LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION

THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

The concept contemporary world is a composite of the terms "contemporary" and "world" World
generally means the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples (or a particular region or group
of countries) including the human and social interactions happening in it. The adjective contemporary
denotes belonging to or occurring in the present, or living or occurring at the same time or at the time.

The contemporary world thus refers to our world with the circumstances and ideas of the present age,
as in the phrase "in modern times like these". It is sometimes used interchangeably with modern times,
modern world, and present times. The concept also denotes a more or less definite period of time now
or previously present, and the things happening, existing, living, or coming into being in that period of
time.

The term contemporary can be confusing due to its slightly different meanings. Before the 20th century,
it referred only to things from the same era as any other things. For example, Islam's Muhammad was
contemporary with Catholic Pope Gregory the Great. In today's use however, the term contemporary
usually means simply "modern," "new" or "current," as the term is marked by characteristics of the
present period.

GLOBALIZATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

One of the distinctions of the so-called contemporary world is the presence of globalization with its very
profound concept and the complex ideas that goes with it. In fact, globalization is one of the main
reasons the contemporary world is an ever-changing mix of social, cultural, and political changes.

Globalization has remarkable irrefutable effects on almost all spheres of the contemporary world as it
brings about flow of goods, capital, people, ideas, and technology. The globalized socio-economic and
geopolitical patterns expedite transnational activities across the borders of nation-states in this
contemporary world.

Figuratively speaking, globalization is responsible for the shrinking of the contemporary world. On the
other hand, it allows the increased consciousness of the modern world as a whole. In a broad sense,
globalization defines the changes in contemporary societies and the current world economy that is
largely influenced by heightened cross-border trades, investments, and cultural exchanges.

GLOBALIZATION: AN INTRODUCTION

Globalization (or globalisation) is an umbrella term denoting the growing modern interconnectedness of
nations, people, and markets. It also refers to the process of interaction and integration among
companies and governments worldwide. Globalization is a convergence made possible, and probably
inescapable, by advances in transportation and communications technology that led to the development
of global communications networks.

Globalization is principally an economic process of interaction and integration. The development of

immensely profitable transnational corporations, the birth of the brand, and the development of a
global market place for goods and services are now seen as both the causes and effects of globalization.
Moreover, increasing intergovernmental cooperation and the growth of influential non-governmental
organizations largely affect globalization and vice versa.

With amplified global interactions come the growth of international trade and ideas and even the
commodification of culture into intellectual property. Globalization is thus linked with social and cultural
changes. Relatedly, conflicts and diplomacy are also perpetual parts of the history of globalization.

CONCEPTS AND IDEAS ASSOCIATED WITH GLOBALIZATION

The following are some of the most significant ideas that are related to the concept of globalization:

Free Trade

Promoted by globalization, free trade is an international trade left to its natural course, that is, without
tariffs, quotas, or other restrictions. It is a principle or policy to remove discrimination against imports
and exports. In a free trade, buyers and sellers from various economies may voluntarily trade without
any government sanctioning tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions on services and goods.
The swift pace of globalization is largely due to policies which are aimed at achieving macroeconomic
benefits. Examples of such policies are those which favor free trade such as those which forbid trade
protectionism and economic isolationism, allow more direct foreign investment, lower or remove tariffs,
and permit foreign access to capital markets.

Mass Media

Mass media may be the strongest (though the most debatable) indirect agent of socialization in the
contemporary globalized world. They put across to us lot of ideas and mannerisms from various parts of
the world without having any kind of direct interpersonal communication. They influence our lives to a
great extent as we tend to learn a lot from international newspapers, magazines, radio, Internet, and
television.

The mass media play a key role in augmenting globalization as they facilitate cultural exchanges and
several flows of information and images, among countries through international news broadcasts,
television programs, new technologies, film. and music. Once relatively national in scope, most
communications media have become progressively global, ranging their scope beyond the nation-state
to acquire audiences worldwide. Global flows of information have been aided by the development of
worldwide capitalism, new technologies, and the growing commercialization of global television, which
has transpired as a result of the deregulation policies adopted by different countries in the United States
and Europe in order to allow the spread of cable and satellite channels.

Technology and Internet

Technology has enabled globalization. Since the turn of the 20th century, there have been international
market integration and widespread cultural exchange. Much of what is distinct about present-day
globalization can be traced to technological innovations.

Today, two cultures do not have to engage in direct contact with each other to allow diffusion or
transferring of cultural elements. Technologies such as the Internet have wiped out the physical borders
for "getting in touch" with other cultures. Now, people just have to operate modern devices, especially
those powered by the Internet, to reach any place in the world, explore its culture, comprehend it, and
if like, borrow its cultural traits.

The 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study in the Philippines reported that the deregulation of
the telecommunication industry in 1995, following the passage of Republic Act 7925 (Public
Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines), paved the way for the rapid development of
information and communication technology in the country. Today, cellular phones have become the
most common communication technology tool for every Filipino, especially that modern cellphones are
now Internet-compatible.

