i t h a Human Face Berdayes, Vicente (2004). "What is Globalization?

:
Ambiguities of the Contemporary World Scene." In Choi, Jung
clones Anthropos,
Min, John W. Murphy, and Manuel J. Caro. 2004.
c, CA: Sage, 19901, Globalization with a humanface. Westport, Conn: Praeger, pp.
47 - 64.
elopment (Boulder,
- - -

cidcntal (San Jose,

rial Trotta, 2001).

What Is Globalization?
La exclusion y la
ipendencia," in El Ambiguities of the
asta Rica: Editorial
Contemporary World Scene
: Duke University

<s, 1969).
Vicente Berdayes
w , 1962), pp. 83 ff.
ord, CA: Stanford

139.
ompany, 1958), pp. The usefulness of globalization as an analytical concept has largely been
eclipsed by its growing fashionableness. The term's currency has dis-
p a : ESUCA, 19881, tended its meaning to the point where it has gained the studied ambiguity
and diffuseness of an advertiser's slogan. When powerful interests equate
amanca: Ediciones globalization with the progression of human freedom even as they work
to insulate their institutions from political intervention, there is reason to
iscendental Phenom-
believe that, as a label for contemporary social changes, globalization ob-
iliza t i o ~ ifrom Below scures more than it illuminates. Perhaps like the similarly popular phrase
"peace through commerce," which in today's neoliberal climate really
York: Macmillan, means "commerce through pacification," the meaning of globalization has
to be inverted to be made useful. What does dobalization mean? Mavbe
Managua: Editorial rather than the growing cohesion of a world order, the word refers to the
breakdown of order on a previously unimagined scale. At the very least,
(Managua: Fando in its current uses "globalization" is replete with ambiguities and contra-
dictions that must be disentangled to make the term useful tor under-
11Trotta, 2000), pp. standing the contemporary socio-cultural scene.

'GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS" A N D THE MODERN

SELF
One of the key phenomena often associated with globalization is the
purported appearance of a new type of human being and associated
modes of consciousness. The phrase global consciousness and associated
terms are used to indicate globalization's influence on the psyche and
personal identity.' By turn, phrases such as global consciousness, identity,
or the self refer to either the form or the content of human awareness.
26 Globalization with a H u m a n Face '. -at Is Globalize

Such phrases can indicate a growing recognition of humanity's planetary .,~nscio~~sne d

existence, that is, knowledge of sharing the Earth and its limited resources, :ivist spirit.":
or to a new form of subjectivity and rationality associated with the modern To what extei
era, or a new form of identity and selfhood thought to characterize urban :ritings, Karl I
modernity. Global consciousness, in short, is thought to be generated and . orld with rer
defined by such contemporary social phenomena as scientific rationality, Marx noted ho'
consumer capitalism, the rise of mass media, hybridized cultural forma- :o obscure the 1
tions, and social life in modern urban center^.^ According to this line of .br their labor. I
theorizing, contemporary modes of thought, identity, and categories of '.ceded to man1
experience differ substantially and even radically from those available to '.ot produced, 1
premodern human beings.? :ollective activi
The idea that different types of social formations generate distinct forms nen," takes on
of humanity has been a perennial topic of social theory and is the theme .-ippearas "indt
of many of the masterpieces of social and psychological research as well Since Marx's
as of modern philosophy. Yet when explored in some detail, the charac- 'cured much f i
teristics of modern rationality and consciousness do not seem as unam- 'ach other, so tl
biguous as might be supposed. This is especially true if one examines the :he common tli
role of myth in contemporary society. Furthermore, tl
One of the key ways that the modern era has been understood and at responding for1
times continues to be presented is as a process of overcoming myth." Key has moved stea
figures of the Enlightenment understood themselves to be engaged in a sive appeals be
systematic critique of superstition and inherited beliefs and of searching minutes of con
for a rational foundation upon which to establish civil society. By the rroupes that ch
nineteenth century, the definition of rationality had been narrowed to a iver a series of
positivistic form of scientific reasoning, so that figures such as Auguste nets sing, danc
Comte could portray all of human development as leading to the instal- deliver riches a
lation of a scientific elite capable of directing society through mastery of In terms of b
technocratic knowledge. According, to this ideal of social progress, scien- oi communicat
tific civilization advances through the conquest of myth: whereas pre- everyday.I0Moi
modern institutions secure their legitimacy from superstition and empty into the media
metaphysical abstractions, scientific rationality displaces such ideas by signed to extin
identifying facts that can be used to anchor a rational social order.: portive of cons1
Today Comte's writings may seem highly polemical and idiosyncratic, defines the poli
yet his ideas are imbedded in efforts to "modernize" traditional societies. tries, so that tht
As attempts to transpose a framework of Western political and economic ological world
institutions to foreign settings, such projects form a linchpin in the con- mouth. As Ern:
stitution of a global order based on a universalized conception of reason the modern we
and civili~ation.~ According to this self-congratulatory discourse, which in which a nev
presents the West as an avatar of rationality, members of traditional so- been "made act
cieties are trapped by premodern modes of thought that make them in- The dependa
capable of initiating the process of social development. An elite corps of global order an
Western-trained technicians must therefore initiate the break with pre- acteristic of glo
modern rationality and synthesize modern societies in foreign settings. In rather than del
the aggregate, such projects would generate a characteristic form of global The reificatic
d h a Human Face .\ hat Is Globalization? 27

