Introduction to Globalization

John Wayne V. Jacinto, PhD

Learning Outcomes

• Differentiate the competing conceptions of globalization;

• Tell a personal experience on globalization; and
• Agree on a working definition of globalization for the course.
 • Did you experience
globalization? If yes,
please tell us that
experience.
https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/7-thinking-patterns-that-will-that-rob-you-of-mental-strength-
and-what-you-can-do-about-them.html
 Dynamic? Compression
Globality? of time and
space?

Economic Globalism?
interdependence?

0000
Transnationalism? Globalization A product?

Political
Intensification of expansion?
social network?
Cultural
integration?
A process?
 Globalization
Is it a new phenomenon?
• Economic interdependence https://topyaps.com/top-10-most-common-modes-of-transportation

http://www.crystalinks.com/rometransportation.html
http://www.autoloancalculator.org/driving/steam-
automobiles.php

http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat52/sub331/item1182.html

https://www.porttechnology.org/news/cargo_shipping_101_goods_moved_by_ships
https://www.greatlakessteamshipsociety.org/
https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/history-wine-transport-8000-years/
Globalization is a historical process.

• “It started long before the recent years of information technology,

the end of the cold war or even the end of the Second World War. It
has its bases earlier, in the development of capitalism and
industrialism, and in the institutions, technologies and incentives
these systems brought along” (Martell, as cited in Mazo, 2018).
Brief Historical Periods by Steger (2003)

• The prehistoric period (10,000 BCE-3,500 BCE)

• The premodern period (3,500 BCE-1,500 CE)
• The early modern period (1500-1750)
• The modern period (1750-1970)
• The contemporary period (from 1970)
The prehistoric period
(10,000 BCE-3,500 BCE)

http://www.ecolewuxing.com/art-martial-sport-de-combat/caveman-battle/

http://www.crystalinks.com/migrationhuman.html
 The premodern period
(3,500 BCE-1,500 CE)

The oracle bone scripts, originally discovered from

Ancient Egyptian writing is known as hieroglyphics
('sacred carvings') and developed at some point prior to
Writing was invented by the Sumerians around 3100 BC.
the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 -2613 BCE).
http://www.historywiz.com/exhibits/sumerianwriting.html
https://www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Writing/
relics of the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC – 1046 BC) in
Anyang City, Henan Province
https://news.cgtn.com/news/7841444d79637a6333566d54/sha
re_p.html
The oldest known wheel found in an archaeological excavation is from
Mesopotamia, and dates to around 3500 BC.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology/revolutionary-invention-
wheel-001713

(Steger, 2003)
 The early modern period
(1500-1750)

http://theconversation.com/the-18th-century-enlightenment-and-the-problem-of-public-misery-57541

Age of Enlightenment

https://www.heartfeltbalancehandmadelife.com/2018/06/leonardo-da-vinci-paintings-
diamonds-of.html

Renaissance
The modern period
(1750-1970)

(Steger, 2003)

http://brewminate.com/a-brief-history-of-economic-networks-in-the-early-modern-and-
modern-worlds/
The contemporary period (from 1970)

(Pix (c) Larry Catá Backer 2013))

http://lcbackerblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/kof-index-of-globalization-2013-released.html
Solid to Liquid
Why Globalization Became a Popular Idea?

• Global communications
• Cultural homogenization and spread of
capitalism
• Consciousness of global problems
• Decline of the idea of nation-state
• Economic interdependency and instability
(Martell 2017)
 Concepts of Globalization

Internationalization?

Globalization
= Liberalization?

Universalization?

Westernization?
Internationalization

• “Internationalization involves
the growth of transactions and
interdependencies between
countries” (Martell, as cited in
Mazo, 2018).
Source: http://www.thedronevalley.com/services/internationalization/
Liberalization

• Liberalization “refers to the

removal of constraints on
movements of resources
between countries—an open,
borderless world” (Martell,
as cited in Mazo, 2018).
Source: http://www.publishyourarticles.net/knowledge-hub/business-
studies/what-are-the-impact-of-globalization-and-liberalization-on-
business-and-industry/943/
 Universalization

• Universalization “involves the

dispersion of objects and
experiences to all parts of the
earth…” It sometimes refers to
standardization and
homogenization (Martell, as
cited in Mazo, 2018).
Source: https://rundle10.wikispaces.com/Universalization
Westernization

• Westernization “is a particular

type of universalization, of
Western structures such as
capitalism, industrialism,
rationalism, urbanism,
individualism, and democracy, or
put more critically, colonization”
(Martell, as cited in Mazo, 2018).
Source: https://doubleburdenofdisease.wordpress.com/westernization-
blessing-or-curse/
Globality, Globalization, and Globalism

• As a concept, globalization should not be confused with globality

and globalism (Mazo 2018).
 Globality

• “Globality…signif[ies] a future social

condition characterized by the existence of
global economic, political, cultural, and
environmental interconnections and flows
that make many of the currently existing
borders and boundaries irrelevant.” (Steger,
as cited in Mazo, 2018).
• Globality is not static. It is not a determinate
endpoint. It may give rise a new development
(planetarity?).
Source: https://www.globality.com/en-us/
Globalism

• Globalism is a political belief system—an ideology that justifies

cultural, social, economic, and political globalization.
• As an ideology, globalism has six (6) core claims. (Steger as cited
in Mazo, 2018)
Globalism: Claim # 1

• “Globalization is about the liberalization and global integration

of markets.” (Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• “The driving idea behind globalization is free-market capitalism—
the more you let market forces rule and the more you open
your economy to free trade and competition, the more efficient
you economy will be.” (Thomas Friedman in Steger, , as cited in
Mazo, 2018)
Globalism: Claim # 2