The Internet provides a means to establish relationships without face-to-face contact, referred to as
virtual friends and online business clients. It is now common that people, because of being Internet
users, have online or virtual friends and customers, Le., those they have not met personally.

People have been socialized into relying on new communications technologies not just in industrial
nations but also in Africa and other developing areas like the Philippines. Not long ago, if Juan Dela Cruz,
for instance, wanted to personally see his mother, he had to make a two-day trip from New York where
he works by plane and bus to the rural town in La Union where he was born. Now, both he and his
mother have access to a cell phone or Internet, and they simply send text messages to each other daily
or video chat. Juan and his mother are now not atypical. Although cell phones are not cheap, millions of
owners in developing countries have come to consider them a necessity. Today, there are more cell
phones in developing nations than in industrial nations-the first time in history that developing nations
have outpaced the developed world in the adoption of a telecommunications technology (Sullivan,
2006).

Moreover, technological revolution has created a new economy in which the world is a single market
and a new social order in which people play a part in a global culture and economy that is more inclusive
and flexible. The new economy is characterized by (a) globally integrated production, (b) specialized but
interdependent labor markets, (c) the privatization of state assets, and (d) new technological linkages
(phones, the Internet, online markets) that transcend national borders.

Indeed, the Internet has internationalized capital markets. Real-time communications (through phone
and the Internet) have made possible the export of service jobs (e.g., call centers), smoother cultural
diffusion, and social and economic relations across national boundaries. The Internet has allowed
worldwide access to news and has spread both political thoughts and better consumer knowledge.

The Social Media and Social Networking

Social media are computer-and-Internet-mediated tools that allow people to generate, share, and
exchange information, pictures, and videos in virtual communities and networks. As such, it includes all
Internet-based applications that allow the formation and interchange of user-generated content.
Moreover, "social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive
platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-
generated content" ("Social Media," n.d.).
Unlike traditional or industrial media, social media operate in a "dialogic transmission system," that is, in
a "many sources to many receivers" manner. Additionally, they are comparatively inexpensive and
accessible, as they enable anybody, even private persons, to access and broadcast information.

Forms of social media include Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging. wikis, podcasts,
photograph-sharing platforms (e.g. Instagram), video-sharing platforms (e.g., YouTube), online
magazines (e.g.. OurHappyschool.com), and social bookmarking. "Technologies include blogging,
picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-posting. music-sharing, crowd sourcing and voice over IP, to name a few"
("Social Media," n.d.). Social networking is a famous form of social media and an integration of the
various social media platforms.

Social networking refers to "the use of dedicated websites and applications to interact with other users,
or to find people with similar interests to oneself" (Social networking. 2009). A social network is "an
online community of people with a common interest who use a website or other technologies to
communicate with each other and share information, resources, etc." ("Network," 2008).

An example of a social media and social networking site is the Facebook which has attained over one
billion active users from around the world since 2012. Because of modern technologies and social media
applications, the world has become one giant

social network where people can learn, play games, or work with anyone, anywhere. It has become
impossible for the corporate world, governments, and other industries to disregard social media with its
millions of users around the world. These institutions have had to join social media networks to keep in
a loop in activities happening with their citizens and globally. The greatest beneficiary of heightened
increase in social media activities is globalization which implicates interchanging of ideas and cultures.

For instance, the industrial growth of Western economies has been a great beneficiary of social media.
The industries that are placed in Europe and America have had an opportunity to conduct market
research through social media on the regions they can present their products. Previously, it was costly to
conduct surveys in various countries as physical man power was needed. However, it has become
possible for industries to do this research through social networks. Using social media and social
networks, companies have been able to reach new markets with ease. Business firms have also had an
opportunity to get knowledge on the cheapest sources of raw materials and labor and discover efficient
ways of production.

The Pros and Cons of Social Media. For being relatively more accessible and cheaper, social media has
been becoming the main source of news for more and more people in the world. Nonetheless, criticisms
of social media include disparity or inconsistency of the information offered in various social media sites
and issues with reliability of the sources of posted materials.

In commerce, mobile social media applications incite a rising trend in the popularity and accessibility of
buying online (e-commerce), thereby generating new types of jobs. Social media have also provided a
venue where people, both consumers and produces, are free to exchange ideas on products and
services. However, these open platforms can work both ways, as they can be used as launching pads of
viral yet deceitful propagandas for or against a company.

Sociologically, social media are effectively utilized to explore things and places, document memories,
advertise oneself, build reputation, create friendships, and even bring in career opportunities. However,
some people who use social media to fulfill certain social needs are said to be unfortunately
disappointed. "Lonely individuals are drawn to the Internet for emotional support... [but] it interferes
with 'real life socializing... Social media provides more breadth, but not the depth of relationships that
humans require" ("Social Media," n.d.).

