METAPHORS OF GLOBALIZATION Trends - course/movement of change and/or

development.
TOPICS FOR TODAY: Digital Illiteracy - lack of proper info in use of IoT
1. SOLID, LIQUID AND GAS Digitization - technologies/gadgets/innovations
2. LIQUID FLOWS
2.1. INTERCONNECTED Telehealth and online class
2.2. MULTIDIMENSIONAL Remote work/ online work - fluid offices (change in org
2.3. CONFLICTING and system)
2.4. REVERSE Online businesses and selling - Marketplace of niche -
3. HEAVY, LIGHT AND WEIGHTLESS economic activity
Money 4.0 - crypto currencies, financial digital
Globalization/ A Basic Text by Ritzer and Dean (2015) transactions.
Face masks and SHIELD - extended presence
GOALS: Adjustments in isolation
1. To Understand and appreciate the movement of - (Nassim Taleb and Jamais Cascio)
important things in the Globalized world. Solids: poverty, disease, lack of education
2. To spark curiosity that will lead to learning about Barriers: man-made walls
our surroundings. Messenger - Snail Mail/ telegraph - Email
3. Have an open mind to the changes we see in an Transportations (car, train, planes etc)
environment. Integration - flow or movement
4. To be updated with the current issues that may Gas - Karl Marx (everything solid tends to melt into thin
or may have indirect effects on our everyday air)
lives. Digital economy - online stocks, transactions, OL
businesses. Ex. etoro, colfinancial
SOLID, LIQUID GAS Flows - dynamic, reciprocate, multi-dimensional
Solid (Solidarity)
• People, things, information and place that Interconnected:
“harden” overtime and therefore have a limited Shipping - transporting one place to another using water
mobility. systems/bodies of water. / illegal activities (smuggled
• Persistence of barrier that prevents movement. goods, illegal products/ human trafficking)
• Remains largely in place. Multi-dimensional : n, s, e, w - encompass CULTURE
• Best examples are books, tablets, walls, etc. Conflicting: flow of ideas create conflict
Example: War, US and Terror Group
Liquid (Liquidity) Reverse - back and fort movement
• Increasing ease of movement of PEOPLE , things, Example: Pollution
information, and places in the global age.
• Everywhere we turn, more things are becoming LIQUID FLOWS
increasingly liquefied including ourselves. 1. Interconnected flows
• Solids tends to MELT. Global flows do not occur in isolation from one
another - many different flows interconnect at
Gas (Gaseousness) various points in time.
• Hyper mobility of people, things, information and 2. Multi-dimensional flows
plans in the global age. All sorts of things flow in every conceivable
• Much of the information now are available direction among all other points in the world.
virtually instantly around the world. Wafts 3. Conflicting Flows
through the air in the form of signals beamed of The transplanetary process can also conflict with
satellites one another (and with much else).
4. Reverse Flows
Metaphors - substitutes of something to describe a Process flowing in one direction and back on
phenomenon etc. their source (and much else).
• Flows are integral to liquidity.
• According to Appadurai (1990) Flows are another
key concept in thinking about globalization.
• Liquid flows easily, far more than solids.
The LIQUID PHENOMENA do not hold their shape, it fix
neither SPACE nor TIME.
SPATIAL OR TEMPORAL
Relating to or occupying space relating to time.
CONTINUOUS FLOWS
Pass or travel through surface or substance.
HEAVY, LIGHT AND WEIGHTLESS
Aside from the conceptual distinctions discussed
prior, we can also use the description HEAVY, LIGHT and
WEIGHTLESS to describe change that involves
movement.
WEIGHTLESS
• Clearly moves far more easily (even globally)
than which is either heavy or light.
• Portable and Compact
• Is the invention and spread of connectivity
(internet, smartphones, laptop, tables etc.)
LIGHT
• The ease of movement
• Global microstructures are light compared to
bureaucratic systems. (Cetina, 2005)
HEAVY
• Characterized by that which is difficult to move.
