UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION
ALBERT EINSTEIN (1936) ONCE OBSERVED THAT THE CATEGORIES ARE NOT INHERENT IN THE PHENOMENA. IN OTHER WORDS, CONCEPTS SUCH AS “GLOBALIZATION” AND “INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION” ARE HUMAN CONSTRUCTS WE HAVE DEVELOPED IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND BETTER THE COMPLEXITIES OF WHAT WE BELIEVE IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD. THEORIES ARE SIMPLIFIED MODELS OF REALITY, AND THE FIRST STEP IN THEORY CONSTRUCTION IS CATEGORIZATION OR CLASSIFICATION. OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, RESEARCHERS AND SOCIAL COMMENTATORS HAVE COINED THE TERM “GLOBALIZATION” IN ORDER TO FOCUS ON WHAT THEY BELIEVE ARE INTERRELATED PROCESSES WHICH ARE HAVING TREMENDOUS IMPACTS ON OUR LIVES IN THE LATE TWENTIETH AND EARLY TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES (HEDLEY, 2004: 5). CONSEQUENTLY, THERE IS NO ONE CORRECT DEFINITION OF GLOBALIZATION; IT HAS MANY DIFFERENT MEANINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS, DEPENDING UPON WHO IS DISCUSSING IT AND IN WHAT CONTEXT.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE ELEMENTS
OF AGREEMENT AS TO WHAT GLOBALIZATION MEANS.
THE DERIVATION OF THE TERM
“GLOBALIZATION” IMPLIES THAT IT INVOLVES WORLDWIDE PROCESSES THAT ARE
RELATIVELY NOVEL AND STILL UNFOLDING. THESE MULTIDIMENSIONAL PROCESSES ARE
BEING EXPERIENCED UNEVENLY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OF
SOCIAL LIFE.
{ASIDE: “GLOBALIZATION” AND
“GLOBALISM” DIFFER. GLOBALIZATION REFERS TO A PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION,
WHEREAS GLOBALISM REFERS TO A NEOLIBERAL MARKET IDEOLOGY THAT ENDOWS
GLOBALIZATION WITH THE FOLLOWING VALUES AND NORMS =====> PRIMACY OF ECONOMIC
GROWTH, IMPORTANCE OF FREE TRADE FOR PROSPERITY, UNRESTRICTED FREE MARKET,
INDIVIDUAL CHOICE, REDUCED GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, AND A MODERNIZATION MODEL
OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (STEGER, 2002)}.
GLOBALIZATION IS A
COMPLEX SET OF HUMAN FORCES INVOLVING THE PRODUCTION,
DISTRIBUTION/TRANSMISSION, AND CONSUMPTION OF TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL,
AND SOCIOCULTURAL GOODS AND SERVICES WHICH ARE ADMINISTRATIVELY AND
TECHNOLOGICALLY INTEGRATED ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS
THIS DEFINITION HIGHLIGHTS
THE POINT THAT GLOBALIZATION COMPRISES TECHNOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL
(INCLUDING MILITARY), AND SOCIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS. TOGETHER THESE
DIMENSIONS MAKE UP THE (HUMAN) GLOBAL SYSTEM WHICH OPERATES WITHIN THE BROADER
GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT.
1)
PRELIMINARY PROCESS
LEADING TO GLOBALIZATION == INNOVATIONS IN TRANSPORTATION,
COMMUNICATION, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING WITH IN THE PAST THREE OR
FOUR DECADES HAVE PERMITTED THE CREATION OF A TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT
FACILITATES THE OTHER (THREE) DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION.
2)
WHILE TECHNOLOGY MAY BE
SEEN AS THE FACILITATING MEANS TO MODERN GLOBALIZATION == THE PRIMARY
MOTIVATION HAS BEEN ECONOMIC — THE HARNESSING OF NATURAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES
AND THE ESTABLISHING OF MARKETS AND INVESTMENTS WORLDWIDE BY CAPITALIST
ENTERPRISE TO ACHIEVE GREATER CORPORATE CONTROL.