anity's planetary consciousness defined by technical competence and a "rationalist and pos-
imited resources, itivist ~ p i r i t . " ~
with the modern To what extent is this view of modern rationality accurate? Early in his
uracterize urban ¥writings Karl Marx noted a key way in wluch myth enters the modern
be generated and I\-orld with renewed vigor. In his discussion of commodity fetishism,
sntific rationality, Marx noted how the industrial capitalism developing in his dav tended
d cultural forma- :o obscure the primal relationship between human beings and the objects
ng to this line of ot their labor. In the course of contributing only a fraction of the labor
md categories of needed to manufacture a commodity and in consuming goods they have
^hoseavailable to not produced, persons cease to recognize commodities as the fruit of their
collective activity. Thus, says Marx, the "definite social relations between
ate distinct forms men," takes on "the fantastic form of a relation between things" which
and is the theme 'ippear as "independent beings endowed with life."u
1 research as well Since Marx's day the global scale of commodity production has ob-
letail, the charac- 'cured much further the productive relations that link human beings to
it seem as unam- each other, so that it is usually difficult to imagine the people that produce
one examines the the common things one buys or the conditions under which they work.
Furthermore, this fantastic world of commodities has given birth to a cor-
nderstood and at responding form of propaganda. Since the nineteenth century, advertising
iming myth.4Key has moved steadily away from deliberative modes of address to persua-
1 be engaged in a sive appeals based on magical forms of reasoning. Today, in just a few
and of searching minutes of commercial television one will encounter the entire range of
il society. By the troupes that characterize mythological reasoning. Contemporary ads de-
?n narrowed to a liver a series of 30-second narratives in which anthropomorphized prod-
such as Auguste nets sing, dance, and cavort in refrigerators, protect one from danger,
ling to the instal- deliver riches and love, or brand one as a member of an exclusive group."
rough mastery of In terms of bald numbers, advertisements are the most common form
il progress, scien- of communication that people in modern societies tend to be exposed to
7th: whereas pre- everyday.'" Moreover, similar forms of mythological rationality are woven
itition and empty into the media programming that conveys the advertising and that is de-
'es such ideas by signed to extinguish critique and maintain a "light buying mood" sup-
xial order." portive of consumerism." Furthermore, the same use of myth increasingly
ind idiosyncratic, defines the political discourse of the most technologicallydeveloped coun-
ditional societies. tries, so that the typical member of these societies is enveloped in a myth-
cal and economic ological world conveyed by commercial media rather than word of
chpin in the con- mouth. As Ernst Cassirer already discerned decades ago, the situation in
ception of reason the modern world is not one in which myth has been overcome, but one
discourse, which in which a new magi fuses technique and magical reasoning that have
of traditional so- been "made according to plan."I2
at make them in- The dependable link between a country's degree of integration into the
An elite corps of global order and its advertising expenditures shows that a definitive char-
break with pre- acteristic of global consciousness is a susceptibility to mythical reasoning
oreign settings. In rather than deliberative reflection.
itic form of global The reification of instrumental rationality extends even more myth's
28 Globalization with a Human Face

influence within the global order. As members of the Frankfurt school B u t aside fr(
showed, instrumental rationality advances by stripping reason of its his- -.xnstream ai
torical and critical dimensions. The resulting positivist rendition of reason ,~nalitvcan ei
equates truth with the apprehension of objective facts. Regardless of . .-Â¥^ religious
whether they refer to the human psyche, the social world, or nature, such questioned
facts are thought to exist apart from human agency; they are constitutive .counter into
elements of an objective world. Instrumental reason then appears as the xocess efficier
only fulcrum through which human beings might influence this world of . u a l relation;
detached things, for by learning the true name of things, that is, by op- i 'Jmmel explc
erationalizing concepts so that they represent precisely the brute facts of -::J ct characte:
reality, specialists can come to discern governing laws that give them mas- . ~ ~ t r oLike
l.'~
tery over nature and human events. Clearly, this version of reason, per- - bv trying tc
meated by "magical, authoritarian, and ritual element^,"'^ gives rise to a -:/ational end;
fetishized understanding of technique. As the practical application of in- :-2.ved a key r(
.
strumental rationality, technique comes to be seen as the only valid way -11 workplace:
to define and correct social problems. Technique constitutes the world as -:.icy extends ;
a single field of technical intervention, but the irrational remains at the .-.e identity of
core of this rationalist "cosmopolis."14 . ,r efficiency a
The contemporary forms of identity associated with globalized moder- .:.iditional mot
nity are as contradictory as the qualities of global consciousness. Many :e l \ framewor
social theorists take as a commonplace belief that the modern world gives : :e mass popu

rise to qualitatively new forms of personal identity. Several facets of mod- .)ng been appi
ern life are thought to generate this transformation of the self, including :~ries,thereby
capitalism's agitation and dissolution of social relationships, the increas- <anization rr
ing differentiation of the social order, which requires that people enact Anthony Gic
varied roles within diverse institutional settings, and even the transfor- xreasing nun
mation of experience and consciousness that arise within highly mediated development. I
environments. These qualities of modern social organization generate a : sociated wit1

"protean" form of identity that has been unmoored from tradition and is However, as tl
fragmentary, fluid, and indefinite.'^ It is precisely this deracinated type of - :ted to show tl
personality that has been thought necessary to the process of moderni- .'.ernity has aut
zation and the creation of a stable international order.I6 : a "one sidec
Yet as Robert Jay Lifton has shown, the same process of social fragrnen- - n"i2"Moreove
tation that generates the protean self also provokes an increasingly com- msolidate pel
mon reactionary fundamentalism. Far from being an aberration within Global consc
modernity, this character formation is a response to the fragmentation of 'ense of identi
social life associated with modernity, a "modern antimodernism," says n terdependeni
Lifton, in which persons try to renew "a firm sense of order" by means of -ociated with r
a literalist interpretation of religious tradition.17 Benjamin Barber has :-ing and some
shown that this same dynamic operates at the global scale, with recru- . ~ orderlines
k
descent tribal identities arising in opposition to the onrush of consumer :?tined forms c
capitalism. Barber sees both tvpes of social organization, "Jihad" and The complexity
"McWorld," forming a dialectical unity whose "common thread is indif- .'. i>order gener,
ference to civil libertie~."~~ .iermine the ab
 with a Human Face . -<it Is Globalization? 29