• Also applies to the effort or kind of work done
before the creation of advanced technologies.
• Transportation and Technology made all sorts of
industrial products smaller and LIGHTER and
easier to transport.
HEAVY STRUCTURES THAT EXPEDITE FLOWS:
1. HOLDOVERS FROM PRE-GLOBAL WORLD
2. SOME ARE ACTUALLY PRODUCED
INTENTIONALLY AND UNINTENTIONALLY BY
GLOBAL FORCES.
3. THERE ARE ALSO:
a. AWKWARD CONNECTIONS
b. NO CONNECTIONS
c. FRICTIONS
Heavy society - 1st and 2nd I.R.
1st IR heavy machines - Spinning Jenny, Looms etc.
HOLOVERS - Buildings (structures), Systems, Process,
Material things
Ex: UST (schools, school building)
1. Awkward - Limitation on movement
2. No connection - blockage or stoppage
3. Friction – restrictions
Global Microstructures
ex: Financial Market and Global Terrorists Group
• Global in scope but micro in structure
• Own set of principles and patterns
• Playful complexity, asymmetrical, integrated,
unpredictable, wide connectivity.
Dynamics of Local and Global Culture
Topics in this lesson:
A study of culture
1. Dynamics of Local and Global Culture
2.1. Local VS Global Culture
2.1.a. Davos
2.1.b. International Faculty Club
2.1.c. Non Governmental Orgs
2.1.d. Transnational Workers
2.2. Formation of Identities
2.3. The nature of contemporary Globalizations
GOALS
1. Learn and appreciate different Culture.
2. Identify and preserve the Filipino culture and its
role in the global community.
3. Recognize the existence of Global culture and its
contribution to the the global community.
4. Embrace DIVERSITY and celebrate the local
cultures as a part of national growth.
THE STUDY OF CULTURE
The characteristics and knowledge of a particular
group of people, encompassing language, religion,
cuisine, social habits, music and arts.
- Zimmerman, 2017
Culture encompasses religion, food, what we
wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music,
what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the
table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved
ones, and a million other things
- De Rossi, n.d.
Culture is made up of all of the ideas, beliefs, behaviors,
and products common to, and defining, a group’s way of
life. Culture encompasses everything humans create and
have as they interact together.
 - Stolley, 2005
In 1976, Hall developed the iceberg analogy of
culture. If the culture of a society was the iceberg, Hall
reasoned, that there are some aspects visible, above the
water, but there is a larger portion hidden beneath the
surface.
Source: Beyond Culture (1976) by Edward T. Hall from
spps.org
Multinational businesses are seeking for LOW COST RAW
MATERIALS and SERVICES.
TESDA offers vocational training or courses
finishers/graduates can have NATIONAL CERTIFICATES
and/ or CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCIES - low cost
services.
FILIPINOS can communicate to a large number and
diverse people.
Culture is anything that forms group identity (what
makes us different) - things that are common to a
certain group/ area/ country.
Non-material - character that is common to PH ppl.
Cultural Iceberg has 3 phases/levels
1. Visible culture - includes mostly material culture -
OBSERVABLE, external manifestations of culture.
-Physical manifestations of ideas and beliefs.
USUALLY INCLUDES MATERIAL CULTURE.
Example:
Local culture- Bahay Kubo, Jeepney (Sarao), Vinta
(Mindanao)
Global culture- Phones: Nokia 3310, Blackberry ->
define a certain year/age
Matryoska - Russia, Banig - PH, Cherry Blossoms -
Japan
2. Less Visible - Since stick to Routine, Behavior in public
can be observed, People likes to express themselves (in
a particular way).
Core Values - Spending a little time with people
and observe (routines or expressions). You will
see their less visible culture.
Example:
1. Religious affiliation, likes and dislikes, Sexual
orientation etc.