3)
IN PART, TO COUNTER THE
FORCES OF TECHNOLOGICALLY ENHANCED GLOBAL CAPITALISM, AND TO REPRESENT
CIVIC INTERESTS, GOVERNMENTS AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ALSO
GLOBALIZED THROUGH THE FORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCES ==
[HOWEVER, THESE COALITIONS HAVE BEEN INSUFFICIENT TO MODERATE THE EFFECTS OF
ANOTHER IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF GLOBALIZATION — THE WORLDWIDE CULTURAL OVERLAY
OF WESTERN VALUES, NORMS, INSTITUTIONS, AND PRACTICES. (BECAUSE GLOBALIZATION
WAS INITIATED IN THE WESTERN WORLD, INEVITABLY, WHAT IS PRODUCED, TRANSMITTED,
AND CONSUMED IS MONOCULTURAL. THUS, GLOBALIZATION AS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT
INVOLVES A WORLDWIDE TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN WHICH WESTERN-STYLE CAPITALISM
PREDOMINATES == “GLOBALZATION HAS RAISED THE HUMAN STAKES AND
HEIGHTENED HUMAN ANGST -- THE CHALLENGE OF INCLUSION”]
4)
FINALLY, IF
TECHNOLOGY FACILITATES GLOBALIZATION, THE ECOLOGICAL BIOSPHERE WITHIN WHICH WE
ALL LIVE REPRESENTS ITS OUTSIDE LIMITS. DURING THE LAST FEW DECADES,
MOUNTING EVIDENCE ON A VARIETY OF FRONTS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, POLLUTION,
OZONE DEPLETION, CUMULATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, AND POPULATION GROWTH
INDICATES WE ARE NEARING THESE LIMITS. CONSEQUENTLY, GLOBALIZATION
ALSO INVOLVES A CRITICAL TENSION BETWEEN OUR TECHNOLOGICAL ABILITY TO MODIFY
THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE ULTIMATE ECOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS BEYOND WHICH
HUMAN EXISTENCE IS IMPOSSIBLE.
=========================================================================================
FLERAS ======>
1) ECONOMIC
PHENOMENON: HIGH VOLUMES OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE AND INVESTMENT.
2) POLITICAL
PHENOMENON: DIMINISHING STATE SOVEREIGNTY BECAUSE OF INTERNATIONAL
CORPORATIONS AND REGULATORY BODIES.
3) CULTURAL
PHENOMENON: POTENTIAL HOMOGENIZE CULTURES BECAUSE OF MARKET FORCES THAT
DISRUPT LOCAL CONVENTIONS.
4) SOCIAL
PHENOMENON: DISRUPTION OF COMMUNITY PATTERNS – E.G. URBANIZATION (DISPLACEMENT
OF TRADITIONAL PRACTICES AND LIFESTYLES) AND GLOBAL MIGRATION.
5) COMMUNICATIVE
PHENOMENON: NEW AND RAPID INFORMATION NETWORKS.
