THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

GEED 10043
Michael E. Bismar
Master of Arts in Social Development (ongoing)
Philippine Women’s University
COURSE OBJECTIVES

 Distinguish the different interpretations of and approaches to GLOBALIZATION

 Describe the emergence of global economic, political, social and cultural systems

 Differentiate the various contemporary drivers of globalization

 Examine the issues confronting the nation-state

 Assess the effects of globalization on different social units and their responses
INSTITUTIONAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Creative and critical thinking

 Effective communication
 Strong service orientation
 Community engagement
 Adeptness in the responsible use of technology
 Passion to life-long learning
 High level of leadership and organizational skills
 Sense of personal and professional ethics
 Sense of nationalism and global responsiveness
GRADING SYSTEM

 Attendance= 10%
 Class participation= 30%
 Midterm paper= 30%
 Final paper= 30%
total: 100%

No special exams unless due to emergency situation; to present valid certification

GROUP REPORTING ASSIGNMENT
PHILIPPINES IN GLOBALIZATION
INTRODUCTION TO GLOBALIZATION

Group discussion:

Discuss in 10-minute about globalization.

Make a word cloud on globalization.
 DIFFERENT CONCEPTS ON GLOBALIZATION

 Process by which the world is said to become a single space (Dictionary of Sociology)

 The growing interdependence and interconnectedness of the modern world through increased flows of
goods, services, capital, people and information. The process is driven by technological advances and
the reduction of costs of international transactions, which spread technology and ideas, raise the share of
trade in world production and increase the mobility of capital. (The UK Department for International
Development, 2000a)

 The growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume and variety of
cross-border transactions in goods and services, freer international capital flows, and more rapid and
widespread diffusion of technology. (International Monetary Fund)

 Globalization is the movement towards the expansion of economic and social ties between countries
through the spread of corporate institutions and the capitalist philosophy that leads to the shrinking of the
world in economic terms. (International Monetary Fund)
 DIFFERENT CONCEPTS ON GLOBALIZATION

 In political sphere, the rise of international agencies including the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund and the World Trade Organization which regulate the global economy and therefore set limits on the
freedom of nation states.

 In economic sphere, large multinational companies operating in many different countries in global scale
 Name sample of brands

 Celphone
 Milk Formula
 Shoes
 Mens apparel
 Women’s clothes
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: THE MODERN WORLD SYSTEM
(IMMANUELE WALLERSTEIN, 1930--)

Source: The Sociology Book, page 144

PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: THE MODERN WORLD SYSTEM
(IMMANUELE WALLERSTEIN, 1930--)

“Nations of the world are

interconnected by a global system of
economic relationships that sees
more developed nations exploiting
the natural resources and labour of
developing nations.” Immanuel
Wallerstein

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 145
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: RISK SOCIETY
(ULRICH BECK, 1930--)

Risk 1: global irreparable damage

Risk 2: exclusion of precautionary aftercare
Risk 3: No limit on space and
time/unpredictable
global accident

Risk response:

APATHY—DENIAL—TRANSFORMATION

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 158-159
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: LIQUID MODERNITY
(ZYGMUNT BAUMAN)

We have entered the world of liquid modernity.

Zygmunt Bauman

We live in a globalizing world. That means all of

us, consciously or not, depend on each other.
Zygmunt Bauman

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 138-139
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: LIQUID MODERNITY
(ZYGMUNT BAUMAN)

Solid modernity—as ordered, rational,

predictable, and relatively stable.;
human activity and institutions along
bureaucratic line like in Auschwitz camp

Liquid modernity—a new stage of

societies—mobile, fast-flowing, changeable,
amorphous, without a center of gravity, and
difficult to contain and predict.

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 138-139
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: LIQUID MODERNITY
(ZYGMUNT BAUMAN)

Consequences of liquid modernity:

1. Nation-states are no longer the key load-bearing structures of the
society; national governments have less power now.
2. Rise of global capitalism and the proliferation of multi and transnational
corporations.
3. Electronic technologies and Internet are now the supranational flow of
communication
4. Societies are now more risk-preoccupied; dwelling on insecurities and
potential hazards.
5. Influx of global migration Source:
The Sociology Book, page 138-139
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: EPISTEMOLOGIES OF THE SOUTH
(BOAVENTURA SANTOS, 1940-)

Global North—rich countries

Global South—poor countries

Division of the world—uneven conflict

Hegemonic—dominant states and

ideologies

Counter-hegemonic—dominated states and

ideologies

Case of indigenous tribes in Brazil on the

discovery of healing plants exploited by rich
states
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: THE GLOBAL CITY
(SASKIA SASSEN, 1949—)

Global cities are market places where

financial goods are bought and sold. NY,
London, Tokyo, Ams, HK, Shanghai,
Frankfurt and Sydney (among others) are
major financial centers, home to large
banks, business and stock exchanges.

