Xxxxx Write the Title of the Chapter XxxxIntroduction

Chapter 1
to Globalizationxx

Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:

1. define globalization and other related key terms;

2. identify the theories related to globalization;
3. discuss the history of globalization;
4. relate the metaphors of globalization to real-life scenarios;
differentiate between regionalization and globalization.

1.1 Defining Globalization

Humans encountered many changes over the last century especially in

their social relationships and social structures. One can say the globalization is
a very important change, if not, the “most important” (Bauman, 2003). The
reality and the omnipresence of globalization makes us see ourselves as part of
what we refer to as the “global age” (Albrow, 1996). For example, the Internet
allows a person from the Philippines to know what is happening to the rest of
the world simply by browsing Google. In addition, mass media allow for
connections among people, communities and countries all over the globe.
Many scholars gave and tried to formulate definitions of globalization,
which resulted in different, sometimes contradicting views about the concept.
According to Nayef R.F. Al-Rhodan (2006), globalization cannot be contained
within a specific time frame, all people, and all situations. Aside from this,
globalization encompasses a multitude of processes that involves the economy,
political systems, and culture so, one cannot easily constrain the definition in
one discipline. Despite these, one can create his/her own definition of
globalization. In fact, Manfred Steger, a scholar, stated that “no generally
accepted definition of globalization has emerged.”
Steger laid out four broad descriptions of globalization that people can
use to anchor their own definition of it. These are as follows:
1) ‘increasing global ‘interconnectedness’ – people and countries now
become closer because of globalization.
a. Example: using technology that are invented from other
countries, consuming products made abroad
2) ‘the expansions and intensification of social relations across
world-time and world-space’ – people can broaden and improve
their relationships not just to those within their country but also with
those from other countries.
a. Example: Using social media to communicate with relatives
who are OFWs.
3) ‘a complex range of processes, driven by a mixture of political
and economic influences’ – politics and economy of other countries
greatly influence the processes of a country.
a. Example: adoption of policies and programs being imposed by
foreign countries; applying for international certifications;
immigration; tourism
4) ‘the swift and relatively unimpeded flow of capital, people, and
ideas across national borders’ – capital, people and ideas quickly
and easily flows from country to country.
 a. Example: investments of foreigners in the Philippines, visiting
or working in other countries; K-wave

Aside from defining globalization, it is also important to learn how to

understand the meaning of globalization. So, how? There are two important
things to always remember:

1) The perspective of the person who defines globalization shapes its

definition. One’s definition and perspective could determine
concrete steps in addressing the issues of globalization.
 If one sees globalization as positive, the person could say that it is
a unifying course and a good phenomenon.
 If one thinks that globalization creates greater inequalities among
nations, it is negatively treated.
2) Globalization is a reality. It is changing as human society develops, it
has happened before and is still happening today. Therefore, one’s
definition may vary from his/her experiences of globalization.

Overall, globalization is not easy to define because in reality,

globalization has a shifting nature. It is complex, multifaceted, and can be
influenced by the people who define it.

1.2 Globalization: A Positive or Negative Phenomenon?

Throughout the decades, many scholars debate over the nature of

globalization. Some believe that it is a good and has brought our world to
greater development. While others argue that it is destructive and has created
huge disparities between the rich and the poor. The table below shows the
arguments of scholars on why they think globalization as either good or bad
phenomenon.

Table 1. Globalization as positive or negative phenomenon

Scholars think that GLOBALIZATION is a:
POSITIVE phenomenon because:
 The world seemed to have
shrunk. Distances getting shorter,
things moving closer.
 Easier for somebody on one side
of the world to interact with
somebody on the other side of
the world”.
NEGATIVE phenomenon because:
 The rich become richer (e.g. owners
of companies) and the poor become
poorer (e.g. workers). Ex: Laborers
in US suffer unemployment because
companies prefer to transfer their
production in lower-wage countries
like China. While owners of these
companies become richer because
of lower wage cost.
 The natural environment suffers.
 It is like colonization. Too much
influence to our culture, politics
and economy.
 Destabilization of economy. An
economy may become too reliant to
the developed countries’ economy.

What do you think? Is globalization a positive or a negative phenomenon?