{FOR MORE ON THE DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION AS
THE PRESENT STAGE OF CAPITALISM SEE CHANGING CANADA – MEL WATKINS “POLITICS IN THE TIME AND
SPACE OF GLOBALIZATION”
(PP. 8-9)} =====>
ECONOMIC OR CORPORATE
GLOBALIZATION
[FREE TRADE, UNLIMITED MOBILITY OF CAPITAL – TECHNOLOGICAL GLOBALIZATION [THE
WIRED WORLD] – IDEOLOGICAL
GLOBALIZATION [NEOLIBERALISM; FUNDAMENTALIST MESSIANIC CHRISTIANITY] – CULTURAL
GLOBALIZATION [THE MONOCULTUAL AMERICANIZATION OF EVERYTHING AND ETHNIC
FRAGMENTATION] – MILITARY GLOBALIZATION
[THE AMERICAN MILITARIZATION OF EVERYTHING; HIGH-TECH WEAPONIZATION OF
LAND AND SPACE; WORLD MARKETS FOR ARMS AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION] – POLITICAL
GLOBALIZATION [THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND{IMF}; THE WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION {WTO}; NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION {NATO}; EMPHASIZING THE
ANALYTIC HUB OF LIFE IN “TRANSNATIONAL
PROCESSES” BEYOND THE LEVEL OF THE
NATION-STATE] – SOCIAL
GLOBALIZATION [GLOBAL APARTHEID AND GLOBAL MIGRATION AND DISPLACEMENT] – THE GLOBALIZATION
OF DISEASE –
[PAN-EPIDEMICS OF AIDS MAD COW, FOOT-AND-MOUTH, ETC.,] - THE
GLOBALIZATION OF DISSENT [WORLD-WIDE MOBEMENTS AGAINST GLOBALIZATION
FROM CHIAPAS TO SEATTLE TO QUEBEC CITY TO GENOA]
THE GLOBAL CITY
ACCORDING
TO KEIL AND KIPER [IN CHANGING CANADA –
“THE URBAN EXPERIENCE AND
GLOBALIZATION”] =====>
THE
GLOBAL CITY IS THE ANALYTIC UNIT AND FOCAL POINT OF THE ERA OF WORLD
CAPITALISM, CHARACTERIZED DEMOGRAPHICALLY AND IDEOLOGICALLY AS THE CONTEMPORARY
GATHERING PLACE (1) TRANSNATIONAL & NATIONAL IDENTITIES, AND
(2) DIVERSITY AND COSMOPOLITANISM =====> THE IMPLICATIONS HERE FOR
SCHOLARSHIP IS PROFOUND: THE CENTRAL FEATURE OF THE IDEA OF GLOBALIZATION IS
THAT MANY CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY STUDIED AT THE LEVEL OF
NATION-STATES, THAT IS, IN TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, BUT NEED TO BE
THEORIZED IN TERMS OF GLOBAL {TRANSNATIONAL} PROCESSES, BEYOND THE LEVEL OF
NATIONS STATES (SKLAIR 1998) =======> SOME SCHOLARS SEE GLOBAL CITIES AS THE
PRIMARY UNIT OF ANALYSIS WHERE THE GLOBALIZED PROCESSES INTERSECT WITH
TRANSNATIONAL (GLOBAL) COMMUNITIES {INCREASING DIVERSITY AND COSMOPOLITANISM
AND THEIR LOCATION WITHIN THE CIRCUITS OF CAPITAL, COMMODIES, SERVICES, AND
PEOPLE} =======> THESIS: GLOBAL CITIES AS THE GATHERING PLACE OF THE
21ST CENTURY SOUL SEARCH FOR ECONOMIC VIABILITY, POLITICAL GOVERNANCE,
SOCIAL JUSTICE, CULTURAL ENRICHMENT, AND ECOLOGICAL
STUSTAINABILITY.
CONTRADICTIONS OF
GLOBALIZATION
1) AS
ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION BECOMES MORE ENTRENCHED AND EXPANSIVE — ETHNO-RACIAL
TRIBALISM (TRIBALIZATION) INCREASES AS A COUNTERVAILING FORCE.
CONSOLIDATING
CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BOUNDARIES ==> “ETHNO-RACIAL REVIVAL”.
2. {PP 527}
“TO DATE GLOBALIZATION IS AN EXCLUSIONARY FORCE, DENYING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
TO PARTICULAR REGIONS, CULTURES AND CLASSES ... IN TURN THIS CAUSES BACKLASH.
FOR MANY NATIONS AND CULTURES IN THE WORLD, MODERN GLOBALISM CONSTITUTES AN
ELITIST, NORTH-BASED, WESTERN FOCUSED TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT FORM OF ECONOMIC
AND CULTURAL IMPERIALISM.”