! Frankfurt school But aside from this ascendant fundamentalism, there is another, more
5 reason of its his- riiiinstream authoritarianism in modern consciousness. Bureaucratic ra-
"enditionof reason :onality can easily be seen as a form of secularized fundamentalism, for
cts. Regardless of .ike religious literalism, bureaucracy filters all of existence through an
Id, or nature, such mquestioned text. A bureaucrat functions by translating any event or
ey are constitutive encounter into a "case" falling within a predefined set of categories. This
ien appears as the process efficiently organizes experience, but at the expense of deanimating
lence this world of -ocial relationships and reifying bureaucratic classifications. As Ralph
igs, that is, by op- Hunimel explains, a "case" is never a person but rather a bundle of ab-
r the brute facts of 'tract characteristics that have been selected for the sake of efficiency and
iat give them mas- :~introl.~~ Like fundamentalism, bureaucracy anchors the self, but it does
,on of reason, per- .o by trying to transform persons into unreflective proponents of orga-
3,"13 gives rise to a nizational ends. This one-sided and alienating form of rationalization has
application of in- slaved
. . a key role in organizing the social space of nation-states and mod-
he only valid way *rn workplace^.^^ As these institutions become diffused globally, bureau-
itutes the world as ;racy extends a homogenized administrative c u l t u r e a way of defining
nal remains at the :he identity of and interrelating human beings based solely on the need
:or efficiency and control. Although modernity breaks down some of the
globalized moder- xditional modes of identity formation, it quickly replaces these with a
~sciousness.Many :wv framework of ascribed identities developed out of the need to man-
~odernworld gives .-ise mass populations. Yet far from being an imposition on the self, it has
era1 facets of mod- ong been apparent that many people internalize these bureaucratic cate-
the self, including series, thereby giving rise to a characteristic persona of modernity: the
iships, the increas- organization man?'
that people enact Anthony Giddens has argued that global extensions of modernity allow
even tlie transfor- increasing numbers of people to submit the self to a reflexive process of
in highly mediated development. Personal identity therefore becomes a project in the sense
iization generate a .isociated with the most liberating aspects of Western i n d i v i d ~ a l i s m . ~ ~
>mtradition and is However, as tlie points above illustrate, many counterexamples can be
leracinated type of cited to show that rationalization is not synonymous with reflexivity. Mo-
-ocess of moderni- dernity has authoritarian components that contravene reflexivity and lead
h
:o a "one sided" rationalization of social life within technocratic capital-
, ofsocial fragmen- ism.21Moreover, globalization also generates an opposing tendency to
increasingly com- consolidate personal identity in unbending opposition to modernity.
aberration within Global consciousness should not be understood to refer to a coherent
e fragmentation of :ense of identity shared by modern populations and arising within an
.modernism," says interdependent society of global scale. Rather, the forms of mentality as-
irder" by means of sociated with modern social settings are shaped by a bundle of overlap-
ijamin Barber has ping and sometimes contradictory discourses that have global reach but
scale, with recru- lack orderliness. The global self arises from a commingling of tlie most
irush of consumer refined forms of instrumental rationality with archaic mythical elements.
ttion, "Jihad" and The complexity and dynamics of modern social settings as well as the
o n thread is indif- disorder generated bv enforced attempts at modernization tend to un-
dermine the ability to construct a coherent self even as identities are more
30 Globalization with a Human Face

rigidly dictated by the conditions of mass society. These social processes - - prisms of neol
do not necessarily lead to a greater sense of planetary consciousness, for, both these scl-
clearly, if one defines global consciousness as an awareness of one's world :hout which an!
as a comprehensive system of interdependencies, can one really claim that IS.
the consciousness of modern populations is more "global" than member's -. he limitations
of now-exterminated civilizations who aligned the rhythms of their entire . 1st successors (
societies with the stars and the cycle of seasons? :.versalized, and
Perhaps, though, the phrase global consciousness is meant not so much I autocratic a
as a description of the great masses of human beings but instead describes .:%tantive critiqi;
the mind-set of the elites and experts that direct the globe's social infra- ::ion of rational;
structures. As already suggested, the philosophical and political commit-
,ntext of globali;
ments of this small portion of humanity are indeed an ideology of global
Y of this enter-
span. Yet one must also note that what characterizes the thinking of this
.-.~ughtout or for
strata of elites is precisely the inability to think globally in any substantial
-: .:son and of link
sense. As will be shown in the following sections, neither the presuppo- -.
sitions of the dominant schools of political realism nor neoliberal eco- .-.is discourse of
nomic managerialism constitute more than a cynical repudiation of - : m a n beings to I
. ideal that may ;
humanity's planetary interdependence.
:d s of a well-ore
S o t so with net
THE UNIVERSAL RIGHTS OF P E R S O N S OR THE
-5ilism is explicit!
UNIVERSALITY OF EXCHANGE?
::ide the formatic
Globalization is often identified with the advancement of freedom, but - :;;I1 as Hans Mor;
as opposed to the political ideal of human liberty, the meaning of freedom .\"i needed to ten
is increasingly restricted to an economistic concept associated with the ::ed to justify unr
unfettered movements of consumers within an idealized m a r k e t p l a ~ e . ~ ~ ^\-iliticalrealists, 1:
The centrality of this concept in contemporary discourse is one illustra- : m s based on pc
tion of the impoverished politics that has followed the advance of -:atecraft, the inte
globalization. . rield in which sta
Zygmunt Bauman has noted that the lexicon of terms Enlightenment 1 ' enforce order. I3
thinkers and their followers used to imagine a global order and orient objecting states t
political activity has largely been forgotten:
n s w e r to this dilt
Just like the concepts of "civilization," "development," "convergence," "consen- :dnstant insecurit~
sus" and many other key terms of early- and classic-modern thinking, the idea of \ r power" as the c
"universalization"-conveyed the hope, the intention, and the determination of Furthermore, ac
order making; on top of what the other kindred terms signaled, it meant a universal vithin states is irrt
order-the order-making on a universal, truly global scale. Like the other concepts, elplains, it makes
the idea of universalization was coined on the rising tide of the modern power's holding aristocrac
resourcefulness and the modern intellect's ambitions. The entire family of concepts
-~ral democracies,"
announced in unison the will to make the world different from what it had been
and better than it had been, and expand the change and the improvement to a :nternal characteri
global, species-wide dimen~ion.~' : i d f of the twentiej
.i i sengages foreigi
If one hears such terms today within public discourse, like the recent ustice. As these tl-
refurbishment of "civilization," such ideas are typically refracted through dism in presentin
)n with a Human Face - Is Globalization? 31