• “Globalization is inevitable and irreversible.” (Steger, as cited in

Mazo, 2018)
• “Globalization is inevitable and inexorable and it is accelerating .
. Globalization is happening, it’s going to happen. It does not
matter whether you like it or not, it’s happening, it’s going to
happen”. (Frederick W. Smith in Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• If globalization is inevitable, we have to embrace it. It’s not a
matter of embracing or not embracing it; it’s a matter of
embracing it now or later.
Globalism: Claim # 3

• “Nobody is in charge of globalization” (Steger, as cited in Mazo,

2018)
• ‘self-regulating market’
• “The great beauty of globalization is that no one is in control. The
great beauty of globalization is that it is not controlled by an
individual, any government, any institution’. (Robert Hormats in
Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• That no one is in charge of globalization means that no one
particular group of country has special interest on it.
Globalism: Claim # 4

• “Globalization benefits everyone” (Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)

• “Free trade and free markets have proven their ability to lift
whole societies out of poverty—so the United States will work with
individual nations, entire regions, and the entire global trading
community to build a world that trades in freedom and therefore
grows in prosperity.” (President Bush in Steger, as cited in Mazo,
2018)
• Since globalization benefits everyone, all countries should
embrace it.
Globalism: Claim # 5

• “Globalization furthers the spread of democracy in the world

(Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• “Indeed, a careful discourse analysis of relevant texts reveals that
globalists tend to treat freedom, free markets, free trade and
democracy as synonymous terms.” (Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• For Francis Fukuyama, ‘the level of economic development
resulting from globalization is conducive to the creation of
complex civil societies with a powerful middle class. It is this class
and societal structure that facilitates democracy.’ (in Steger, as
cited in Mazo, 2018)
Globalism: Claim # 6

• “Globalization requires a global war on terror.” (Steger, as cited in

Mazo, 2018)
Globalization

• “[T]he term globalization should be used to refer to a set of social

processes that are thought to transform our present social
condition into one of globality.” (Steger, as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• Globalization is the social process that gives rise to the social
condition of globality.
The Elephant of Globalization

Source: http://digiciv-mixtiffani.blogspot.com/2012/02/elephants-and-globalization.html
Globalization as an 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 in Steger, as
cited in Mazo, 2018).
• Aspects of Economic Globalization
• free trade
• production process
• liberalization and internationalization of financial transactions (Steger , as
cited in Mazo, 2018)
Globalization as a Political Process

• “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.” (Steger, as cited in Mazo,
2018)
• For Jan Aart Scholte, “Globalization refers to gradual processes of
‘relative deterritorialization’ that facilitate the growth of
‘supraterritorial’ relations between people.” (Steger , as cited in
Mazo, 2018)
Globalization as a Cultural Process

• “Globalization lies at the heart of modern culture; cultural

practices lie at the heart of globalization.” (John Tomlinson in
Steger , as cited in Mazo, 2018)
• Questions:
• Does globalization increase cultural homogeneity, or does it lead to greater
diversity and heterogeneity?
• How does the dominant culture of consumerism impact the natural
environment? (Steger 2014, 11)
Other Definitions of Globalization

• Globalization can thus be defined 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. Anthony Giddens in Steger, 2003)
• The concept of globalization reflects the sense of an immense
enlargement of world communication, as well as of the horizon of
a world market, both of which seem far more tangible and
immediate than in earlier stages of modernity. Fredric Jameson in
Steger, 2003)
Other Definitions of Globalization

• Globalization may be thought of as a process (or set of processes)

which embodies a transformation in the spatial organization of
social relations and transactions - assessed in terms of their
extensity, intensity, velocity and impact generating
transcontinental or interregional flows and networks of activity,
interaction, and the exercise of power. David Held in Steger, 2003)
• Globalization as a concept refers both to the compression of the
world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a
whole. Roland Robertson in Steger, 2003)
• Globalization compresses the time and space aspects of social
relations. James Mittelman in Steger, 2003)
• From the various definitions provided, how would you
now define globalization? Interpret your definitions
through actions.
Globalization: Four Distinct Qualities

• First, globalization involves the creation of new and

multiplication of existing social networks and activities that
increasingly overcome traditional political, economic, cultural and
geographic boundaries.
• The second quality of globalization is reflected in the expansion
and the stretching of social relations, activities, and
interdependencies.
• Third, globalization involves the intensification and acceleration
of social exchanges and activities. The Internet relays distant
information in mere seconds, and satellites provide consumers
with real-time pictures of remote events.
• Fourth, the creation, expansion, and intensification of social
interconnections and interdependencies do not occur merely on an
objective, material level.
• As Roland Robertson notes in his definition, globalization processes
also involve the subjective plane of human consciousness.
Globalization for Steger (2003)

• Globalization refers to a multidimensional set of social processes

that create, multiply, stretch, and intensify 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.
• Try to think of things that you personally possess and list them
down. Identify from which country/ies they were made. Explain
why those things were made from the countries identified.
References

• Martell, L. (2017), The Sociology of Globalization, Second Edition, 2017

http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/60649/3/globalisation%20book%20intro%202016%20%282
%29.pdf
• Mazo, R. (2018). Introduction to Globalization (PowerPoint Presentation).
• Steger, Manfred (2003). Globalization: A very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
Press.
• Steger, Manfred (2005). Ideologies of globalization, Journal of Political
Ideologies, 10:1, 11-30, DOI:10.1080/1356931052000310263
• Steger, Manfred (2014). Approaches in the Study of Globalization. In The Sage
Handbook of Globalization. Eds: Manfred Steger, Paul Battersby & Joseph
Siracusa. London: Sage Publications Ltd.