EX: ACCORDING TO UN HUAN
DEVELOPMENT REPORT:
•
ABOUT 1/4 OF THE WORLDS
POPULATION (APPROX. 1.5 BILLION PEOPLE LIVE ON LESS THAN ON AMERICAN DOLLAR A
DAY
•
NEARLY A BILLION ARE
ILLITERATE, AND ANOTHER BILLION GO HUNGRY
•
ABOUT 1/3 OF THE
POPULATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WILL NOT SURVIVE TO 40 (HALF THE AVERAGE
LIFE EXPECTANCE IN CANADA)
THIS
GAP BETWEN RICH AND POOR IS DRIFTEING TOWARD A KIND OF “GLOBAL APARTHEID” —
EXTREMES OF POWER AND WEALTH ARE COMPRESSEDINTO GEOGRAPHICALLY SEGREGATED ZONES
TO CREATE AN “APARTNESS” EVERY BIT AS PUNITIVE AND PERVASIVE AS APARTHEID WAS
IN SOUTH AFRICA (FLERAS, 359)
DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES APPEAR TO CONSTANTLY FIND THEMSELVES IN AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF CRISIS,
CONFLICT CORRUPTION, AND CATASTROPHE, WITH NO RESOLUTION IN SIGHT.
CENTURIES
OF EXPLOITATION UNDER COLONIALISM HAVE PROVEN PIVOTAL IN SHAPING NEGATIVE
OUTCOMES.
PATTERNS
OF DEPENDANCY AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT ARE NO LESS DEVASTATING — DIRECT COLONIAL
RULE IS NO LONGER THE CASE, HAVING TRANSFORMED TO INDIRECT RULE (NEOCOLONIALISM)
WITH ITS MINIMAL POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE BUT CONTINUED ECONOMIC CONTROL AND
DEPENDENCY
****CORPORATE
GLOBAL MARKET MODEL — KNOWN AS GLOBALIZATION — MAY WELL REPRESENT THE LATEST
FORM OF COLONIALISM BY ANOTHER NAME.
=========================================================================================
[[[MY
VERSION AND INTEREST LIES IN]]] ---
TWO
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE NEW GLOBALISM:
(1) GOVERNMENTS ARE UNDER PRESSURE TO GIVE UP SOME ASPECTS OF THEIR
SOVEREIGNTY TO MULTINATIONALS AND TRANSNATIONALS.
THE LEADERSHIP AND POWER EXERCISED BY THE
MULTINATIONAL FINANCE AND COMMERCIAL CONCERNS IN DIRECTING NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS
IN FINANCIAL AND OTHER ECONOMIC
POLICIES.
THE INCREASED PROFILE AND POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF COMMERCIAL
AND FINANCIAL INTERESTS.
(2) INTER-ETHNIC DIVERSTY AND CONTACTS HAVE INTENSIFIED.
THEREFORE, GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE UNDER A
GROWING PRESSURE TO ACCOMMODATE INCREASINGLY DIVERSE POPULATIONS WITHIN A
SINGLE BODY-POLITIC -- THAT IS, TO FIND SOME POLITICAL FORM OF PLURALIST
ACCOMODATION.
SOCIOLOGICAL ASIDE: ETHNIC GROUPS ARE EMERGING TRANSNATIONAL ACTORS -- (A) LARGE SCALE INTERNATIONAL
MIGRATION, (B) GLOBAL PRESENCE OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC GROUPS (INTER-ETHNIC
DIVERSITY), AND (C) THE GLOBALIZATION OF OLDER, PRE-EXISTING CONFLICT AMONG
TRADITIONAL CULTURES.
THEREFORE,
TO ADEQUATELY ADDRESS CONFLICT, INEQUALITY, AND DOMINATION, THE BEST SOCIAL
THEORISTS (REMARKABLY INNOVATIVELY) ARE WORKING ON STRATEGIC POLICY AND
(LEGISLTIVE) INSTRUMENTS TO REDRESS SOCIAL INJUSTICES -- MULTICULTURALISM AND
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY.
GOVERNMENTS
AROUND THE WORLD HAVE TO SHARE POWER WITH TRANSNATIONAL INTERESTS, AND THEY
ALSO HAVE TO RE-TOOL POLITICAL INSTRUMENTS TO MANAGE ETHNO-RACIAL TRENDS AND
POPULATION PRESSURES.