Using social media also has an effect on social skills because of the absence of face to-face contact. In
fact, it is believed that they could affect the mental health, especially of teens. "Teens who use
Facebook frequently...may become more narcissistic, antisocial, and aggressive. Teens become strongly
influenced by advertising, and it influences buying habits for the future" ("Social Media," n.d.). These
therefore call for

a responsible, wise, controlled, and guided use of the social media. In relation to children, using social
media promotes socialization, learning, and creativity as it helps them with class requirements and
enables them to stay connected with classmates and peers. On the other hand, social media may also
expose children to cyber-bullying, online sexual predation, alcohol, tobacco, and sexual behaviors.

As regards social, cultural, and political change, social media and social networking can shape people's
opinions on crucial issues and involve them in cause-oriented activities and even in radical campaigns.
Case in point, the people in Egypt used Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in 2011 as means to
communicate and orchestrate various protests and rallies which eventually overthrew President Hosni
Mubarak.
Transnational Migration

Since the late 20th century, the rise of globalization has changed the concept of migration.
Improvements in transportation, communication, and financial systems have made it easier for people
to migrate to work in another country but still provide

for their families by sending or remitting their earnings back to their home country. Transnational
migration refers to the phenomenon in which people migrate from one country to another for the
purpose of temporary labor, in which they simultaneously participate in social connections in multiple
nations. Transnational migrants are also called foreign laborer, guest worker, and expatriate.

Transnational migrants find themselves redefining the notion of citizenship-they are residents and parts
of the labor force of one country, but are citizens and sources of capital of another. In a sense,
therefore, they inhabit two distinct spatial locations.

Psychologically, they possess a multiple-contextual view of self. They maintain a sense of self, which is
inherently oriented to their place of origin, as well as a sense of self in the location to which they
migrate. Sociologically, they are exposed to various values, belies, rituals, and customs of more than one
cultures.

In the Philippines, a remarkable increase in labor migration has generated a large population of Filipino
families with a member who is a transnational migrant. There is a special term being used for Filipino
transnational migrants-they are usually referred to as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Capitalism is an
economic and political system in which the industry and trade are

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic and political system in which the industry and trade are controlled not by the
state but by private owners for profit. It is an economic system which recognizes private property rights.

Both globalization and capitalism essentially advocate free exchange of goods and services. Capitalism
benefits from global trades and global labor and globalization is upheld (and even financed) by
international capitalists: Capitalism aims to produce more products and services for low cost and sell as
much as possible and globalization helps feed this need of capitalism. For instance, through
globalization, a Western capitalist enterprise can have access to cheap labor in Asian countries as well as
to the large consumer market in the region. Arguably, capitalism and globalization feed on each other.

Capitalism is said to be born when the credit system was incorporated into the monetary economy. As
monetary systems became more complex with the growing interconnectivity among countries,
capitalism has been seen as one of the various manifestations of globalization. Globalization's principle
of eradicating restrictions on trade gives a boost to capitalists' corporations to flourish.

German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883) prophesied the demise of state supported capitalism. He
proposed communism as ultimately the next evolutionary stage for human cultures. Capitalism, for
Marx, has the tendency to concentrate income and wealth in ever fewer hands which would bring about
more and more severe crises of excess output and rising unemployment.

Terrorism

Terrorism is politically oriented violence or threat of violence. It undoubtedly causes change in society as
it involves the purposeful creation and exploitation of fear for bringing about socio-political change.
Terrorism has transpired throughout history for an assortment of reasons. Its causes can be social,
cultural, political, historical, psychological, economic, or religious-or any combination of these.

Some see correlation among (a) remarkable advances in technology and communication, (b) the ever
increasing pace of globalization, and (c) the rise of terrorism. Certain views assert that globalization may
be one of the key causes of the spread of terrorism because it aids terrorist groups to dispense their
literature and impose their visions on like-minded people in various parts of the world which has
become a global village. On the other hand, some views state that terrorism is increasing not because of
globalization but because some people are excluded from globalization. Either way, globalization is seen
as related to terrorism.

International Organizations

International organization refers to membership group that functions across national borders for well-
defined purposes. They are practical organizations through which vital international issues are
addressed.
Historically, through international organizations, issues on international mail service and control of
traffic on European rivers were managed. Moreover, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)-
an international organization-helped nations agree on a treaty to stop manufacturing ozone-destroying
chemicals. The World Health Organization (WHO), helped nations to focus attention on acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as a global crisis. International organizations fall into two basic
categories: (1) the intergovernmental organizations and (2) the international nongovernmental
organizations.

State's Sovereignty

Another problem with globalization is that states are in effect increasingly losing their sovereignty.
Sovereignty refers to the full power and right of a governing body over itself, without any intrusion from
outside bodies or sources. In a globalized world however, organizations such as the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO) are said to virtually take over
the states' traditional functions. For example, the World Bank and the IMF usually prescribe dislikeable
neoliberal policies such as currency devaluation, subsidy removal, and the privatization of strategic
public enterprise as conditions for granting loans to financially distraught states.