1.3 Origins and History of Globalization

 Have you ever thought of when globalization started? Where it
originated? Or who created it? In this section, the origins of globalization are
discussed. Rather than giving specific time frame, place and name, different
perspectives regarding the origins of globalization are presented. Meaning to
say, each perspective offers a story of when, where, who, how and/or why
globalization began. There are five perspectives regarding the origins of
globalization and these are presented according to timeline.

1) Hardwired
 It is because of our basic human need to make our lives better that
made globalization possible. One can trace the beginning of
globalization from our ancestors in Africa who walked out from Africa
in the late Ice Age. Their journey finally led them to all-known
continents today.
 Commerce, religion, politics and warfare are “urges” of people
toward a better life. These are connected to four aspects of
globalization, respectively, and traced all throughout history: trade,
missionary work, adventures and conquest.

2) Cycles
 Others think that globalization is a long-term cyclical process. This
point of globalization will soon disappear and reappear.

3) Epoch
 Also called “waves” and each has its own origin. During these time,
globalization occurred.
 Difference with cycle is that epochs do not return.
 Sequential occurrence of epochs:
1. Globalization of religion (4th – 7th centuries)
2. European colonial conquests (late 15th century)
3. Intra-European wars (late 18th century – early 19th centuries)
4. Heyday of European imperialism (mid-19th century to 1918)
5. Post-World War II period
6. Post-Cold War period

4) Events
 Many points can be considered as the start of globalization.
1. Roman conquests centuries before Christ.
2. Rampage of the armies of Genghis Khan into Eastern Europe in
the 13th century.
3. Voyages of discovery – Vasco de Gama in Cape of Good Hope in
1498, Ferdinand Magellan’s completed circumnavigation of the
globe in 1522, and Christopher Columbus’s discovery of
America in 1942.
4. Technological advances in transportation and communication –
first transatlantic telephone cable (1956), first transatlantic
television broadcasts (1962), founding of the modern internet
(1988), terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York
(2001).

5) Broader, More Recent Changes

  Broad changes happened in the last half of the 20th century. Three (3)
notable origins:
1. Emergence of the United States as the global power (post-
World War II).
- Through its dominant military and economic power after
WWII, US outrun Germany and Japan in terms of
industry.
2. Emergence of multinational corporations (MNCs)
- Companies expanding (i.e. producing and selling) to
other countries. Ex: Ford originated in United States,
but they exported more automobiles and opened
factories to other countries in the 20th century.
3. Demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of Cold War.
- This led to the opening of the major parts of the world
for the first time since early 20 th century. Many global
processes – media, MNCs, etc. – spread throughout the
planet and paved way for the so-called “free” world
(i.e. noncommunist countries of the world).

1.4 Metaphors of Globalization

To fully understand the concept of globalization, we can use metaphors.

Before presenting the metaphors of globalization, let us review the meaning of
metaphor first.

Metaphor
o a figure of speech that “makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison
between two things that are unrelated, but which share some common
characteristics” (“Metaphor-Examples and Definition of Metaphor”, 2020).
o For example, “Her voice is music to his ears.” This implies that her voice
makes him feel happy.

Reference:
Metaphor - Examples and Definition of Metaphor. Literary Devices. (2020).
Retrieved 31 August 2020 from https://literary devices.net/metaphor/.

There are two (2) metaphors of globalization - solid and liquid.

Globalization is solid (or solidity) because its effects tend to “harden”

over time. The epochs or events that occurred before allowed people, things,
information and places to solidify (or stabilize) over time. For example, pre-
colonial Filipinos worship anito before Spaniards colonized Philippines.
However, with the spread of Christianity around the world during the European
colonization, Christianity was assimilated into our culture and is widely
practiced even today.

Solids also refers to the barriers that prevent or make difficult the
movement of things. These can either be natural or man-made. For example:
 natural solids – land forms and bodies of water
 man-made solids – Great Wall of China, Berlin Wall, imaginary line like
the nine-dash line used by People’s Republic of China to claim the West
Philippine Sea
 Although solids are considered as barriers, they have the tendency to
“melt” or to disappear in the long run. This process of “melting” is how we can
describe what is happening in our world today – it has become increasingly
liquid.