(ALSO)
"THE GLOBAL SOCIETY" IS DISTINGUISHED BY, THE SYSTEM OF
COMMUNICATION AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY ELECTRONIC MEANS, WHERE PERSONS
OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS CAN COMMUNICATE RELATIVELY EASILY ACROSS VAST
DISTANCES, ENGAGE IN COMMON CONVERSATION AND UNDERTAKE JOINT PROJECTS.
EX: CANADA IS A MODERN SOCIETY THAT HAS A GROWING
"INFORMATION ECONOMY" -- MANY VIRTUAL MARKETPLACES IN CYBERSPACE,
LIKE FINANCIAL AND SECURITIES MARKETS -- TENDENCY IS TO MAKE NATIONAL BOUNDARIES
OBSOLETE.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
ALL
IN ALL THEN) THE GLOBAL SOCIETY'S RELATION TO "CULTURAL" AND ETHNIC
DIVERSITY IS SOMEWHAT PARADOXICAL.
(A) ON THE ONE HAND, CULTURAL IDENTITY AS THE ELEMENT OF DEFINING THE
BOUNDARIES OF SOCIETY IS ACKNOWLEDGED BUT SEEN AS AN ANTIQUATED REALITY THAT IS
SUBORDINATED TO GLOBAL ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS.
EX: SLOGAN FOR MCI WORLDCOM: "THE WORLD IS OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR
BUSINESS".
(B) ON THE OTHER HAND, THE LEADERS OF THE GLOBAL SOCIETY CONSTANTLY
DEAL WITH MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY AND RECOGNIZE IT AS AN ECONOMIC RESOURCE.
(EX: TOP NOTCH INDUSTRIES PROCLAIM THE VIRTUES OF
MULTICULTURAL SALES FORCE).
=========================================================================================
SOME RESEARCHERS EQUATE “GLOBALIZATION”
TO AN EXERCISE IN “SOFT HEGEMONY,” THAT IS A TOOL BY RICH
SOCIETIES TO GAIN DISPORPORTIONATE ADVANTAGE (CHAN AND SCARRITT, 2002).OTHERS
ARE LESS SANGUINE: IN A STRONGLY WORDED CRITQUE, WILLIAM ROBINSON (1996)
COUCHES GLOBALIZATION IN APOCALYPTIC TERMS AS A PLANETART STRUGGLE
BETWEEN THE COSMOPOLITAN RICH AND THE PAROCHIAL POOR FROM WHICH THERE IS NO
ESCAPE. THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDS
IS COMPARABLE TO PREDATORY SCALE TO THE RAVAGES OF 19TH CENTURY
COLONIALISM. IN THAT CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION IS SIMPLY AN EXTENSION OF A
COLONIALISM AND CAPITALISM WITH ITS COMMITMENT TO EXPLOIT CHEAP LABOUR UNDER
INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS ... (FLERAS, 2005: 366)
I SAY ======> THIS PLANETART STRUGGLE
BETWEEN THE COSMOPOLITAN RICH AND THE PAROCHIAL POOR FROM WHICH THERE IS NO
ESCAPE BREAKS DOWN ALONG RACIAL LINES EUPHEIMIZED IN THE GEO-POLITICAL
TERMINOLOGY OF — “THE NORTH-SOUTH BIFRUCATION”
HAS AIDED IN THE RECONFIGURATION
(RE-COLONIALIZATION?) OF THE WORLD POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY INTO THE “GLOBAL
NORTH” AND THE “GLOBAL SOUTH”---- EX: IMMIGRATION FLOWS// MARXIAN
RESERVED ARMY OF INDENTURED WORKERS FROM THE SOUTH OFTEN “WITHOUT PAPERS” AND
EXPLOITED {NEO-COLONIALIST COMMITMENT TO EXPLOIT CHEAP LABOUR } — “THE BOAT
PEOPLE” ======>
EX: TERRORISM
AND SCOURGE (EVER BROWN BODY — BODY OF COLOUR ---- IS A POTENTIAL
TERRORIST — EX: "FLYING WHILE BROWN" MEANS YOUR ARE SUBJECT TO
GLOBAL RACIAL PROFILING)}}}
THE “BEST” SOCIOLOGISTS ARE
NOW IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO RE-THINK CANADIAN SOCIETY AND
GLOBAL-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN TERMS OF ETHNORACIAL REALITY — FROM THE
STANDPOINT OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN RACIALIZED AS DANGEROUS, AS ALIEN, AS
POTENTIAL THREATS TO WORLD HISTORY AND PROGRESS.