The disastrous repercussion of this is that elected local leaders cede their prerogative over economic
management to unelected officials of international organizations. This scenario generated by
globalization is thus seen as morally condemnable intrusiveness of international economic
organizations, characterized by lack of accountability to the people openly affected by their policies and
the tendency to impose agonizing conditions on indebted governments.

Ethics

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that studies morality or the rightness or wrongness of human conduct.
It is fundamentally related to morality which speaks of a code or system of behavior in regards to
standards of right or wrong behavior. Globalization and its effects have ethical implications and they do
pose some moral challenges.

One criticism against the presently unfolding neoliberal globalization in globalization is that it
concentrates wealth in the hands of a few, leaving the majority in the condition of poverty. While
advocates of globalization paint a pretty picture of a globalized world marked by the spread of liberal
democracy, prosperity, and peace, globalization is said to have actually caused radical inequality, a
deepening of exclusions brought about by inequalities that present the world to be a fragmented space
where some benefit at the expense of others. Critics thus describe globalization as a process driven by
progressive capitalist countries to perpetuate their economic and political domination.

Filipino Philosophy professor Jensen DG. Mañebog explains that the fact that globalization and the
propagation of the laissez-faire capitalism deepen the inequalities within and between nations is
ethically condemnable from both the consequentialist and deontological standpoints. From the
consequentialist viewpoint, the moral argument against globalization is that it fails to maximize
happiness for the greatest number of people. From a deontological perspective, particularly in Kantian
ethics, globalization is condemnable on the account that exploited populations are treated as means to
an end and not as end in themselves (For detailed discussions on the ethical implications of
globalization, read the Appendix A: "Globalization and Pluralism: New Challenges to Ethics" by Jensen
DG. Mañebog).

A CONCEPT MAP OF GLOBALIZATION

A concept map or mind map is a thinking technique used to visually organize information ("Mind map,"
n.d.). It is a creative and logical way of organizing thoughts and ideas in one's mind through a diagram.
Mind map was popularized by English author and educational consultant Tony Buzan (born 1942).

Usually, a concept map revolves around a central subject. Major ideas in the form of images and/or
words branch out from the main subject. Texts, lines, colors, images, and symbols may be used to make
mind maps. Concept maps can be simply done by manual drawing or sketching or it can be created
through more intricate processes using computer applications.

LESSON 2: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF GLOBALIZATION

Manfred Steger, professor of Global Studies and director of the Globalism Institute at Royal Melbourne
Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, explains that globalization is not a new phenomenon as it
started with pre-historic early human migration (Steger, 2014). For him, what has been taking place
from 1980 onwards is no longer globalization per se but rather the expansion of globalization to a point
of "convergence".
THE PARABLE OF THE BLIND MEN AND AN ELEPHANT

Steger compares the contemporary study of globalization to the parable of the blind men and their first
encounter with an elephant. The parable has a number of Indian variations, but generally goes as
follows:

Some blind men heard that an odd animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none
of them were aware of its form and shape. Out of curiosity, they thus agreed that they should examine
and know it by p touch, of which they were capable. And so, they sought it out, and groped about it
when they found it. For the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, the elephant, seemed like a
thick snake. In the case of the second whose hand reached its ear, the animal appeared like a kind of
fan. As for the third blind, whose hand was upon its leg, expressed, the elephant is a pillar like a tree
trunk. The fourth blind man who placed his hand upon its side assumed that elephant is a wall. The fifth
who felt its tail claimed that it as a rope. The sixth felt its tusk, describing the elephant as that which is
hard, smooth, and like a spear.

The Parable of Blind Men and the Elephant is used today as a warning for people that endorse absolute
truth or exclusive claims on a subject matter. The reason for the warning is that a person with an
incomplete grasp of truth cannot turn that into the one and only version of all reality. Indeed, our held
knowledge of something may just be a limited perspective on the objective truth.

Steger claims that similar to the blind men, some globalization scholars are too focused on compressing
globalization into a singular process and clash over which aspect of social life constitutes its primary
domain and prevails. He admits that globalization is a contested concept.

COMPETING CONCEPTIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

Perhaps the most common conception concerning globalization is the position that this process and
phenomenon is inevitable, acceptable, and generally favorable. Especially among capitalists and
superpower nations, globalization is nothing but beneficial and should thus be accepted and promoted.

But not everyone welcomes this contemporary world phenomenon. There are those who state that
globalization is "globaloney," that is, a nonsensical or absurd idea or talk on global issues. Steger reports
that there are scholars who dismiss the concept for different reasons and to varying degrees (Steger,
2014):
Rejectionists

In this camp, scholars perceive globalization as a "power word," like "nationalism" and "development".
For them, power words like globalization explain everything and nothing; they are mere labels slapped
on everything but never a tool of analysis.,

According to Steger, supporters of globalization can adopt either of the two possible retorts to this
position. Either they can try to demonstrate its utility through empirical studies, or, as Steger proposes,
they can study the ideologies linked to the term globalization. These responses entail that the very
existence of the term 'globalization' generates its own reality, and this reality can be studied irrespective
of whether or not the concept itself is meaningful.

