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Contemporary World Chapter 1
Course: Basic Electronics (Tech 122)
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University: Bukidnon State University
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
GLOBALIZATION
It has been said that arguing against Globalization is like
arguing againts the laws of gravity.
-Kofi Annan
Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students are expected to have a better
grasp of the concept of Globalization and should be able to:
1. Define what Globalization is and what it stands for in our
contemporary world;
2. Differentiate the competing conceptions of globalization and
undermine the various schools of thought and paradigms on
Globalization;
3. Understand the raison d'être of Globalization, its goals and
aspirations; and
4. Equip students with 21st century learning and develop higher
order thinking skills that will lead towards a deeper
understanding of Globalization and its role in the world; in the
Philippine society as well as its role in the individual formation
of the students in relation to their future respective professions.
What is Globalization?
The term "globalization" has several contending meanings. We
can rundown some of the widely accepted definitions of
globalization to prove this point. Giddens, for instance, defines
it as the "intensification of worldwide social relations which link
distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped
by events occurring many miles away and vice versa" (1990:64).
The interconnectedness of human beings, brought about by
technological changes, modern transportation and
communication technology, seems to be the common
understanding of globalization. Contributing to this
understanding of globalization is Robertson, who defines
globalization as a concept that "refers both to the compression of
the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as
a whole.." (Robertson 1992: 8). Harvey (1989) introduced
globalization as the compression of time and space and the
annihilation of distance. The Sunny Levin Institute looks at
globalization as a process of interaction and integration among
the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a
process driven by international trade and investment and aided
by information technology. This process has effects on the
environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic
development and prosperity, and on human physical well- being
in societies around the world (Steger, 2005).
On the other hand, a group of globalization scholars does not
subscribe to the sociological viewpoint. Instead, they argue that
internationalization and multinationalization are phases that
precede globalization because the latter heralds the end of the
state system as the nucleus of human activities (Grupo de
Lisboa, 1994, quoted in DeSoussa Santos, 2002: 68). They
explain that the activities and developments in globalization have
taken place outside the formal structures of the nation-state.
Globalization marks the increasing irrelevance of the nation-
state, whose status dominant political organization was
acknowledged by the Treaty of Westphalia. In short, according
to this group of scholars, we might witness the end of the nation-
state. Others explain globalization from the economic viewpoint;
they think that the phenomenon is dominated by global
economic activities like the neoliberal regime, the reduction of
tariffs, the creation of transnational corporations, and
improvement of multilateral trade organizations. The
existence of these several definitions of globalization clearly
point out that there can be as many definitions as there are
scholars studying in it.
What can explain the existence of competing, definitions of
globalization? Primarily, this can be attributed to the diversity of
disciplines that have studied the phenomenon. Globalization was
first used as a term in the academic circles in the decades of
1960s and 1970s (Nederveen Peterse, 2012; Steger, 2005) but
had gained wide interest in the 1990s. Scholars from the
traditional disciplines of political science, economics, history,
sociology, and philosophy have examined globalization using the
analytical tools and methods provided by their respective
discipline. Apparently, their ideas and analyses can only shed
light on certain aspects of globalization. Historians, for instance,
are more interested in determining whether globalization is really
a modern phenomenon. Economists, on the other hand, look into
the changing patterns of international trade and commerce as
well as the unequal distribution of wealth. Meanwhile, political
scientists focus more on the impact of the forces of globalization,
such as the international non-governmental organizations and
international organizations, on the state and vice versa. These
diverse focal points and research interests across disciplines have
resulted in competing definitions of globalization.
Globalization as a process, condition, and ideology
In the absence of a generally accepted definition, Steger (2005)
explains that globalization has been commonly understood either
as a process, a condition, or an ideology.
Globalization as a process
Globalization is viewed as a multidimensional set of social
processes that generate and increase "worldwide social
interdependencies and exchanges while at the same time
fostering in people a growing awareness of deepening
connections between the local and the distant" (Steger, 2005:
13). This view argues that globalization is about the compression
of time and space brought about by changes in technology and
the political, cultural, and economic aspects of human existence.
If globalization is viewed as a process, which denotes happening
over a stretch of time, can we trace its beginning? In short, when
did globalization start? Again, looking for an answer to this
question is a difficult task since globalizations scholars disagree
on an answer. Scholars specializing in international relations,
political science, media studies, and economics date
globalization from the 1970s, with the formation of global value
chains and accelerated communication (Nederveen Pieterse,
2012). Another variant of this periodization refers to neoliberal
globalization, 1980-2000. In sociology, the timeline stretches
wider since the point of interest is modernity, which began
during the period of Renaissance, followed by the
Enlightenment, then the French Revolution and lasted up until
the period of well as the Marxist perspective, the origin of
globalization can be traced back to the 1500s, following Marx's
dictum "the conquest of the world market marks the birth of
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