2. Attending the church (devotees), Po and Opo +
Mano (blessing), Man should express themselves
less. CORE VALUES.
3. Not Visible - Hard to see. These are our mental
models
Mental Models - building intimate relationship
with people.
Example:
1. Ideology, Sexual Preference, Political and
social leanings, “Secrets”.
2. Discriminatory nature, Political leanings,
Mental leanings.
Subculture - share same ideas, aspirations, value,
mission, vision etc.
- (Shared likings: Music and Arts) Punks,
Cosplayers, Goth etc.
Counterculture - atheists, anarchists, hippie culture.
HOW DO WE FORM MENTAL MODELS AND CORE
VALUES? -> ASPECTS OF CULTURE
Norms - 10 commandments. Social Order and Justice.
Folkways - norms passed down from 1 gen to other.
Mores - strongly held norms - PUNISHABLE - Criminal
ACT.
Taboos - PROHIBITED, FORBIDDEN
Local culture forms our IDENTITY
Competencies are SKILLS. Skills are ALWAYS in demand.
Culture is a shared patterns of behavior and interactions,
cognitive construct, as well as understanding that are
learned by socialization. It can also develop or lead to
group identity.
1. Values - Passed from 1 gen to another.
Example: Close Family Ties, Success, Democracy,
ETC.
2. Norms - Things that are important for SOCIAL ORDER
and JUSTICE.
2.1. Mores - deeply held standards of what is
right and wrong. Criminal acts are punishable by
the LAW.
2.2. Folkways - behaviors and manners passed
down by ancestors. Paniniwala and Kasabihan.
2.3. Taboo - Prohibited or FORBIDDEN. Very
objectionable
CULTURAL ISSUES
Ethnocentrism - Bias: when a certain culture sees their
culture as superior. Because of this we have problems
like PREJUDICE; cultural bias
Culture Shock - When a person feels disoriented and lost
when introduced in a NEW culture. Hard to navigate
new culture. HOMESICKNESS; cultural adjustment
Cultural Appropriation - example: Costumes - Native
American to be used in Holidays. Box Braids and Afrikan
Hairstyles etc.
Appropriation is when you use a certain culture
without giving credits or without using it in THE
PROPER way.
TYPES OF CULTURE
Material: includes all the society’s physical objects, such
as its tools and technology, clothing, eating utensils, and
means of transportation.
Nonmaterial: includes the values, beliefs, symbols, and
language that define a society.
FORMS OF CULTURE
A subculture is a smaller culture within a
dominant culture that has a way of life distinguished in
some important way from that dominant culture.
A culture that opposes patterns of the dominant
culture is known as a counterculture.
ASPECTS OF CULTURE
1. Values - What is important.
2. Norms - What is right and what is wrong.
3. Symbol - What stands for or represents
something.
4. Language - What we use to communicate.
• Globalization is an inevitable force.
• WB, IMF and WTO intensified the global-local
dynamics.
• Many are rejecting the push towards
Globalization
• Local and Global Culture has always been
depicted as opposing and in conflict with each
other.
LOCAL CULTURE: The experience of everyday life in
specific, identifiable localities.
GLOBAL CULTURE: The experience of everyday life by
the diffusion of commodities and ideas.
Dynamics of Local and Global Culture
DAVOS
- named after SWISS town that began the annual
meeting of the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM.
-International finance, media, and diplomacy.
(Britannica)
INTERNATIONAL FACULTY CLUB
- An international network of people who share
similar values, attitude and research goals
(Berger, n.d)
- has tremendous influence because of their
association with educational institutions
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
- local subgroups that comprises cosmopolitan:
people from different part of the world that has
an international influence.
- preserves cultural traditions in developing
world.
TRANSNATIONAL WORKERS
- Composed of migrant professionals -> OFWs
- This group has an access to unique networks of
individuals and opportunities.
Dynamics
1. Mechanics - flow or movement due to an action of
force.