Skeptics

Skeptic scholars point out that even if the term globalization is meaningful, it is nonetheless not
significant at all. They claim, for instance, that most trades remain national in scope.

Some promoters of globalization respond to this by pointing out that there could be a vital structure of
power relations connected to international trade, so that even if the trade itself was not huge, it could
still have extensive effects. For instance, most of the trades in the United States may be intra-state, but
the national government and the national structuring of inter-state trade are massively significant.

Modifiers

These so-called modifiers consider globalization as simply one of many similar phases in history. They
thus conclude that the phenomenon should be viewed not as a distinctive affair but merely one moment
in a more general theory of world history. Some pro-globalization reply to this criticism by pronouncing
that our contemporary situation is exceptional in history, and that this distinctiveness is much more
significant than this period's commonalities with other periods or placement within an inclusive
historical theory.

FOUR MAIN DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION

Steger contends that globalization has four main dimensions: (1) economic, (2) political, (3) cultural, and
(4) ecological, with ideological aspects of each category. These categories relate to four major domains
of social life. Each of these dimensions is considered a conception of globalization. Within each
dimension, there are also various competing conceptions of globalization.

The Economic Dimension of Globalization

Economic globalization refers to the intensification, increase, and stretching of economic connections
around the world. With globalization in economy emerged massive transnational corporations, powerful
international economic institutions, and large regional trading systems. Thus, at least four things mark
economic globalization:

1. The Advent of a New Global Economic Order. This contemporary global economic order arose after
the Second World War, when the Bretton Woods Conference laid the foundations for the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO). The Bretton Woods
Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the meeting
of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, located in Bretton Woods,
New Hampshire, United States, from July. 1-22, 1944. The gathering regulated the international
monetary and financial order after the conclusion of World War Il and established the International
Bank. for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the IMF.

Steger explains that the economic dimension of globalization is dominated by neoliberal capitalism, a
brand of capitalism that compatibly favors neoliberalism. As a policy model of economics, neoliberalism
transfers control of economic factors to the private sector from the public sector. It promotes, among
other things, that governments must limit subsidies, limit protectionism, open markets up to trade. It
also aims to eliminate fixed exchange rates, support deregulation, allow private property, and privatize
businesses run by the government. Neoliberalism is usually associated with laissez-faire, an economic
policy that advocates a least amount of state interference in the economic concerns of individuals and
society.

Neoliberalism liberalized financial transactions in the 1980s. Since then, the most noteworthy economic
developments have been the growing power of transnational corporations, the internationalization of
finance and trade, and greater role of international economic institutions. However, history admits
some major global economic setbacks such as the Great Recession of 2008 to 2010, the more recent
European debt crises, and China's economic slowdown.

2. The Internationalization of Trade and Finance. Free trade advocates hope that eradicating trade
barriers among nations will lead to growth in global wealth, achieve international relations, and
disseminate new technologies around the world. Globalization in financial trading is said to have caused
increased mobility among various parts of financial industry, with less restraints and more investment
opportunities. Since the 1990s, liberalization of financial transactions has been speeded up by Internet-
based technologies and satellite systems.

3. The Increased Power of Transnational Corporations. In the contemporary globalized world, much of
the world's investment capital, technology, and access to international markets have become under the
control of transnational corporations. These transnational corporations have become a great rival to
nation-states in their economic power.

4. The Enhanced Role of International Economic Institutions. Today, one cannot doubt that huge
international economic institutions such as IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO play essential roles in
making rules of a global economy. This type of economy is now sustained in the global North and South.
(The so-called Global South is made up of Africa, Latin America, and developing Asia including the
Middle East. The Global North includes all the members of the G8 and the four of the five permanent
members of the United Nations Security Council.)

In addition, some claim that economic globalization is characterized by the Western-based transnational
corporations running the globe to their own advantage especially under neoliberal capitalism.
Globalization is marked by its confidence in free markets and emphasis on minimal state intervention.

THE POLITICAL DIMENSION OF GLOBALIZATION

Steger (2017) defines political globalization as the intensification and expansion of political interrelations
around the world. The political dimension of globalization includes aspects such as the modern nation-
state system and its evolving role in today's world, effects of globalization to state sovereignty, role of
global governance, growing impact of intergovernmental organizations, direction of the global political
systems, global migration flows, and environmental policies affecting our planet. Steger admits that
these themes respond to the development of political arrangements beyond the framework of the
nation-state.

On the question whether the major causes behind globalization are mainly political or economic in
origin, hyperglobalizers and globalization sceptics have contrasting opinions. Hyperglobalizers believe
that political globalization is principally driven by economic and technologic forces. Politics is said to be
rendered practically powerless by an overpowering techno-economic juggernaut (ie., a huge, powerful,
and overwhelming force or institution) that is said to crush all governmental efforts to reestablish
restrictive policies and regulations. Hyperglobalizers contend that globalization encompasses the waning
of bounded territory (a decrease in territorial boundaries) and states losing control of things within their
borders.