Globalization is liquid (or liquidity) because it is not fixed. There is the

increasing ease of movement of people, things, information and places in the
contemporary world. Globalization as a liquid phenomena may be
characterized as follows:
1. Change quickly and their spatial and temporal are in continuous
fluctuation. Space and time are crucial elements of globalization.
o Example: global finance – changes in the stock market are a
matter of seconds
2. Movement is difficult to stop.
o Examples: videos uploaded on YouTube or Facebook are
unstoppable once they become viral; Internet sensations become
famous not only in their homeland but also to the entire world.
3. Political factors (e.g. government) allow the flows of people and things
from other countries.
o Examples: immigration policies; the decline (if not death) of the
nation-state

Aside from liquid, we can describe globalization as “flows of liquid

phenomena”. Flows refer to the movement of people, things, places and
information brought by the growing “porosity” of global limitations (Ritzer,
2015). The examples are as follows:
1. Foreign cuisines being patronized and consumed by the Filipinos. We
eat foods introduced by foreign cultures.
2. Poor illegal migrants flooding many parts of the world.
3. Virtual flow of legal and illegal information such as blogs and child
pornography, respectively.
4. Immigrants recreating ethnic enclaves in host countries like Filipino
communities abroad and Chinese communities in the Philippines.

1.5 Globalization Theories

Scholars have proposed many theories on globalization. These theories

see globalization as a process that increases either homogeneity or
heterogeneity.

A. Homogeneity
o the increasing sameness in the world as cultural inputs, economic
factors and political orientations of societies expand to create
common practices, same economies, and similar forms of
government.

o Homogeneity in:
 Culture – often linked to cultural imperialism (i.e. a given
culture influences other cultures). Ex: Dominant religion in our
country is Christianity; “Americanization”
 Economy – spread of neoliberalism (i.e. favor free-market
capitalism), capitalism (i.e. economic and political system in
which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private
owners for profit, rather than by the state), and market
economy in the world.
 Politics – similar models of governance in the world.

Media – TV, music, books, and movies are perceived as

imposed on developing countries. The global flow of media is
characterized by media imperialism. This undermines the
existence of alternative global media originating from
developing countries.
o Other theories related to homogeneity:
 McDonaldization – process by which Western societies are
dominated by principles of fast food restaurants. Involves
global spread of rational systems such as efficiency,
calculability, predictability and control. Ex: manufacturing of
cellphones
 Grobalization – process wherein nations, corporations,
organizations, etc. impose themselves on geographic areas in
order to gain profits, power and so on.

B. Heterogeneity
o The creation of various cultural practices, new economies, and
political groups because of the interaction of elements from different
societies in the world.
o the “hybrids” or combinations
o Examples:
 Glocalization – integration of global and local. Ex: McDonald’s
serving spaghetti in Philippine branches, Jollibee serving Halal
foods in Malaysia
 “Jihad” – in politics; these are political groups that are
engaged in an intensification of nationalism and that leads to
greater political heterogeneity throughout the world.

1.6 Globalization and Regionalization

This section introduces the concept of regionalization and its

relationship with globalization.

Definition of terms:
o Globalization – “the increased flows of goods, services, capita, people and
information across border” (Jacoby & Meunier, 2010).
o Region – “a group of countries in the same geographically specified area”
(Mansfield & Milner, 1999).
o Regionalism – “the formal process of intergovernmental collaboration
between two or more states” (Ravenhill, 2008).
o Transnational Corporations (TNCs) – a huge company that does business
(i.e. operates) in several countries (“What are transnational corporations?”,
2020). Examples of TNCs are Nestlé and Cadburry-Schweppes.

References:
Aldama, P.K.R. (2018). The Contemporary World. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book
Store. pp. 1-9, 12-17.
What are transnational corporations?. BBC News. (2020). Retrieved 31 August 2020,
fromhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/trade/
newsid_3099000.

Regionalization may be defined as “the societal integration and often

undirected process of social and economic interaction” (Hurrell, 2007) of
countries within a region. The regionalization of the world system and
economic activity may make the benefits of globalized economy less effective.
This is because regional organizations prefer regional partners over the rest of
the countries. As such, regionalization is the attempt of countries to reduce
the perceived negative effects of globalization. It can be considered as
“counter-globalization.” The following are examples of groups practicing
regionalization:
 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
 European Union (EU)
 Mercosur (South American trade bloc; consists of Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay)

WHY DOES REGIONALIZATION OCCUR?

