Informationalism

Globalism is tied to the notion of networks. For

castells (2000), "networks constitute the
fundamental pattern of life, of all kinds of life". It was
previously mentioned that in the present and even in
the past , the world is connected. The difference
between globalism and globalization is the speed and
thickness or intensity of connections . Nevertheless,
people are connected with one another whether as a
small community or as a large country.
° McLuhan and Fiore (2005) argued that in New Medi
a Age, the importance lies in the medium, the way in
which the message is transmitted , not necessarily in
the content presented through the medium. This me
ans that television, radios,and newspaper have been
shaping "individual subjectivity and culture, not only l
ocally but globally" . In addition, the french social the
orist Guy DeBord (1994) emphasized in his idea of m
edia spectacle the sophistication and ubiquity of spec
tacular visual in televisions. This made TV news a for
m of entertainment.
° Although content matters broadcasts, visual spectac
le or significance is an important element and perhap
s the primary key to catch the attention of the audien
ce.
° When one mentions online social networking, spam
, and computer viruses, it is the Internet that binds th
em all. The Internet has prompted a flat world thesis;
anyone can be involved in it, at least theoretically.
° While globalization allowed the expansion of
information, access to modern technologies is
not a universal matter that is available to ever
y person around the world. The Internet and o
ther technologies are limited by certain barrie
rs. These barriers include lack of electricity illit
eracy, weak financial systems, and governmen
t regulations.
Global Citizenship
° Citizenship is associated with rights and obl
igations, for instance, the right to vote and t
he obligation to pay taxes. Both right and obl
igations link the individual to state. It also ha
s to do with our attitudes. We need to be will
ing to engage and to spend time and effort t
o the community of which we feel part of. Co
mmunity has traditionally been regarded as
something very local.
° Caecilia Johanna van Peski (as cited in Baraldi, 2012)
defined global citizenship " as a moral and ethical dis
position that can guide the understanding of individu
als or groups of local and global contexts, and remind
them of thier relatives responsibilities within various
communities." Global citizens are the glue which bin
ds local communities together in an increasingly glob
alized world. In van Peski's words "global citizens mig
ht be a new type of people that can travel within the
se various boundaries and somehow still make sense
of the world"
° There are three approaches to global economic resistance. T
RADE PROTECTIONISM involves the systematic government int
ervention in foreign trade through tariffs and non-tariffs barri
ers in order to encourage domestic producers and deter thier f
oreign competitors. Although there exists a widespread conse
nsus regarding its inefficiency, trade protectionism is still popul
ar since its shields the domestic economy from systemic shock
s. FAIR TRADE is a different approach to economic globalizatio
n, which emerged as a counter to neoliberal "free trade" princi
ples (Nicholls and Opal, 2005). Fair trade aims at a more moral
and equitable global economic system in which, for instance ,
price is not set by the market; instead, it is negotiated transpar
ently by both producers and consumers. While it is popular a
mong consumers in the North, it has met only limited accepta
nce among producers.
° Its ability to supply a mass market and its applicabili
ty to manufacture products are also doubted. The thi
rd form of resistance to economic globalization relate
s to Helping the bottom billion based on Collier (200
7). Increasing aids is only one of the many measures
that are required. International norms and standards
can be adapted to the needs of the bottom billion. Th
e reduction of trade barriers would also reduce the e
conomic marginalization of these people and their na
tions.
° The World Social Forum (WSF) is centered on addressing the lack of demo
cracy in economic and political affairs. However, the diversity of elements i
nvolved in WSF hinders the development of concrete political proposals. A
significant influence on WSF has been that of cyberactivism which is based
on the "cultural logic of networking" and "virtual movements" such as glob
al Huaren. This cyber public was formed as the protest against the violence
, discrimination, and hatred experienced by chinese residents in Indonesia
after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1998, worldwide rallies condemning
the violence were made possible through the Global Huaren which accordi
ng to Ritzer(2015)"became interesting global watchdog for Chinese interest
s"