Globalization sceptics totally disagree and explain that the hasty expansion of global economic activities
is reducible neither to market principles nor to the advancement of computer technology. Politics is said
to be the main factor that pushes forward globalization as it is alleged to originate with neoliberal
governments' political decisions to remove international trade restrictions on capital. It is claimed that
when these decisions were effected, global markets and new technologies emerged. Sceptics hold that
territory does matter, so they advocate the operation of conventional political units in the form of global
cities or modern nation-states.

In sum, Steger seems to imply that the political effects of globalization include nation-states indeed
losing their dominant role to transnational corporations, though in return sanctioning immigration
controls to counter a progressively borderless world. Immigration denotes the action of coming to live
permanently in a foreign country. Nation-state refers to a political unit consisting of a self-governing
sovereign state which is inhabited by subjects or citizens who share a common culture, history, and
language.

In a nation-state, the government has central control over its territory, ideally speaking. Dimensions of
the nation-state thus include (a) central political organization which exercises control over bounded
territory, and a monopoly on the use of violence to enforce order and compliance with the law within
the national territory, and to defend the state against external aggression; (b) independence and
sovereignty; (c) diplomatic representation to other nation-states; and a sense of shared history,
language, culture, and identity among the citizens.

Modern nation-state's beginnings can be traced back to 1648, the Peace of Westphalia which ended
religious wars among the leading European powers. That Peace allowed centralization of political power
and development of professional diplomacy and state administration. With the progress of globalization
during the 1970s, the international society of independent states had become a global web of political
interdependencies which challenged the sovereignty of nation-states. In 1990, US President Bush
proclaimed the birth of a "new world order" which signaled the death of the Westphalia nation-state
model.

Indeed, there are reasons to believe that in a globalized world, power becomes less and less located in
territorially based nation-states, but in global social formations, networks, and transnational
corporations. For instance, one can see how vulnerable nation-states have become at not having any
practical control over exchange rates, thereby becoming unable to protect their currency as they are
necessitated to depend on decisions made by others.
Globalization seems to weaken bounded territory and cause the upsurge of a borderless world. Political
affairs appear to occur in global networks and no longer in states based on territory. As a consequence
of globalization, states's role in defining the direction of social life in their own territory becomes
weaker. Global markets enforce their own standards which challenges the role of governments to set
national policy objectives. As the sovereignty of nation-states decreases, contemporary globalization
also weakens the traditional boundaries of states and strengthens supraterritorial spaces.

Furthermore, political globalization results in the rise of supraterritorial institutions and relatedly seems
to create dramatic global governance. Some less optimistic scholars nonetheless contend that creation
of a global democracy is just an abstract idealism and that some nation-states will eventually not accept
this global democracy.

THE CULTURAL DIMENSION OF GLOBALIZATION

Cultural globalization is the intensification and expansion of cultural flows across the globe. Culture is a
very extensive concept and often used to describe the whole of human experience, including the
economic and political. In the discussion on globalization, however, Steger means it to refer to "the
symbolic construction, articulation, and dissemination of meaning. Given that language, music, and
images constitute the major forms of symbolic expression, they assume special significance in the
sphere of culture" (2017, para. 1).

A perceptible aspect of the cultural globalization is the flow of some cuisines such as American fast food
chains. The two most successful global food and beverage outlets, McDonald's and Starbucks, are
American companies repeatedly named as examples of globalization, with over 37,000 and 29,000
locations operating worldwide, respectively as of 2018 (Statistita, n.d). Thus, American sociologist
George Ritzer (born 1940) developed the term McDonaldization to refer to the principles of the fast
food restaurant coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of
the world.

The most common interpretations of cultural globalization are the thoughts that the world is becoming
more uniform and standardized, through a technological, commercial, and cultural synchronization
proceeding from the West. More and more sociologists are nonetheless arguing against this thesis.

Some topics under the cultural dimension of globalization include (a) the development of a global
culture (or lack thereof). (b) the role of the media in forming our desires and identities, and (c) the
globalization of languages.
The development of a global culture (or lack thereof) pertains to the tension between sameness and
difference in the emerging global culture. There is the debate on whether there is an increasing
homogeneity (ie., the world is becoming smaller, and we are all becoming more alike) or increasing
heterogeneity (ie., the world is fragmenting, and we are emphasizing our difference more).

Some claim that globalization all the more reinvigorates niche cultures instead of abolishing them,
thereby increasing cultural heterogeneity. However, pessimistic hyperglobalizers argue that
globalization causes the rise of a homogenized popular culture which is generally based on a Western
culture industry. For them, cultural globalization is best seen as cultural imperialism" which, is typically
moving towards "Americanization" of the world. The diversity of existing cultures is said to be
diminishing as the world is being homogenized or "Americanized" despite the resistance of some
countries.