ese social processes - prisms of neoliberal economics or realist school of political s ~ i e n c e . ~ ~

consciousness, for, : both these schools of thought lack a substantive critical component
mess of one's world . .:bout which any process of globalization loses its link with democratic
me really claim that .::~.lls.
bal" than member's The limitations of the way Enlightenment philosophers and their pos-
rthms of their entire -.vist successors conceptualized reason are well known. Their abstract,
,versalized, and, later, scientific definition of rationality became increas-
meant not so much
-.--:I? autocratic and eventually extinguished the ability to forward a
ut instead describes
.:b;tantive critique of society. As already discussed, this constricted def-
globe's social infra-
d political commit- .;tion of rationality merely ends up generating technocratic, and in the
I ideology of global
2ntext of globalization, imperialistic forms of social contr~l.~"et at the
the thinking of this :<ire of this enterprise there remained an ideal, however incompletely
y in any substantial :*.ought out or forfeited in practice, of judging what exists in the light of
ither the presuppo- :eason and of linking such judgments with theoretically attuned practice.
nor neoliberal eco- 711s discourse of rationality, in short, at least recognizes the ability of
cal repudiation of .-.un-ianbeings to reconstruct their world in light of an ideal of "truth"-
::n ideal that may yet be refurbished to include justice and beauty as valid
:oak of a well-ordered society.23
Not so with neoliberal or realist conceptions of social order. Political
I THE
realism is explicitly distrustful of the ability to lay down ethical norms to
x i d e the formation of an international order. To the contrary, for authors
mt of freedom, but -uch as Hans Morgenthau and Reinhold Niebuhr, the theory of Realpolitik
leaning of freedom :\-as needed to temper the universalistic claims of reason, which might be
ssociated with the xsed to justify unrestrained interventions into the affairs of other states.2y
zed marketplace." political realists, by contrast, forward a conception of international rela-
irse is one illustra- tions based on power politics. According to this reductionistic view of
d the advance of datecraft, the international order is essentially Hobbesian in character-
.i field in which states vie for power without an overarching political entity
'ms Enlightenment
to enforce order. Because the creation of an overarching power capable of
1 order and orient
subjecting states to its authority is considered foolhardy, Hobbes's own
mswer to this dilemma is closed off, and the lone wav to ameliorate the
wergence, 'consen- constant insecurity among states is by pursuing an international "balance
thinking, the idea of of power" as the only viable deterrent to war.'")
the determination of Furthermore, according to this school, the nature of the political order
i, it meant a wiiuersal within states is irrelevant to international statecraft. As Francis Fukuyama
e the other concepts, explains, it makes no difference whether countries are "theocracies, slave
the modern power's
holding aristocracies, fascist police states, communist dictatorships or lib-
re family of concepts
)m what it had been eral democracies," because the "striving for power is not affected by the
e improvement to a internal characteristics of states."^ As has been demonstrated in the latter
half of the twentieth century, this reductionistic rendition of political order
disengages foreign policy from any concern with civil rights and social
3e, like the recent justice. As these themes suggest, Realpolitik dovetails with sociological re-
refracted through alism in presenting nation-states as autonomous agents, and as a conse-
32 Globalization with a Human Face

quence human beings disappear as objects of concern within foreign -. v ~ontology

l
policy. Terges from
Examining the conceptual framework articulated by this dominant T . :tually adva
school of political thought, one can see that realist foreign policy is not ::I imagine s
concerned with mirages such as democracy or justice. Consequently, the "long a "coll~
pursuit of global order lacks an overarching telos or goal rooted in ethical :-Â¥endenhousi
imperatives. Key phrases such as "balance of power," "regime change," d e r n societ;
"power politics," and even the term "realism" indicate the extent to which . .' unpreceden
this school of thought is disengaged from the ideal of social progress that -ures that "C
took hold in the modern era.32Rather than the pursuit of democratization 5imilarly, FI
guided by the ideal of universal civil society, such phrases show the extent .pontaneous I
to which political decisions at the international level are calculated only .dividual ecol
to perpetually reproduce the status quo. The result of such cynicism is a nies, which 1
continually shifting array of alliances between states without regard for :htative rules
the hirsute characteristics of the regimes involved. For human beings x i g e of spon
caught in the web of such decisions, the result is international indifference ¥-\plains neoli
toward or outright support of political repression for the sake of the bal- : .~qm" that still
ance of power. The rise of Realpolitik as the dominant framework for con-
ceptualizing foreign policy in the postwar period indicates how weakly -"ucturalism he
globalization has been linked to the emnnciptory ideals of the modern age. -.iividual acts, t
Whereas Realpolitik conceptualizes global social relations as a field of : :his. . . . L a n g
antagonistic states without regard for persons, neoliberal economics dis- role of mone
solves social relations into atomistic encounters between people within a : m a n economi
-.
universalized marketplace. Like political realism, the contemporary the- :it; all-encornpa

ory driving international economics is inadequate for sustaining a global .-.roughindividi