Living in a multinational urban culture and

multiculturalism

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 164-165
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: GLOCALIZATION
(ROLAND ROBERTSON, 1938—)

A term adopted by sociologists from the marketing

strategies of global companies which introduce
minor modifications into global products for
different local markets, to comply with local tastes
and culture.
• Globalization of local
• Localization of global

Globalization’s two-fold tendencies

• Universalizing
• Particularizing

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 146-147
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: THE NETWORK SOCIETY
(MANUEL CASTELLS, 1942—)

The network society is a result of affordable, globally unifying telecommunications technology that
has changed the way we live, think and do things.

Source:
Social Media era
The Sociology Book, page 154-155
PERSPECTIVE ON GLOBALIZATION: CLIMATE CHANGE AS CONSEQUENCE
(ANTHONY GIDDENS, 191938—)

The world is in danger and globalization is

to be blamed.

Globalization of modernity and its

consequences marks a new stage of human
civilization—late modernity.

Mitigation versus Adaptation

Source:
The Sociology Book, page 148-149
IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF
GLOBALIZATION
1. Rapid growth in the interrelatedness of culture, commodities,
information and peoples across time and space
2. The expanding capacity of information technologies and systems to
compress time and space
3. The diffusion of standardized behavior, practices and codes for
processing flows of information, money, commodities and people
4. The emergence of systems to promote, control, oversee or reject
globalization
5. And the mergence of types of consciousness that recognize, promote ,
celebrate or criticize global processes such as cosmopolitan
 GLOBALIZATION PROCESS

Globalization as Economic Process

 Economic accounts of globalization convey the notion that the essence of the phenomenon involves ‘the
increasing linkage of national economies through trade, financial flows, and foreign direct investment … by
multinational firms’ (Gilpin, 2000: 299). Started at post-war world economy to the 1944 Bretton Woods
Conference to neo-liberalism in 1980s to present.

Source:
The SAGE Handbook of Globalization
 GLOBALIZATION PROCESS

Globalization as Political Process

 The need for effective global governance structures as a consequence of various forces of globalization.
They portray globalization as diminishing the sovereignty of national governance, thereby reducing the
relevance of the nation-state.. --- Political scientists David Held and Anthony McGrew
 Emergence of World Wide Web as facilitating factor for global governance
 Politics is the crucial category upon which rests a proper understanding of globalization.

 ‘Globalization has happened because technological advances have broken down many physical barriers to
worldwide communication which used to limit how much connected or cooperative activity of any kind could
happen over long distances.’ Richard Langhorne
 The process of political globalization will lead to the decline of territory as a meaningful framework for
understanding political and social change. No longer functioning along the lines of discrete territorial units,
the political order of the future will be one of regional economies linked together in an almost seamless
global web that operates according to free-market principles.
Source:
The SAGE Handbook of Globalization
 GLOBALIZATION PROCESS

Globalization as Cultural Process

 ‘Globalization lies at the heart of modern culture; cultural practices lie at the heart of globalization.’ Cultural
globalization as a ‘densely growing network of complex cultural interconnections and interdependencies
that characterize modern social life’. Sociologist John Tomlinson
 ‘McDonaldization’-- George Ritzer (1993)

Source:
The SAGE Handbook of Globalization
 IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION

 The globalization of markets reduces the power of states to set prices for
commodities like oil for example and instead privileges the interests of those best
placed to compete globally by virtue of scale, expertise, technology, financial
resources and political leverage.

 Standard culture or cultural diversity?

 Possibility of new global system or loss of sovereignty?

 Cimate change or industrialization?

WEEK II: PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Assignment: Read PDP and be ready in the class discussion

 TIMELINE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORICAL
MILESTONES—TOWARDS GLOBAL PERIOD
 Pre-Spanish

 Spanish

 American

 Japanese

 Post-colonial or neo-colonial
 Duterte Administration
 PRESENT: PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT
PLAN
 Middle Class Aspiration: Filipinos’ vision for the Philippines in 2040 is a
prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where there is equality of
opportunities and poverty has been eradicated.