Optimistic hyperglobalizers agree with the rise of sameness in cultural globalization, but they positively
believe that it will have good results. For instance, some of them hope that Americanization of the globe
leads to spreading out of democracy and free markets.

UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHIES AND IDEOLOGIES IN GLOBALIZATION

Ideology is usually defined as a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of
economic or political theory and policy. Steger expanded this meaning by defining ideologies as
"patterned clusters of normatively-imbued ideas and concepts, including particular representations of
power relations, carrying claims to social truth (2017).

-as, for example, expressed in liberalism, conservatism, and socialism" As a system of commonly shared
beliefs, ideas, norms, and values among a group I of people, ideology is frequently used to legitimize
some political interests or to justify prevailing power structures. Ideology links certain human actions
with some generalized claims.

There is a need to make a distinction between globalization and globalism. Globalization is a social
process of intensifying global interdependence, while globalism is an ideology that endows a concept of
globalization with certain values or values. For instance, as an operation or planning of economic and
foreign policy on a global basis, globalism may give the concept of neoliberal values and meanings to
globalization.
Like all social processes, globalization functions on a cross-cutting deological dimension packed with
beliefs, claims, accounts, and norms, about the phenomenon itself. Steger (2017) mentions three main
types of globalisms or ideologies that provide the concept of globalization with certain meanings and
values and meanings: market globalism, justice globalism, and religious (or jihadist) globalisms.

MARKET GLOBALISM

Market globalism pursues to grant globalization with neoliberal meanings and free-market norms.
Market globalists promise a consumerist, neoliberal, free-market world. This ideology is advocated by
some powerful individuals, who claim, among other things, that globalism spreads democracy and
benefits everybody. Steger considers market globalism the dominant ideology of our time, and believes

that it has six major ideological claims: 1. Globalization is about the liberalization and global integration
of markets.Market globalists seem to suggest that the actual results of market interactions are neither
intended nor foreseen, but are the upshots of the workings of what Scottish economist and philosopher
Adam Smith (1723-1790) popularly called the invisible hand, that is, the unobservable market force that
is said to help the demand and supply of goods in a free market to attain equilibrium automatically).

2. Globalization is inevitable and irreversible.It is held that the diffusion of market forces powered by
technological advances is unavoidable and irrevocable in globalization. Neoliberals and market globalists
employ this assertion to persuade people to adopt the natural discipline of the market if they want to
succeed, which entails the removal of government controls over the markets. In other words, they claim
that global integration of markets should be submissively accepted and yet should be aggressively
pursued.

3. Nobody is in charge of globalization. As former US Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business,
and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats said, "The great beauty of globalization is that no one is in
control. The great beauty of globalization is that it is not controlled by any individual, any government,
any institution" (Steger, 2017). It is claimed that everything that works on disseminating new world
order principles and neoliberal principles have been severely rooted in ancient history. This claim aims
to neutralize antiglobalist movements and depoliticize the public debate on globalization.

4. Globalization benefits everyone. Market globalists try to sell globalization as a source of hope for the
future. They talk about its advantages like the increasingly rapid dissemination of information,
technological innovations, and the proliferation of skilled jobs. One comment against this, however, is
that the opportunities of globalization are spread unequally and that wealth and power are
concentrated among a particular group of people, regions, and corporations.
5. Globalization furthers the spread of democracy in the world. Democracy is derived from the ancient
Greek term demokratia which means "rule of the people". It is commonly defined as a form of
government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by
their elected agents under a free electoral system. The market globalists' claim that globalization
furthers the spread of democracy in the world is based on the neoliberal contention that democracy is
synonymous with freedom, free markets, and free trade. However, some scholars believe otherwise and
argue that globalization even poses a threat to the democratic state instead of aiding its expansion. For
them, globalization even weakens the vital requirements of state autonomy, patriotism, and national
identity.

6. Globalization requires war on terror. This claim combines the concept of economic globalization with
militaristic and nationalistic ideas associated with the American-led global War on Terror. This
nonetheless creates some logical contradictions. For instance, the globalists' dependence on the
coercive powers of the state to protect their project logically contradicts both their idea of the "self-
regulating market" and their claim of globalization's historical "inevitability".

JUSTICE GLOBALISM

Justice globalism upholds an alternative vision of globalization based on egalitarian ideals of global
solidarity and distributive justice. This ideology from the political Left contests market globalism.
Political Left or Left-wing politics is that which supports social equality and egalitarianism and usually in
opposition to social hierarchy.

Justice globalism's critique of market globalism includes the claim that "liberalization and global
integration of free markets lead to greater social inequalities, environmental destruction, the escalation
of global conflicts and violence, the weakening of participatory forms of democracy, the proliferation of
self-interest and consumerism, and the further marginalization of the powerless around the world"
(Steger, 2017).