2. Growth, development or change in the systems or
process.
Globalization -> Global culture
Example: Italians, Chinese, Japanese cultures depicted in
pop culture.
• Technological advancement changes culture and
brings people together. -> regional/local culture
= global representation.
• Is a way to improve economic, social and cultural
aspects of a country/ poor country that cause
human interaction.
• Government with global companies and
international orgs strengthen the business and
trade relationships.
CONS
• In conflict with local culture. (colonization)
 • Imperialistic - standardize everything.
• “GLB forces uniformity of culture and
experience.”
• “Rich becomes richer, poor becomes poorer” -
some areas in dev. Country are marginalized.
Local culture: experience of everyday life in a specific
distinct location. -> condition: personal feelings,
preferences, taste, comfort, correctness in an
identifiable locality: every group made by humans.
Families are smaller groups in a barangay/society.
Global culture: experience of everyday life as influenced
by the diffusion of commodities and ideas. ->
Standardization of expressions, technology.
-> Also regrouping of people.
EXAMPLE: LANGUAGE -> FILIPINO AND ENGLISH.
DAVOS - once a luxury skiing resort that became the loc
of WEF (annual, by invitation, hefty/high invitation cost.)
-> weforum.org – ELITIST
IFC - educators from prestigious universities. Less
prominent than DAVOS. Social issues: feminism. - in asia:
asian centre.
NGOs - dedicated to specific activities. (Women’s Group,
UNICEF, Habitat for humanity etc.)
Transnational workers
• usually live-in transnational spaces: professionals
or workers living in spaces with other trntl
workers. Usually in CBDs (central business
districts)
• We see them globally.
• Part of larger community
• They divide 2 homes (origin and migrate).
Without the presence of local culture, there will be no
global culture and vice versa.
• There are challenges between global and local
culture.
Formation of Identities
• Culture, place and identities are closely bound.
IDENTITIES: Characteristics determining who or what a
person or things is.
• Our identities are complex and forever changing.
• Globalization lets us enjoy a wider range of
material cultures.
• In many parts of the world, people inhibit
Transnational Spaces: The space where cultures
interact and where socio-cultural production
transcends national borders. - Hawkers spaces in
Singapore and in Hongkong. -> multitude of
original culture.
The Nature of Contemporary Globalization
• Global media and Global Communication
systems have enabled and made desirable access
to a multiplicity of cultures from many locals. -
TEch innovation.
• The global world emerges as a mosaic of multiple
locals in many localities. - TRNTL SPACES -
representations of different cultures in 1 SPACE.
• Everybody has access to different cultures all
around the world. - TV, YT, Internet, Chinatowns,
FOODs etc.
• Local identities are defined by commercially
viable elements or artifacts of cultures. -
anything that is about a culture that is sold
diminishes its meaning - CAPITALIZE on
CULTURE.
A. Fuat Fırat (2016). The Dynamics of the Local and the
Global: Implications for Marketing and Development.
University of Texas. Retrieved on March 12, 2021 from
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti
cle=1000&context=mgdr
The Godfather- The film changed Hollywood because it
finally changed the way Italians were depicted on film. It
made Italians seem like more fully realized people and
not stereotypes. It was a film in Hollywood made by
Italians about Italians. Previously, it had not been Italians
making the mobster films featuring Italian gangsters.
I feel it helped Italianize American culture. All of
a sudden, everyone was talking about Don Corleone and
making jokes about, “I am going to make you an offer
you can’t refuse.” I think it helped people see that in this
depiction of Italian-Americans was a reflection of their
own immigrant experience, whether they were Irish or
Jews from Eastern Europe. They found that common
ground.
Santo Pietro, Tom (The Godfather Effect) as cited in
Gambino, Megan (2012). What is The Godfather Effect?
Retrieved on April 10, 2021 from
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-is-
the-godfather-effect-83473971/
REGIONALIZATION AND RELIGION
What is Regionalization?