 Building a prosperous, predominantly middle-class society where no one is poor,

create the conditions for the growth of enterprises that generate high-quality jobs
and produce high-quality goods and services at competitive prices.
PDP PRIORITY AREAS

• Housing and urban development

• Manufacturing (food processing, housing-related goods and services, transport)
• Connectivity (roads, ports, airports, bridges, communication)
• Education services
• Financial services
• Health services
• Tourism-related services
• Agricultural development
• Countryside development
PDP UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL
PROTECTION
• Reduction of infant mortality rate through quality maternal health and child care
• Reproductive health and family planning programs
• Eradication of malnutrition
• Programs and facilities to encourage development of healthy lifestyles
• Efficiently-managed natural resources and environment
PDP HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
REQUIREMENTS
 Education system should equip citizens with knowledge and skills necessary to
occupy high-productivity jobs, while remaining adaptable to changing needs of
the economy. The K to 12 program provides a foundation for a smarter society,
and it should continue.
 Strong intellectual property rights framework to encourage Filipinos to generate
innovative products and ideas

 A mature research and development (R&D) program

PDP HIGH-TRUST PHILIPPINE SOCIETY

 Public goods and services should be efficiently delivered by a professional

bureaucracy, including at the local level
 Promote competition and inclusiveness in the political system through major
political and electoral reform
 Pursue the peace agenda that accompanies a long-term development agenda for
areas threatened by armed conflict
 Create social and cultural awareness and develop in every Filipino a deep
appreciation of the Filipino nation.
 GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS AND
PROSPECTS
 Economic Trends

 Muted Global Economic Recovery

 Sluggish International Trade
 Surge in Foreign Investments
 Asynchronous Monetary Policy in Advanced Economies
 GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS AND
PROSPECTS
 Political Trends

 Populist and Protectionist Tendencies

 Rise of Fundamentalism
 Maritime Disputes
 GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS AND
PROSPECTS
 Social and Demographic Trends

 Ageing Populations
 Inequality May Persist in Some Nations
 Shift Towards Universities and Private Funding
 Upcoming Disruptive Technologies
 GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS AND
PROSPECTS
 Environmental Trends

 Climate Change
 Disastrous events
 Migration influx
PDP STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

 AmBisyon: “matatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay.”

 Target:

 The Philippines will be an upper middle income country by 2022.

 Growth will be more inclusive as manifested by a lower poverty incidence in the rural areas,
from 30 percent in 2015 to 20 percent in 2022.
 The Philippines will have a high level of human development by 2022.
 The unemployment rate will decline from the current 5.5 percent to 3-5 percent in 2022.
 There will be greater trust in government and in society.
 Individuals and communities will be more resilient.
 Filipinos will have greater drive for innovation.
PDP STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
CRITIC ON PDP

 First, the plan avoids correcting the severe asset inequities and income imbalances
that keep millions of Filipinos marginalized from meaningful economic activity.
 This means that all the plan's rhetoric about creating economic opportunities will really just
mean greater profitable opportunities for the few who have the accumulated assets and
incomes to begin with. Free market economics exalts asset accumulation as proof of
efficiency and income inequality as incentivizing efficiency.

 Second, the plan is blind to the urgency of industrial development. The Philippine
economy has to be rebalanced away from its bloated service sector towards real
domestic industry.
 The plan succumbs to the outdated globalization propaganda that the only industry worth
developing is what the world market decides is globally 'competitive'. The industrialized
countries promote this notion to preserve their privileged industrial status and the economic
and political power that comes with this. The plan also crudely believes that liberalized
market forces deepen and modernize the economy, produce high growth, and reduce
joblessness and poverty.
Source:
Sonny Africa, Rappler, June 2017
CRITIC ON PDP

 Shallow aspiration
 The plan does not recognize the importance of industrialization. For instance, it
illogically lumps together "industry and services" with the shallow aspiration for these to
be "globally competitive as the country strengthens its economic ties with other
countries.” This is perplexing.
 Industrial activity and services are vastly different in nature and have vastly different
contributions to development. Industrialization creates more employment, raises
incomes higher, stimulates greater economic activity, and drives better science and
technology. This is why industry has primacy when pursuing strategic economic
development.

Source:
Sonny Africa, Rappler, June 2017