As mentioned above, regionalization is counter-globalization because it
was an effort to lessen the perceived negative effects of globalization. The
following are some of the specific reasons why countries engage in
regionalization:
1. Concern for security – to ensure peace and stability
o Ex: ASEAN and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) are
regional organizations that seek strong security in Asia through
cooperation.
2. Culture and identity guide regionalization.
o Huntington argued that international organizations like EU and
Mercosur share a common culture and identity and are far
more successful than North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) – an agreement among US, Canada and Mexico.
3. Economic motivation
o By entering in regional organizations, states may regain some
control over flows of capital and enhance their bargaining
power against transnational economic factors like investment
groups and transnational corporations (TNCs) (e.g. Walmart,
Honda, Nike, and Coca-Cola).
4. Non-state actors like TNCs, political parties and NGOs act as driving
force toward regionalism.
o Ex: TNCs whose host countries are not part of a given trade
agreement find themselves in a disadvantaged commercial
situation with respect to competing companies belonging to
the regional organization in question. Given this situation, that
disadvantaged TNCs will lobby their national governments to
sign similar trade agreements in order to end their
disadvantaged commercial situation.

Relationship of globalization and regionalization

Regionalization in one part of the world encourages regionalization
elsewhere – whether by imitation or defensive reaction. There is
“contagion/domino effect” and because of this, regionalization is also global in
nature. Thus, regionalization is linked to globalization since it is part of it and
it builds on it.
Module (GE 3) Name:
Activity No. 1a ___________________________________________
_
cut here
I. Identification: Read each question/statement carefully. Write your
answer on the space provided. Wrong spelling, wrong.

1. What globalization theory (homogeneity/heterogeneity) is

portrayed by the use of iPhones?
2. What globalization theory (homogeneity/heterogeneity) is
portrayed by the use of T’nalak in the Philippine fashion
industry?
3. What globalization theory (homogeneity/heterogeneity) is
portrayed by watching Hollywood movies?
4. What globalization theory (homogeneity/heterogeneity) best
describes mixed-race identities like Filipino-American?
5. What globalization theory (homogeneity/heterogeneity) best
describes the revival of Baybayin?
6. What globalization theory refers to the process by which
Western societies are dominated by principles of fast food
restaurants?
7. Vlogs are ____ metaphor of globalization.
8. Pacific Ocean is a ____ metaphor of globalization.
9. What perspective on the origin of globalization tells us that
there is no specific point of the beginning of globalization
because it will soon disappear then reappear again?
10.___ is considered as counter-globalization because it is an
effort to reduce the negative effects of globalization.

II. True or False: Read each statement carefully. Write TRUE if the
statement is correct and FALSE if it is wrong.

1. McDonaldization is the process by which Western societies are

dominated by principles of fast food restaurants.
2. Globalization is easy to define.
3. Regionalization is linked to globalization because without
regionalization, there would be no globalization.
4. Epochs as a perspective on the origin of globalization tells us
that many points in our history started globalization such as
Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe in 1522.
5. An example of broader, more recent change which started
globalization is the emergence of US as a global power.
6. Cycle perspective on the origin of globalization tells us that
there is no specific point of the beginning of globalization
because it will soon disappear then reappear again.
7. Regionalization occurred to counter the negative effects of
globalization.
8. People think globalization is a positive phenomenon because it
is like colonization.
9. Globalization is a positive phenomenon because it is easier to
travel and communicate across the globe.
10.A region is a group of countries in the geographically specified
area.
Module (GE 3) Name:
Activity No. 1b ___________________________________________
_
cut here
I. II. Essay: Read each question carefully then, answer briefly and concisely.
Also, make sure that your answers are readable. The rubric for scoring essays
is shown below:

Scor
Criteria Description
e
- Presence of ideas developed through facts,
examples, details, opinions, reasons and/or
explanations.
Content &
- Has single controlling point made within an 6
Clarity
awareness of task about a specific topic.
- Paraphrased sentences that are not theirs and cited
sources accordingly.
Organizatio - Use of transitional devices to develop and sustain
2
n order within and across paragraphs.
- Correct grammar and spelling.
Mechanics 2
- Proper use of punctuation marks.
Total 10

1. Write thetype of question or instruction

[1.] What is the difference between regionalization and globalization? (10 pts)

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2. In your own opinion, is globalization a positive phenomenon? Or a negative

phenomenon? Why? Why not? (10 pts)

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3. What are the metaphors of globalization? Explain each by giving at least one
example. (10 pts)
cut here
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