=========================================================================================
IN
THE PRESENT=
IN THE
AGE OF GLOBALIZATION THERE ARE TWO INTERNATIONAL "KINDS OF
PEOPLE" CATEGORIES:
NORTH - [DEVELOPED, RICH COUNTRIES]
SOUTH - [DEVELOPING, POOR COUNTRIES]
FOSTER ========>
MY FOCUS AND INTEREST IN ALL OF THIS – SOCIAL “GLOBAL” STRATIFICATION AND
SOCIAL “GLOBAL” INEQUALITY DIMENSIONS OF
GLOBALIZATION.
GLOBALIZATION
WORKS ON THREE LEVELS THAT PUT A LARGE PORTION OF HUMANITY AT RISK — (1) DEVELOPMENT
GAP; (2) A CULTURE GAP; AND (3) CLASS DISPARITY
CONTRADICTIONS
ABOUND AND PREVAIL, AND ARE CAPTURED
IN THIS SCATHING INDICTMENT OF A THREE-TIERED WORLD =======> (1) THOSE
THAT SPEND MONEY TO KEEP THEIR WEIGHT DOWN, (2) THOSE WHO EAT TO LIVE,
AND (3) THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW WHERE THEIR NEXT MEAL WILL COME FROM
[(KAWACHI AND KENNEDY, 2002) – FOUND IN FLERAS PP.360].
[[INCREASING
DISAFFECTION WITH THE PROMISES OF GLOBALIZATION — FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF
THE SOUTH, OR THE NON-WESTERN, OR THE MASSES, GLOBALIZATION IS NOT VIEWED WITH
ENTHUSIASM, AND CONSEQUENTLY, ACTIVE OPPOSITION TO IT COULD RESULT. THESE
CONSTITUTE THE “COUNTERFORCES” TO GLOBALIZATION — THE
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED
PRIMARILY BY CORPORATIONS, GOVERNMENTS, AND INDIVIDUALS IN RICH DEVELOPED
COUNTRIES FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT {THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE WORLD’S
POPULATION HAS YET TO BE CONNECTED TO THIS INFRASTRUCTURE}
TO
DATE, GLOBALIZATION IS AN EXCLUSIONARY FORCE, DENYING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION TO
PARTICULAR REGIONS, CULTURES, AND CLASSES. IN TURN, THIS IS CAUSING BACKLASH. FOR MANY NATIONS, CULTURES,
INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORLD, MODERN GLOBALISM
CONSTITUTES AN ELITEST, NORTHERN-BASED, WESTERN-FOCUSED, TECHNOLOGICALLY
SUPPORTED FORM OF ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPERIALISM.
IN
ORDER TO TURN THIS VICIOUS CIRCLE INTO A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE, THE PRESIDENT OF THE
WORLD BANK (WOLFENSON, 997:6) HAS ISSUED A CHALLENGE OF INCLUSION
“TO REDUCE ... DISPARITIES ACROSS AND WITHIN COUNTRIES, TO BRING MORE PEOPLE
INTO THE ECONOMIC MAINSTREAM, [AND] TO PROMOTE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO BENEFITS OF
DEVELOPMENT REGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY, RACE, OR GENDER”
IN SOME
SENSE, THE CHALLENGE OF INCLUSION IS TO CHANGE THE INERTIA OF GLOBALIZATION FROM
AN IMPOSITION “FROM ABOVE” BY GREEDY CORPORATE INTERESTS TO A “BOTTOMS-UP”
FOCUSED GLOBALIZATION THAT PUTS PEOPLE AHEAD OF PROFITS (STAR AND ADAMS, 2003)
[AS R.