order. And like political realism, neoliberal economists have disseminated :rand design thi-
an array of concepts that liquidates the critical dimension of modern
thought. Still, because
Though not exclusively so, globalization is principally an economic oluntaristic sc
phenomena. The main impetus that led the world to be colonized by the .iitions under .
West and divided into a patchwork of nation-states and that today impels ::n authoritaria
efforts to integrate a world order is the creation and extension of markets. n g democratic
It is in this strictly limited sense that the modern social-cultural scene can -uch efforts ~ L
be considered a "world system."^ Accordingly, the process of globaliza- :he "road to se
tion has been conceptualized and guided by a framework of economistic dictatorship."39
ideas that today find expression in the ideology of neoliberalism. This line of t
Neoliberalism is the driving ideology of universalized market civiliza- acial interveni
tion and is an especially bare formulation of the principles of classical :ree markets. 1
economics. Since the 1980s, neoliberalism has guided the dismantling or tional and inter
paring back of the social welfare infrastructure in Western countries and :uch efforts, th
the "restructuring" of the economies of numerous other states throughout dong the folio
the world. Such efforts are guided by the proposition that markets are the industry and n-
principle if not exclusive engine of social development and, therefore, that welfare prograi
any intrusion into the market is invalid and leads to social disarray. The prises, and (4) i
i with a H u m a n Face . -tit Is Globalization? 33

irn within foreign ->-cia1ontology forwarded by this school of thought is economistic: society
:merges from the division of labor as people pursue various kinds of
by this dominant xutually advantageous economic exchange. From this point of view one
reign policy is not :.in imagine society to be nothing more than a voluntary association
Consequently, the 2n-iong a "collection of Robinson Crusoes" or at most a number of inde-
a1 rooted in ethical pendent households each exchanging items for mutual a d ~ a n t a g e . ?In~
"regime change," nodern society this rudimentary division of labor has simply expanded
the extent to which : unprecedented levels, but still, as Milton Friedman argued, the market
ocial progress that :nsures that "Co-operation is . . . achieved without c ~ e r c i o n . " ~ ~
af democratization Similarly, Friedrich von Hayek argued that capitalism generates a
ies show the extent -pontaneous order . . . brought about by the mutual adjustment of many
ire calculated only :dividual economies in a market."16This assemblage of interrelated econ-
such cynicism is a .rnies, which he termed a "catallaxy," blossoms from a set of simple, fa-
ivithout regard for ilitative rules defining the "law of property, tort and ~ontract."'~ Such an
^or human beings mage of spontaneity seems humane and liberating, but as Robert Biel
tional indifference :,\plains, neoliberalism should be understood as a "right wing structur-
he sake of the bal- .-iltsm"that still requires an external ordering principle to guarantee order:
eamework for con-
cates how weakly -:nicturalism holds that powerful structures emerge which give significance to
of the modern age. :.Jividual acts, even though those who are performing these acts are not conscious
itions as a field of : this. . . . Language, a key issue in structuralism, is used as an analogy to explain
ral economics dis- :he role of money, which is seen as providing the currency for communication in
in people within a :-umaneconomic life, which is the role played by language in society in general.
:ontemporary the- The all-encompassing role played by money in the overall structure emerges only
ustaining a global :irough individual micro-level transactions where there is no consciousness of the
have disseminated ;rand design that emerges out of them.3s
snsion of modern
Still, because of the market's unique, if putative, ability to generate a
)ally an economic oluntaristic social order, it follows that any attempt to restrict the con-
e colonized by the Jitions under which persons enter into economic exchange must have
that today impels .in authoritarian character, even when pursued with the goal of further-
ension of markets. 11sdemocratic ends. As Hayek emphasized throughout his writings,
-cultural scene can -uch efforts pursue only a mirage of social justice while leading down
acess of globaliza- :he "road to serfdom." Any form of social planning, in short, "leads to
ark of economistic Liictatorship.''3y
libera1'ism. This line of thinking clearly insulates the economy from any form of
bd market civiliza- -ocial intervention, apart from laws designed to safeguard and further
~ciplesof classical Cree markets. And, in fact, neoliberalism has justified restructuring na-
he dismantling or tional and international economies on a laissez-faire model. As a result of
ern countries and -uch efforts, the social infrastructures of nations have been reorganized
states throughout ilong the following basic and interrelated lines: (1) the deregulation of
at markets are the industry and markets, (2) the reduction of public expenditures for social
nd, therefore, that welfare programs, (3) the privatization of state-owned services and enter-
)cia1 disarray. The prises, and (4) the liberalization of labor markets.
34 Globalization with a H u m a n Face . Globalization?
As noted, these policies have been used to dismember the social welfare .. ror granted he
infrastructures of Western nations. But at the international level, neoliberal .. - to which the
philosophy, as pursued by members of the World Bank, the International - . : i debate and t
Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization, has been used to pre- -
. socially respoi
empt the creation of similar social welfare policies and institutions. The
neoliberal image of globalization, therefore, is exclusively that of an eco-
nomic order driven by the belief in unfettered and universalized markets.
According to this view, universalized market civilization will generate an \ -.:ther political
international division of labor in which all deserving people benefit as - .<)nstructinga v
producers and consumers of goods. Those who do not gain from this . :o what exten!
widespread economic liberalization, the "losers" neoliberals often refer to, . .::. system at all.
fail because of an unwillingness or inability to compete that likely arises - - iiiited with "ce
from the overweening welfare policies of paternalistic states. . :cd into an autor
Clearly this image of a global order defines human liberty solely as .: .ooser sense, a
economic freedom. The ideal of freedom is furthered as people become :: lend social set
better able to participate in markets for their mutual benefit and thus -.:t?rliness. It is po
satisfy an infinite number of individually defined ends. Any restriction of . ::.d order, but the
such economic freedom is considered repressive. For this reason, neoli- . : : least an implic
beralism inverts the often-assumed relationship between democracy and .. Utilization. Such
economics. As Hayek emphasized, in a democracy people may and his- : a n because of tl
torically have chosen to abridge the free operation of markets. In other - ^.els of social d e
words, people have democratically chosen to abridge their freedom. It .,yical realism.
thus follows that freedom is insured not by democracy itself, but by pre- '.\'hen conceived
venting interventions into the market, even when such interventions arise - .:::e, globalization

