
in their favorite fast food store, McDonalds, and happily eat their favorite
burger, chicken nuggets, and Coke float. He talks to his dad who works in
Dubai via Skype on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday nights.
Globalization???
One can observe this trend among many middle class or elite students nowadays, especially in urban areas.
This trend is a clear indication that many Filipino lives are, in one way or another, affected by global
economic imperialism. Simply put, economic imperialism is a situation in which one nation assumes
economic power or influence over the others. Clearly, this is the age of "Westernization" and/or
"Americanization" of contemporary Filipinos, that is, Filipinos adopt ideas and behavior that are
characteristic of the West and of North America while relegating the ideas and behavior traditional in their
culture. Filipinos have become alien to Filipino products. The internet has also made the world smaller and
communication faster. As a result, the consumption of Western ideas and adoption of behavior have
become rapid and widespread. With all these happening, a person with an inquisitive mind would pose the
question. What really is globalization? Many scholars have dealt on the topic, and thus there is no single
definition of globalization.
Concepts of Globalization
● One thing is sure: Globalization is a
phenomenon. It is something that is difficult to
understand.
● Reich (1998) says that it is a term whose
meaning is obscure.
● Schottle (1995) states that "globalization
stands for quite a large public spread across
the world as one of the defining terms of the
20th century social consciousness." The term is
often distinguished more by what it is not,
rather than by what it is.
Concepts of Globalization
● Rosenau (1996) recognizes such a tendency
when he states that

“Globalization is not the same as globalism, which points

our aspirations for an end state of affairs wherein values
are shared by or pertinent to all the world's five billion
people, their environment, their roles as citizens,
consumers and producers with an interest in collective
action designed to solve common problems. Nor it is
universalism-values that embrace all humanity.”
Concepts of Globalization
● For McGrew (1990), globalization is described
as something that is comprised of multiple
sameness and interconnectedness that go
beyond the nation-states. It is a process in
which individuals and organizations in one part
of the world are affected by the activities,
affairs, and convictions on another part of the
globe.
Concepts of Globalization
● Cerny (1997) defines it as a cluster of economic
and political frameworks and procedures
deriving from the changing marks of the
interests and assets that comprise the
foundation of the international political
economy-specifically, the expanding structural
differences of those interests and assets.
● On the first decade of the 21st century, some
scholars argued that globalization is a process.
For some, it is a condition while others describe
it as an ideology.
Concepts of Globalization
● Freeden (2003) posits that globalization denotes a range of
processes nesting under one rather unwieldy epithet. In part,
its conceptual difficulty to handle or control arises from the
fact that global flows occur in different physical and mental
dimensions.
Concepts of Globalization
● Appadurai (1996) proposed five dimensions of global cultural
flow, namely
○ 'Ethnoscapes'
○ 'Technoscapes
○ 'Mediascapes'
○ 'Financescapes'
○ 'Ideoscapes.'
● These landscapes are created due to movements of people,
technologies, information through media, money and
commodities, and political ideas.
Concepts of Globalization
● For Steger (2005 & 2014a), the term globalization should be
limited to a set of intricate social processes that modify
prevailing social statuses based on the modern regime of
self-dependent nation-states. A number of scholars define
globalization as a multidimensional group of social
procedures that build, accelerate, elaborate, and intensify
worldwide interactions while, at the same time, nurturing in
people an increasing consciousness of deepening linkages
between the local and far-off.
Concepts of Globalization
● Steger (2005) uses the term globality to mean globalization
as a condition. For him, globality denotes "future social
condition characterized by thick economic, political, and
cultural interconnections and global flows that make
currently existing political borders and economic barriers
irrelevant."
● The condition that many are now experiencing is a result of
the existence of multinational and transnational companies,
international trading, economic blocks, the United Nations
(UN), the European Union (EU), and the like. Moreover,
globalization is defined as an ideology.
Concepts of Globalization
● For some, ideology is dogmatic while for others, it connotes
political sophistication. Ideology may also refer to the
dominant modes of thought (Gerring, 1997).
● Steger (2014b) defines ideology as a system of widely shared
ideas, patterned beliefs, guiding norms and values, and ideals
accepted as truth by some groups.
● An ideology is defined by core claims. Since globalization has
core claims; hence, it is an ideology.
Concepts of Globalization
● Steger (2014b) uses the term globalism to mean
globalization as an ideology. He then identifies five core
claims of globalism.
○ first, globalization is about the liberalization and global
integration of markets;
○ second, globalization is inevitable and irreversible;
○ third, nobody is in charge of globalization;
○ fourth, globalization benefits everyone; and
○ fifth, globalization furthers the spread of democracy in
the world.