Justice globalists admit that globalization may be inevitable, but assert that its final form and character
can and must be shaped by intentional policies that highlight egalitarian principles. They envision a
global civil society with fairer relationships and ecological safeguards. They oppose market globalists
who view neoliberalism as the only way.

Justice globalism involves seven key values: (1) transformative change, (2) participatory democracy, (3)
equality of access to resources and opportunities, (4) social justice, (5) universal rights, (6) global
solidarity, and (7) sustainability. The ideology further promotes three different strategies: (1) reform, (2)
autonomy, and (3) transformation.
RELIGIOUS GLOBALISM

Religious globalism endeavors for a global religious community with dominance over secular structures.
These globalisms fight against both market globalism and justice globalism as they seek to champion
religious beliefs and values that are said to be under severe attack by the powers of consumerism and
secularism in the globalized world.

Many religious globalisms which pursue to activate a religious community imagined in global footings in
defence of faiths are usually, but not always, associated with the political Right. Right-wing politics
generally refers to the conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system. It believes that
some social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal or desirable, and thus should be
supported at all costs on the basis of natural law, tradition, or economics. The original Right (in France)
was created as a reaction against the "Left" and comprised those who supported hierarchy, tradition,
and religion-based leadership.

The surge of religious globalisms includes Christian global fundamentalism, Falun Gong syncretism, and
Buddhism. Apparent in some variants of all three monotheistic religions, religious globalism's most
remarkable strain today, however, is what Steger calls as Jihadist Islamism. The term Jihadism (also
jihadist movement and jihadi movement) is a 21"-century neologism found in Western languages to
label islamist militant movements considered as military movements (allegedly) rooted in Islam and
assumed to be threatening to the West.

The Jihadist globalism advocated by some radical Islamists seeks to incite their global community of
believers into violent action. Jihadist Islamists complain about the contemporary age of Jahiliyyah (age
of ignorance and pagan idolatry) and call for a transformed universalism of a global umma (the whole
community of Muslims-bound together by ties of religion). The 9/11 attack demonstrates the disturbing
effect that jihadist globalism can have, considering the fact that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda
terrorists fed on the supposed "Americanization" of the world to validate their activities.

So in the wake of 9/11, Jihadist Globalism has been pitted against Imperial Globalism, which can be said
to be influenced by market and justice globalism. While Imperial Globalism seeks to use the United
States' economic and military power to allegedly democratize the world and wage war on terror, Jihadist
Globalism seeks to weaken the West's military and economic power and reestablish the Umma through
armed or unarmed struggle.

A WORKING DEFINITION OF GLOBALIZATION

Many have tried to define globalization in various ways with relative success. Some assert that defining
it cannot be done, while others claim that doing so would limit the term's meaning. Still, there are those
who have challenged these two positions and fashioned some working definitions.

A working definition is that which is taken for an occasion and may not entirely conform to established
or authoritative definitions. It is a tentative definition being developed that can be tailored to construct
an authoritative definition. Not knowing of well-established definitions would be grounds for picking or
developing a working definition. Hence, it would be better here for us to introduce some working
definitions of the term globalization, even though we admit that defining this term is anything but easy.

The website ShodhGanga.inflibnet.ac.in enumerates some definitions from some known scholars of
globalization ("Concept of Globalization," 2017):

1. "Globalization as a concept refers both to the compression of the world and the intensification of
consciousness of the world as a whole." (Roland Robertson)

2. "Globalization compresses the time and space aspects of social relations." (James Mittelman)

3. "The concepts of globalization reflect the sense of an immense enlargement of world communication,
as well as of the horizon of a world market both of which seems for mere tangible and immediate than
in earlier stages of modernity." (Fredric Jameson)

4. "The diminution or elimination of state-enforced restriction on exchanges across borders and the
increasingly integrated and complex global system of production and exchange that has emerged as a
result." (Tom G. Palmer)

5. "Globalization may be thought of as a process (or a set of processes) which embodies a

transformation in the spatial organization of social relation and transaction-assessed in terms of their
extensity, intensity velocity and impeach-generating transcontinental or interregional flows and
networks of activity, interaction and the exercise of power." (David Held)

6. "Globalization can be defined as the intensification of world wide social relations which link distant
localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice-
versa." (Anthony Giddens)

On the other hand, Manfred Steger (2017) holds that globalization can best be described as "the
expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and world space."
As a process, Steger further explains that globalization is a forceful and transformative one which entails
that people are leaving behind the condition of modern nationality and are moving towards the new
condition of postmodern globality, though they have not yet reached it. He admits that globalisation is
not a single process, but a set of processes that function concurrently and unequally on many levels and
in various dimensions and seem to transform our present social condition of weakening nationality into
one of globality.

Finally, Dr. Nayef R.F. Al-Rodhan, Senior Scholar in Geostrategy and Director of the Program on the
Geopolitical Implications of Globalization and Transnational Security defines globalization as "a process
that encompasses the causes, course, and consequences of transnational and transcultural integration
of human and non human activities" (Al-Rodhan, 2017).