from democratic deliberations. The market, in short, is the conservator of r e systemic metal
human freedom and democracy, its dependency: only within capitalism : .1 self-organizing
"is democracy pos~ible.''~~ : L - i toward globa
Like political realism, then, neoliberalism extends a framework of con- : dobalization is
cepts that disengages the pursuit of globalization from explicitly eman- ..)net's system of i
cipatory ideals that even repudiate such ideals. Social progress is instead The most sophist
believed to arrive as an indirect benefit of the expanding field of economic ?.eorv,which unil
exchange-a precipitant of human action but not of design.41Because the :v.-- In its most e)
market is autonomous, inviolable, and thought to encapsulate social re- ~osmogonyof sys
lations in their totality, the phraseology of "economic restructuring" and - . e family, nations
"structural adjustment" seems sufficient to imagine the future of human- .-..%es are viewed i
kind; a future in which no aspect of life remains separate from the mar- :issian dolls. Eack
ketplace and in which nations are allied solely by economic ties rather rroperties, includi
than an explicit ethos of cooperation or commitment to political order. No ~ntiationand inter
phrase exemplifies the limits of this conception of global order as much system and envi
as "market-based democracies." This cobbled term, which continually ap- ",iiintained by feec
pears in contemporary political discourse, epitomizes what Herbert Mar- : , ecological modi
cuse referred to as "the syntax of abridgement"42and reflects the extent ::eld of relationshi
to which thinking about globalization is circumscribed by a formulaically -.:-ivironment.
assumed unity between ideas that may be substantially contradictory. This It therefore beco
)n with a Human Face '..-it Is Globalization? 35

er the social welfare .:Len for granted harmony between the market and democracy limits the
~nallevel, neoliberal .\tent to which the course of social development may be subjected to
~ kthe
, International .:itical debate and thereby greatly circumscribes the possibility of imag-
is been used to pre- :ing socially responsive alternatives to the universalized market.
id institutions. The
vely that of an eco-
versalized markets. GLOBALIZATION A S A SOCIAL "SYSTEM"?
,on will generate an Seither political realism nor neoliberalism provides a sufficient basis
g people benefit as :<)rconstructing a viable social order, and it therefore becomes question-
not gain from this :+le to what extent the emerging global order should be considered a
berals often refer to, ixrial system at all. As a framework for social analysis, systemics has been
t e that likely arises .Â¥::sociatewith "centered portrayals of order in which persons are en-
: states. znlted into an autonomous social order considered as a thing-in-itself, but
m liberty solely as -i 1 ' looser sense, a social system refers only to a set of interdependencies
I as people become 5 a t lend social settings a quality of institutional "completenes~"~~ and
il benefit and thus derliness. It is possible to use many other metaphors to conceptualize
3. Any restriction of -c>cialorder, but the idea that any social field tends to cohere into a system
this reason, neoli- . at least an implicit assumption of popular and scholarly discussions of

sen democracy and Jobalization. Such a presupposition tends to subtly legitimize globali-
sople may and his- :.ition because of the systemic metaphor's connection with evolutionary
f markets. In other z~odelsof social development and with the philosopl~icaltradition of on-
,e their freedom. It :cilogical realism.
y itself, but by pre- When conceived as leading to the formation of a social system of global
interventions arise -<ale, globalization seems a historical and essentially orderly inevitability.
-
i the conservator of . he systemic metaphor in effect transforms human beings into spectators
f within capitalism ' t a self-organizing process of social development that seems naturally to
:end toward global scale. However, a more adequate conceptualization
framework of con- 't globalization is as a countersystemics, that is, as a breakdown of the
m explicitly eman- :-Itmet's system of interdependencies.
progress is instead The most sophisticated version of systemics is found in General System
g field of economic Theory, which universalized the conceptual framework of cybernetic the-
:sign.41Because the . ) r ~In. its
~ ~most expansive form, this approach portrays the universe as
:apsulate social re- . cosmogony of systems-within-systems. Human cells, organs, the person,
restructuring" and :he family, nations, up through solar, galactic, and intergalactic assem-
e future of human- ~ l a g e sare viewed as a hierarchy of systems nested within each other like
rate from the mar- Russian dolls. Each level of organization, however, displays a basic set of
onomic ties rather :-roperties, including such features as wholeness, centralization, differ-
political order. No entiation and interdependence of parts, the exchange of energy between
'bal order as much .I system and environment, and adaptation and homeostatic constancy
ich continually ap- maintained by feedback within the system. The systems approach is thus
what Herbert Mar- . I ecological mode of analysis that defines objects in terms of the entire
reflects the extent x l d of relationships with each other and between the system and its
by a formulaically environment.
contradictory. This It therefore becomes possible to think of the world as a dynamic "total
36 Globalization with a Human Face