Concepts of Globalization
● Globalization is also defined differently depending on
someone else's expertise, experience, and perspective.
● For a political scientist, globalization serves as a
challenge to nation-states. The strengthening of regional
blocks like EU, Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), and the UN is gaining a stable ground.
● Similarly, the emergence of global political norms is
evident-for instance, the norm that each country is
entitled to the exploitation of human natural resources
for its own growth (Giensen & Pijl, 2006).
Concepts of Globalization
● For an economist, globalization means increase of free trade,
speed of trade, global economic organization, and regional
trade blocks.
● The expansion of free trade allows governments not to
restrict the importation of products nor impede the export of
local products. Importing and exporting are done in just a
millisecond through technology and the internet.
● There is also the intense establishment of economic
organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
World Bank (WB), World Trade Organization (WTO),
International Labor Organization (ILO), European Free Trade
Area (EFTA),
Concepts of Globalization
● For culture and communications experts, globalization
refers to the concept of a global village.
● Through globalization, the world has become a borderless
world.
● Communication technology makes the world shrink.
● McLuhan (1964) believes that media has connected the
world in ways that created a global village.
● Global village was McLuhan's ideal in the 1960s that has
become a reality during the later part of the century.
Concepts of Globalization
● Globalization is referred to as cultural imperialism.
● It is the conviction that there is a "better" culture.
● Some cultures see other cultures as superior to theirs,
forming inferior or nondominant cultures.
● In cultural globalization, therefore, the spread of popular
culture (e.g ., music, art, literature, fashion, lifestyle, etc.)
flows from dominant to nondominant cultures (i.e ., from
developed to developing nations).
What really is Globalization?
★ From the various competing conceptions of globalization,
there is now a need to come up with a working definition.
★ It must be a definition that is academic and non-biased as
opposed to popular definitions.
★ Likewise, it must not be a definition from the neoliberal
organizations.
★ It must be grounded on an interdisciplinary approach that
transcends disciplinary boundaries
Globalization
● One objective working definition is that of Steger's (2013):
"Globalization refers to the expansion and intensification of
social relations and consciousness across world-time and
world-space."
● From this definition, four attributes of globalization can be
drawn.
Globalization
● First, globalization has various forms of connectivity such that it can be economic, political, or
cultural.
● These forms, enabled by various factors, pressures, or media, affect different degrees of
interconnection.
● To illustrate, a Filipino minimum wage earner may suffer from a slight price hike of basic
commodities while his neighbor who earns above the minimum might not be affected by the said
increase.
● This adjustment in prices of commodities can be caused by national and international economic and
political events.
Globalization
● Second, globalization allows for the expansion and stretching of social relations.
● These can be observed in the existence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate in
the local, regional, and international setting.
● For instance, the Philippine National Red Cross is an affiliate of the International Committee of the
Red Cross, a humanitarian institution based in Switzerland.
● Social relations can also be seen in the establishment of sister-city relationships such as the
cooperation between Cebu City and Haarlemmermeer City of the Netherlands.
● In addition, social relations manifest in the establishment of government associations and presence
of multinational companies in the Philippines.
Globalization
● Third, globalization intensifies and accelerates social exchanges and activities.
● Live telecast and the shift from snail mail to email and social media are proofs of this attribute.
● In the early 1990s, some Filipinos could watch international television shows only a week after the
episode aired.
● But now, cable TV and internet live streaming allow Filipinos to watch shows as soon as they are
released.
● More so, mail can be sent instantly unlike the mail courier-delivered letters of the 1980s.
Globalization
● Fourth, globalization occurs worldwide.
● Every person is a global citizen because he or she thinks about the issues of the world. Europeans
and Americans used #prayformarawi in social media to show their concern for the victims of the
Marawi City siege in May 2017.
● Another instance is when teenagers associate themselves with global trends like K-Pop. They imitate
the way their K-Pop idols dress up, dance, and even talk.
● Global citizens also assume a sense of responsibility in global matters. One good example is the
participation of global citizens in Earth Hour every 3rd Sunday of March and the expression of
concern from the international community for the alleged human rights violations of the current
administration in the Philippines.
Globalization
★ Globalization may be defined and conceptualized from different lenses, but an interdisciplinary
definition is necessary.
★ Some scholars consider it as a process, a condition, or an ideology.
★ Experts from different fields of social sciences also define globalization based on their specialization
or expertise.
★ But a working definition has to encompass all definitions of and notions about globalization.
★ Steger's definition, for the purpose of this module, is the most unbiased working
definition.