ALAN HEDLEY PUT IT IN — “UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION”]
WHETHER THIS CHALLENGE BECOMES REALITY REMAINS TO BE SEEN; HOWEVER, UNTIL IT
DOES, THE WORLD AS A WHOLE CANNOT TRULY BE CHARACTERIZED AS GLOBALIZED.
=========================================================================================
•HUMANISTIC GLOBALIZATION: PRIORITIZES HUMAN
NEEDS AND CONCERNS WITHIN THE FAMEWORK OF GLOBALIZATION THAT SPREADS THE
WEALTH AND BENEFITS MORE EQUITABLY --- IT IS ABOUT CONSERVING COMMUNITY AND
PROVIDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, PUTTING PEOPLE'S NEEDS ABOVE PROFIT, USING
LOCAL RESOURCES, ENCOURAGING DIVERSITY (FLERAS 372)
IT IS
CHARACTERIZED BY A “BOTTOMS-UP”
NEOGLOBALIZAITON THAT ENSURES BENEFITS ARE EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED, RATHER THAN A
“TOP-DOWN” GLOBALIZATION THAT IS DRIVEN BY TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS
PRIMARILY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CORPORATE ELITE
TO A
ACHIEVE HUMANISTIC GLOBALIZATION WE NEED TO:
!SHIFT
ECONOMIES FROM PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT TO PRODUCTION FOR LOCAL MARKETS
!BECOME
LESS DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND MARKETS
!DISTRIBUTE
INCOME TO CREATE A MORE THRIVING INTERNAL MARKET
!DE-EMPHASIZE
GROWTH TO ENURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
!SUBJECT
THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO MONITORING BY PRIVATE SOCIETY
!ENCOURAGE
PRODUCTION AT ALL LEVELS TO PRESERVE THE INTEGITY OF SOCIETY
POLITICAL
ECONOMY AS “TRANSFORMATION” == TRANSFORMATIVE BEHAVIOUR – “CREATIVITY”
– ARISES OUT OF THE CONTRADICTIONS WHICH ATTRACT BOTH THE INTERNALIZED
HETEROGENEITY OF “THINGS” AND OUT OF THE MORE OBVIOUS HETEROGENEITY PRESENT
WITHIN SYSTEMS. IN A DIALECTICAL VIEW, OPPOSING FORCES, THEMSELVES CONSTITUTED
OUT OF PROCESSES, IN TURN BECOME PARTICULAR NODAL POINTS FOR FURTHER PATTERNS
OF TRANSFORMATIVE ACTIVITY. MATTER AND NON-MATTER, POSITIVE AND
NEGATIVE CHARGES, REPULSION AND ATTRACTION, LIFE AND DEATH, MIND AND MATTER,
MASCULINE AND FEMININE, CAPITAL AND LABOUR ETC. ARE CONSTITUTED AS OPPOSITIONS
AROUND WHICH CONGEAL A WHOLE HOST OF TRANSFORMATIVE ACTIVITIES THAT BOTH
REPRODUCE THE OPPOSITIONS AND RESTRUCTURE THE PHYSICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL
WORLD (HARVEY 1996: 54)
[[[TRANSFORMATION
IS ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN CHANGING CANADIAN CANADA AND
ALSO ABOUT CHANGES IN CANADIAN POLITICAL ECONOMY ITSELF == IT IS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE {IN THIS TRANSFORMATIVE REGARD} TO MARSHAL
EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATION SO AS TO “HELP MOBILIZE FORCES OF CHANGE” {PORTER,
1987: 3} == AS STUDENTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE OUR QUEST TO UNDERSTAND, EXPLAIN AND
RESIST THE COMPLEX FORCES AROUND US.]]]
…
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STEVE AND JAMES R. SCARRITT (2002). “GLOBALIZATION, SOFT HEGEMONY, AND
DEMOCRATIZATION: THEIR SOURCES AND EFFECTS.” PP.1 33 IN COPING WITH
GLOBALIZATION
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AUGIE (2005). SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN CANADA: CONDITIONS, CONSTRUCTIONS AND
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DAVID (1996) JUSTICE, NATURE, AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF DIFFERENCE. CAMBRIDGE:
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