system" containing within itself a variety of social, political, economic, ...211y the basis 1
and physical subsystem^.^^ This approach has been used by James Love- - -tern of interdc
lock to argue that the Earth itself is a self-regulating "living system." Ac- Even if one lim
cording to his "Gaia Hypothesis," the Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, .\.ever, globali;
oceans, and soil constitute a cybernetic system in which feedback pro- .:rd a global s(
cesses maintain an optimal physical and chemical environment for life. . : : ~ i p a l l ya cele
The totality of living matter on Earth can thus be regarded as constituting ntains a social
a "single living entity" that maintains the Earth's atmosphere to suit its - :: view, which c
needs and that is endowed with emergent properties beyond those of its I\'insion of ma1
constituent The Earth should thus be understood as a manifold of . the efficient a 1
relationships knitted together over millennia by evolutionary processes. 7 other words, 1
Considering the world in this ecological manner highlights one of the - : -ed on determi
contradictions embedded in the word "globalization," for by the close of :-I? communicat
the twentieth century it was clear that the transnational capitalist order : natural resour1
was degrading the Earth's environment and unraveling the biological and :..'be spanning "
climatic interdependencies that constitute the world's ecology. This liter- - 4 of perpetual
ally antiglobal form of globalization had already led to the extinction of A 5 Serge Latoi
many life forms and continues to stress the planet's varied ecosystems to - e l a t e s the idei
the point of collapse.47This environmental deterioration has not resulted
from factors such as overpopulation working in isolation but instead is :division of lab1
an outgrowth of what Emmanuel Wallerstein had termed the "modern ?le for producti
world system."-" In the course of the modern era this network of relation- e of knowledge
ships has led to the dissolution of traditional societies and premodern ?.<ing imperativ
civilizations, the dislocation and proletarianization of populations, and - ..m results and e
the constitution of an international order of states based on economic de- : none other t
pendencies between core and peripheral nations. The result is a "system" "dins, is continu
of intensive resource and labor exploitation that is catastrophic in scale
whether measured in terms of its environmental impacts or the progres- - : utopia of ur
sive impoverishment of the world's people^.^' - e a d y demonstr
The roots of this ecological and sociological crisis have been traced to A'hen approacl
several elements of Western culture, including the ideal of dominating - r that througl
nature evident in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the rise of political and :iijards of livin
economic individualism with the concomitant incessant pursuit of : o n while in thi
wealth, and the emergence of modern science and technology with their .xte poverty a
objectifying ontologies and epistemologies. In the modern era, these am- :bin a nation as
bient facets of culture crystallized into an explicitly exploitative attitude "is these benefi
toward nature goaded by the overarching context of free-market capi- - :leer than gener;
talism.^"Neoliberal economic theory, in particular, provides a framework . p g a t e a dend
of concepts that justifies the exploitation of natural resources for short- '.:-.d5of relative p
term profits. By idealizing continuous economic growth and the expan- - - i i creating a st

sion of markets as the epitome of rationality, any attempt to forward . :'1-n from these
sustainable or "steady-state" models of economic development seems :yloitative labor
prepostero~s.~' In short, while the market model is often celebrated as .>.q and forms
the basis of a global order, its underlying economistic rationality is ac- m s cannot b<
I with a Human Face ' . -iat 15 Globalization? 37

olitical, economic, ally the basis for dissolving the planet's primordial and truly global
?d by James Love- .\stem of interdependencies.j2
.vine system." Ac- Even if one limits the discussion only to the level of social organization,
here, atmosphere, ¥lowever globalization cannot be seriously considered to be leading to-
ich feedback pro- ;\-ard a global social system, as popular discussions suggest. Though
~ironmentfor life. 'rincipally a celebration of possessive individualism, neoliberalism also
led as constituting contains a social ontology based on the division of labor. According to
osphere to suit its :his view, which derives from a narrow reading of Adam Smith, the global
~eyondthose of its ?\pansion of markets will naturally generate an ecumenical order based
id as a manifold of .in the efficient allocation of labor and resources. Universal competition,
ionary processes. n other words, will tend to partition the world into economic spheres
;blights one of the h s e d on determinants such as the characteristics of labor markets, suit-
for by the close of .-iblecommunications and transportation infrastructures, the distribution
>a1capitalist order .if natural resources, and facilitative government policies. As a result, a
the biological and dobe spanning "harmony of interests" is supposed to blossom from the
ecology. This liter- :eed of perpetual competitive turmoil.
3 the extinction ot As Serge Latouche explains, this narrative of economic development
ried ecosystems to :ranslates the ideal of progress into purely economistic terms:
n has not resulted
ion but instead is The division of labour, it has been said since Adam Smith, is the organization of
med the "modern ¥peoplfor production in such a way as to allow maximum productivity in a given
stwork of relation- -tate of knowledge and techniques. . . . But behind all these changes is an un-
:s and premodern Jianging imperative; what I will refer to as the double law of the maximine: max-
populations, and m u m results and enjoyment, minimum costs and effort in attaining them. This
d on economic de- a w is none other than the law of progress: the perfecting of all nature, in all its
ssult is a "system" domains, is continuous and cumulative, the march is "infinite" and "indefinite."5'
tastrophic in scale
cts or the progres- This utopia of universal affluence based on the free-reign of markets is
'ilready demonstrably false.
ave been traced to When approached only from the point of view of material wealth, it is
eal of dominating dear that throughout the globe, including in most developed countries,
se of political and >tandards of living have decreased for substantial portions of the popu-
%ant pursuit of lation while in the poorest countries the numbers of people living in ab-
inology with their d u t e poverty continues to increase.i4 Even when affluence increases
ern era, these am- u-ithin a nation as a result of modernization efforts, with very few excep-
ploitative attitude tions these benefits tend not to be broadly distributed. In other words,
free-market capi- rather than generating a globe-encircling order, neoliberal policies tend to
rides a framework propagate a dendritic form of economic development in which narrow
sources for short- bands of relative prosperity fluoresce around mobile pools of capital. Far
th and the expan- from creating a stable division of labor, investment capital is easily with-
tempt to forward drawn from these semideveloped areas in pursuit of even more fiercely
velopment seems exploitative labor markets. As Paul Kennedy has explained, existing tech-
ften celebrated as nology and forms of automation not only insure that third world popu-
rationality is ac- lations cannot be absorbed into labor markets but also threaten to
38 Globalization with a Human Face .:t Is Globalize

undermine the need to export manufacturing at all^~economicglobali- ': v elopment ac