- politico-administrative process by which regions
emerge as relevant units of analysis for economic
and political activity and welfare and service
provision. (Magel, 2011)
- The concept of regionalization is reserved for
more spontaneous processes of region formation
by different actors – state or non-state. (ibid)
- the process or tendency of dividing a country into
administrative regions (Collins Dictionary)
Region
- An area or division, especially part of a country or
the world having definable characteristics but not
always fixed boundaries.
o an administrative district of a city or
country.
Globalization vs. Regionalization (prabhu, 2015)
GLOBALIZATION
1. Promotes integration of economies across state
borders all around the world. - Greater openness
in International economy and movement towards
borderless world.
2. Allows many corporations to trade on
international levels. - trade liberalization (fast and
efficient exchange of products)
3. Multiculturalism
4. Willing to Aid other countries. Countries can aid
calamity stricken countries.
5. Driven by great advances in technology
REGIONALIZATION
1. Dividing areas into segments. (grouping
people/areas of a country for socio-economic and
political development).
2. Monopolies (sole or only provider) are likely to
develop.
Source:
https://manilastandard.net/business/business-
columns/r ay-s-e-ano/283865/monopolies-in-ph-
economy-are-pas s-.html
3. Does not support multiculturalism. (local culture
development and preservation)
4. Does not want to involve in the affairs of other
countries. - regions aid regions that are calamity
stricken or needs development.
5. Lags in advancement.
Regionalization - “safer” form of globalization
1. Position of nation states (states wherein they
share the same culture) in the world.
2. For business strategies.
3. For adopting newer technologies etc.
4. Policy makers (legislative, executive and judiciary)
to create policies that will improve our nation.
- Process of close economic integration of
countries within a region that divides areas into
segments. Tendency to form decentralized region
which are concerned with development.
Region
1. Human Impact - Anthropogeography – human
interaction with their culture, communities,
economies and interactions. (distrito, barangay,
municipalities LGUs)
2. Interaction of humanity to his environment
(agricultural regions, fishing regions etc.)
- We have arable lands (good quality soil)
3. Physical characteristics of a location (mountain
region, plateau, desert)
Does Regionalization challenge globalization, or build it?
(Oldemeineu, 2010)
- R is the Stepping stone to GLB.
- Inter-state trade and exchange.
- R does not support a real threat to GLB.
- R can be a substitute for GLB.
- Not replacement
- PH : a. Wider market for our products
b. More products available in PH.
c. protection and understanding of PH
culture.
Advantages (as a whole): Islam

1. Provincial improvements - God is Allah

2. Growth of domestics products - Muslim are the followers
3. Organized trading system. - Quran - Holy book
- Mosque - Holy worship place
- Improves MSME’s - Micro, small and medium - Go to the Holy places: Kaaba Shrine (Mecca), Al-
enterprises. Aqsa (Jerusalem), Muhammad’s Mosque
- Increase in profits. (Medina)
- Demand for high quality products. - Muhammad - prophet

Religion latin: Religare Judaism

- To bind together again that which was once - Religion of the Hebrew people.
bound but has since been torn apart or broken. - Rabbi - Holy man
- Particular system of belief and faith. - Synagogues - Holy worship
- It also means what we consider as holy, sacred, - Tanakh - Hebrew bible
spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. - The messiah has not yet come.
- It the belief of an omnipotent being or - Celebrations that commemorate every stage of a
superhuman power. person’s life.

MAJOR RELIGION: Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism SUSTAINABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
and Christianity
Sustainability
1. Peace - Focuses on meeting the needs of the present
2. Equality
without compromising the ability of future
3. Freedom
4. Solidarity generations to meet their needs. (Grant, 2020)
5. Human Dignity - Means meeting our own needs without
compromising the ability of future generations to
GOLDEN RULE: Do not do unto others what you don’t meet their own needs. In addition to natural
want others to do unto you. resources, we also need social and economic
resources. Sustainability is not just
Hinduism
environmentalism. Embedded in most definitions
- Indian continent. of sustainability we also find concerns for social
- Oldest living religion in the world. equity and economic development. (University of
- Vedic Religion - VEDAS - holy book Alberta, n.d.)