zation of itself cannot generate an international division of labor stable - L World Tradi
enough to sustain a global social order. o r l d Bank, is
Moreover, even in the exceptional cases where broader portions of I ited Nations
national populations have benefited from integration into the global econ- '3s definitive
omy, as in the case of some Asian nations, this expansive economic de- :-.e- into the ur
velopment has no consistent link with the formation of democratic rnprehensive
institutions.^ Consumer capitalism is easily at home with political au- - - o d d be recog
thoritarianism, with the consequence that economic globalization cannot
be equated with social or political progress. To the contrary, economic
liberalization has involved the dismemberment of the institutional frame- POSTMODEI
work of developed nations in ways that should be recognized as socio- WORLDS
logically retrograde. Finally, one i
One of the key propositions of the systemic approach to social analysis .~rld."Like th
is that societal evolution leads to the formation of corporate institutional :-~itimateglobe
bodies. Emile Durkheim, for instance, saw the appearance of the state as - e natural corn
a key index of a society's level of development and institutional cohesion: . premodern :
: xtality that a1
. . . the state's attributions become ever more numerous and diverse as one ap- : modernity. Tl
proaches the higher types of society. The organ of justice itself, which in the be- implicitly ju
ginning is very simple, begins increasingly to become differentiated.. . . A host of
-Â¥ords is the an
functions that were diffuse become more concentrated. The task of watching over
the education of the young, protecting health generally, presiding over the func- The basis of t
tioning of the public assistance system or managing the transport and communi- yent but is mos
cations system gradually falls within the province of the central body.i7 - ~-ini,wherein c
:"itionalbasis fo
For Talcott Parsons, who extended Durkheim's functionalist mode of anal- :-~ially, expecte
ysis, the welfare state averts social conflict through the institution of tech- :.telligentsia a a
nocratic social policy and thus takes on "increasingly complex regulatory : to reorganize ;
functions" that are considered necessary even for the proper functioning The analogue
of the economy.i8 :opia of materi
One does not have to adopt the sociologism of the functionalist school ..niversal materi
or naive statist politics to recognize the state as a domain for the concerted jnditions the p
action of citizens and even a site for the forwarding of working-class in- .-rute reality in tl
terests. In a mature democracy, statecraft is an adjunct to civil society. i o n of the mark,
Whichever of these perspectives one adopts toward the state, it is clear ?.itlaking an age
that neoliberal policies dissolve the institutional framework of modern .-:ii?mrepresents
societies and thereby impoverish the social category of citizenship. As .-.at have achievi
Latouche explains, neoliberalism produces an ersatz order by "dissem- ~ . o d e lfor
s the r<
bedding" economic activity from the more robust field of social action and . be portable, 1
then translating all of life into economic c a t e g o r i e ~Citizens
.~~ are replaced :ranis of "natior
by consumers; government by the market. At the global level the predom- ?to first-, seconi
inance of such policies justify the actions of transnational monetary or- ::wv have recap1
ganizations that attempt to define and guide the direction of economic :?.e road of socia
n with a Human Face ,. . - c ~15t Globalization? 39

-economic globali- .:?I-elopment across the world. The influence of these institutions, such as
ion of labor stable ..-.e \Vorld Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the
.au..orldBank, is not seriously mediated by the governmental body of the
roader portions of i nited Nations, meaning that the weakening of the "system" of institu-
to the global econ- .:~msdefinitive of the nation-state and the absorption of the world's peo-
~ s i v eeconomic de- :ks into the universal market is not leading to the formation of a more
ion of democratic .Lm~prehensive social system at the global scale. Globalization in this sense
L with political au- . h d d be recognized as a reversal of the sociological arrow of time.
lobalization cannot
contrary, economic
institutional frame-
POSTMODERNISM A N D THE PLURALITY OF
\\-ORLDS
?cognized as socio-
Finally, one can question to what extent globalization unifies "the
:h to social analysis ~~~-0r1d.'' Like the systemic metaphor, the material world often serves to
porate institutional .*gitimate globalization by allowing global institutions to be framed as
ance of the state as :he natural correlate of humanity's planetary existence.Globalization ends
titutional cohesion: :he premodern isolation of peoples and resolves all social traditions into
2 totality that always existed in fact but remained hidden until the advent
~ddiverse as one ap- .lt n~odernity.The material world thus serves as a primordial "social fact"
self, which in the be- :hat implicitly justifies the pursuit of a global order. Global society, in other
mtiated. . . . A host of
..\.ords,is the analogue of the world's tangibility.
task of watching over
siding over the func- The basis of this conception of social order is rooted in the Enlighten-
sport and communi- xent but is most clearly expressed in the positivism of Comte and Durk-
~tralbodyi7 ?elm, wherein deference to empirical reality is considered to be the only
:'?tional basis for reconstructing and maintaining social order. Comte, es-
nalist mode of anal- ?&ally, expected all traditions to be dissolved as members of a positivist
, institution of tech- :ntelligentsia acquired objective knowledge of empirical reality and used
:omplex regulatory :t to reorganize society.
proper functioning The analogue of t h s view in economic thnking takes the form of a
~ ~ t o pof
i a material abundance. Here, also, the earth exists as a mute and
'unctionalist school :~niversalmaterial substratum. "Nature" supports human industry and
in for the concerted conditions the production of wealth, but human action domesticates this
f working-class in- 3rute reality in the course of producing exchangeable utilities. The expan-
to civil society. >ionof the market is therefore seen as the key to pacifying human life and
the state, it is clear ~nitiatingan age of abundance. From this point of view, consumer capi-
~eworkof modern talism represents the pinnacle of human development, and the few nations
of citizenship. As that have achieved this form of social and economic organization serve as
order by "dissem- models for the rest of the world. Because this way of life has been shown
af social action and :o be portable, it can be achieved elsewhere through conscientious pro-
tizens are replaced <rams of "national development." Thus, while societies must be grouped
1level the predom- mto first-, second-, and third-world nations according to the extent that
onal monetary or- h e v have recapitulated the West's mode of life, if carefully spurred along
!ction of economic the road of social development, an ecumenical order awaits all. However,