- 3 principle God: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva - It is not a challenge to globalization
- Believes in Samsara (continuous cycle of life) and
Karma (universal law of cause and effect) Three Factors to Consider:
- Caste System
1. Profits
Up: Brahmins - intellectuals and teachers 2. People
Kshatriyas - warriors and rulers Vaishyas - traders 3. Planet

Down: Shudras - people with menial jobs Issues of Sustainability in the 21st Century

Ø Sustainability and the fashion industry: fast

Outsiders: Dalit or untouchables
fashion
Ø Pollution
Ø Climate change
Roots of Sustainability - AVOID EXCESS POLLUTION
o Pollution – any type of action that
• Social Justice – equal distribution of wealth,
produces harmful materials or substance
opportunities, and privileges
called pollutants.
• Conservationism – manage and protect natural
§ Man-made: smoke from factories,
resources
smoke from vehicles etc.
• Internationalism – have greater political or
§ Natural: Volcanic ash.
economic cooperation among countries
- Protect the health of ecosystem.
Three Pillars of Sustainability
Issues of ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
1. Environmental Sustainability - ecological integrity
Ø Long-term health of ecosystems
is maintained, all of earth’s environmental
o Protecting the long-term productivity and
systems are kept in balance while natural
health of resources to meet future
resources within them are consumed by humans
economic and social needs, e.g.,
at a rate where they are able to replenish
protecting food supplies, farmland and
themselves.
fishing stocks.
Ø Intergenerational decision making.
2. Economic Sustainability – human communities
o When making economic decisions, we
across the globe are able to maintain their
should focus on implications for future
independence and have access to the resources
generations, and not just the present
that they require, financial and other, to meet
moment.
their needs. Economic systems are intact and
o For example, burning coal gives a short-
activities are available to everyone, such as secure
term benefit of cheaper energy, but the
sources of livelihood.
extra pollution imposes costs on future
generations.
3. Social Sustainability – universal human rights and
Ø Renewable resources
basic necessities are attainable by all people, who
o Diversifying into energy sources that do
have access to enough resources in order to keep
not rely on non-renewable resources.
their families and communities healthy and
o For example, solar and wind power.
secure. Healthy communities have just leaders
Ø Prevent the consequences of man-made global
who ensure personal, labour and cultural rights
warming.
are respected and all people are protected from
o Policies to ensure the environment of the
discrimination.
planet does not deteriorate to a point
Environmental Sustainability were future generations face water
shortages, extreme weather events,
- Shift to renewable resources
excess temperature.
- Intergenerational decision making - for long term
o All factors that could make living in parts
consequence.
of the world very difficult if not possible.
o Fossil Fuels - Oils, natural gas, coal etc.
Ø Protection of species diversity and ecological
- Welfare NOT GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
structure.
o GDP - computed annually or quarterly, the
o Sometimes medicines require elements
market value or standard measure of
within specific plant species.
value created for the production of goods
o If some species go extinct, it limits future
and services in a country for a certain
technological innovation.
period.
 Ø Treating environmental resources as if they have
intrinsic rights and value.
o In other words, we shouldn’t just rely on a
monetary value, i.e., we should protect
rainforests because they deserve to be
protected rather than using a cost-benefit
analysis of whether we gain financially
from protecting rainforests.
Ø Targetting social welfare/happiness and
environmental sustainability above crude
measures of progress such as GDP.
Policies to Promote Environmental Sustainability
• Carbon tax
o A tax placed on production/consumption
of carbon – e.g., burning fossil fuels.
o The aim is to make users face the full social
cost as opposed to just the private cost.
• Government regulation to limit harmful
emissions.
o For example, some cities have promised to
ban diesel cars by a certain date.
• Subsidising/encouraging more sustainable
environmental practices.
o For example, moving toward renewable
energy, like solar and wind power rather
than relying on non-renewable energy
sources which create pollution.
• Including all environmental consequences in the
cost-benefit analysis of decision making.
• Shifting consumer/firm behaviour through
persuasion and use of behavioural economics
o For example, discouraging the use of
plastic tax.
Economic Sustainability
The Old Economics
• Supply and demand
o Modern industrialised economies over-
produce.
o Average levels of life satisfaction have not
increased in the past 50 years in these
economies and yet the amount of
production has more than doubled.
o If the purpose of the economy is to
provide well-being and more production is
not creating more well-being then it’s a
complete waste
• Economic growth
o The constant drive for economic growth is
only partly connected to population
growth and increases in standard of living.
o In most countries in the developed world
the economy is more than big enough to
provide a high standard of living and well-
being for everyone.
o Once an economy has reached a certain
size (measured in GDP per capita) any
further growth is not only unnecessary, it
is also damaging.
• Capital and profit
o A capitalist economy is a market system
where goods are produced and sold for
profit.
o The profits gained tend to be invested in
capital, in the form of producer goods,
things such as factories, machines, tools
and other productive resources.
o It is easy to see that this continuous
reinvestment of profits leads to the
growth of production.
o This growth is compounding because
there is growth on top of previous growth.
It is also easy to infer that wealth in a
capitalist economy always tends towards
more inequality because capital begets
capital.
• False costs
o External costs are costs imposed upon a
third party when goods and services are
produced and consumed.
o Goods and services with external costs are
effectively being subsidised by society-at-
large which ends up paying them.
o Goods and services should internalise all
costs and therefore pass them on to the
 direct consumers of the goods and
services.
• Productivity and efficiency
o Higher productivity (measured as GDP per
capita) is the goal of most economies.
o However productivity includes production
that is wasteful, harmful or just bad!
Things like military weapons, cigarettes
and all sorts of useless junk are all counted
in GDP.
o The paradox is that a lot of really good
services are not factored into GDP
including housework, DIY, childcare and
volunteer work. Increasing productivity
does not mean increased well-being, it can
mean the opposite with overworked,
stressed parents having less time for
things that really provide well-being
including family and friends, personal
development and meaningful pursuits.
The New Economics
• Localised economy
o Modern economies have become
increasingly centralised in big cities and
they have also increasingly become
dependant on global trade.
o These two factors, globalisation and
centralisation, are totally reliant on cheap
energy.
o In the future fossil fuels will run out and
the price of all energy will increase
meaning that the goods to meet our
fundamental needs – food, clothes,
shelter, energy – will be sourced locally.
• Circular economy
o Since the industrial revolution started, the
amount of waste in the environment has
constantly increased.
o This is because our economies have used
a take » make » consume » dispose model
– a linear approach which assumes that
resources are abundant, easily available
and easy and harmless to dispose of –
which they aren’t.
• Steady-state economy
o A steady-state economy is a no-growth
economy.
o It is like a mature forest where there is a
constant cycle of birth, growth, death and
decay but there is no growth in the overall
ecosystem.
o Whilst a steady-state economy means no
growth in the size of the economy there
would still be growth in the quality of
economy.
o This would include a much better
redistribution of wealth and sustainable,
long-term well-being for all.
• Solar Economy
o A Solar Economy is a non-carbon
economy.
o There a number reasons why the global
economy exploded in size since the
beginning of the industrial revolution but
the fundamental driving force behind all
those reasons has been the use of
abundant and cheap fossil fuels for
energy.
o Initially, coal energised the steam engines
of the first wave of industrial growth.
o When the internal combustion engine was
invented petroleum products and natural
gas could be used, bringing about the
massive growth in the global economy.