GE1714

Globalization is 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, economic development and
prosperity, and human physical well-being in societies around the world.

As Fredric Jameson (1998) astutely points out, there seems to be little utility in forcing such a complex set of
social forces as globalization into a single analytic framework. It seems to make more sense to survey various
approaches to globalization by linking them to the debates on the subject that have been taking place over the
last two decades in two separate but related areas.

Corporations—have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through
the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages.

GLOBALIZATION CRITICS

• Rejectionists – scholars who dismiss the utility of globalization as an analytical concept typically
advance their arguments from within a broader criticism of similarly vague words employed in academic
discourse.
• Skeptics – emphasizes the limited nature of current globalizing processes. They claim that the world
economy is not a truly global phenomenon, but one centered on Europe, eastern Asia, and North
America.
• Modifiers – critics dispute the novelty of the process, implying that the label ‘globalization’ has often
been applied in a historically imprecise manner. They confirm the existence of globalizing tendencies,
but he also insists that many important aspects of globalization are not novel developments

Globalization as Economic Process

The widespread scholarly emphasis on the economic dimension of globalization derives partly from its historical
development as a subject of academic study. Commercial 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’

Globalization as Political Process

Most of the debate on political globalization involves the weighing of conflicting evidence about the fate of the
modern nation-state. It includes an essential subset of issues about the principle of state sovereignty, the
growing impact of intergovernmental organizations, and the prospects for global governance.
Political globalization as a process intrinsically connected to the expansion of markets.
Economics is portrayed as possessing an inner logic apart from and superior to politics.

Globalization as Cultural Process

Held and McGrew might respond to these criticisms by arguing that one major strength of their approach lies in
viewing globalization not as a one-dimensional phenomenon, but as a multidimensional process involving
diverse domains of activity and interaction, including the cultural sphere.
Rather than presenting a long laundry list of relevant topics, this section focuses on two central questions raised
by scholars of cultural globalization. First, does globalization increase cultural homogeneity, or does it lead to
greater diversity and heterogeneity? Or, to put the matter into less academic terms, does globalization make
people more alike or more different? And second, how does the dominant culture of consumerism impact the
natural environment?
Globalization lies at the heart of modern culture; cultural practices lie at the heart of globalization.

Approaches to the Study of Globalization by Manfred B. Steger

Globaloney
A small and rapidly decreasing number of scholars contend that existing accounts of globalization are incorrect,
imprecise, or exaggerated. They note that just about everything that can be linked to some transnational process
is cited as evidence for globalization and its growing influence. Hence, they refer to “globaloney” as the general
observations often amounting to little more than “globaloney.”

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Three broad categories:

• Dispute the usefulness of globalization as a sufficiently precise analytical concept
• Limited nature of globalizing processes, emphasizing that the world is not nearly as integrated as many
globalization proponents believe
• Disputes the novelty of the process while acknowledging the existence of moderate globalizing
tendencies

The Globalization of Economic Relations by Istvan Benczes

According to Giddens, contemporary life aspects can refer to ‘political, technical and cultural, as well as
economic’ features implying that globalization is best thought of as a multidimensional phenomenon.

Economic globalization is a historical process, the result of human innovation and technological progress. It
refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world, mainly through the movement of goods,
services, and capital across borders. The term sometimes also applies to the movement of people (labor) and
knowledge (technology) across international borders.

Hyperglobalists states ceased to exist as primary economic organization units in the wake of a global market.

The modern capitalist system is unique in the sense that it created political structures that guaranteed an
endless appropriation and accumulation of surpluses from the poor (or the periphery) to the emerging (or the
semi-periphery) and in particular, the advanced industrialized (or the core) countries.

The international monetary system or regime refers to the rules, customs, instruments, facilities, and
organizations for effecting international payments. A global financial system is more than just money or
currencies; it also reflects economic power and interests, as ‘money is inherently political, an integral part of
“high politics” of diplomacy.’

Gold Standard was believed to guarantee a non-inflationary, stable economic environment, a means for
accelerating international trade. In practice, the gold standard functioned as a fixed exchange rate regime, with
gold as the only foreign reserve. In the classical gold standard system, deflationary policies were endorsed
without much hesitation. After World War I, however, laborers became more and more successful in preventing
incumbents from adopting welfare-reducing austerity measures.

The International Banks for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) became responsible for post-war
reconstruction, while the explicit mandate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was to promote
international financial cooperation and bolster international trade.

The real break-through came only in the nineteenth century. Since World War II, the annual average compound
growth rate of world trade saw a dramatic increase of 4.2 percent between 1820 and 1870, and was still
relatively high, at 3.4 percent between 1870 and 1913

Convergence - the coming together of two (2) different entities

Divergence - two (2) entities become different

Initially, the new international trade regime should have been steered by the International Trade Organization
(ITO), which was initially conceived as one of the three pillars of the Bretton Woods system (the other two being
the IMF and the IBRD). In place of a unique trade organization, nations committed to a world of lowered tariffs
decided to coordinate their actions under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT).

The Modern World-System as a Capitalist World-Economy Production, Surplus Value, and Polarization

Capitalism is not the mere existence of persons or firms producing for sale on the market to obtain a profit. It
is the system that gives priority to the endless accumulation of capital.

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Universalism is a positive norm, which means that most people assert their belief in it, and almost everyone
claims that it is a virtue.

The Rise of the Global Corporation by Deane Neubauer

The so-called ‘developing economies’, and especially those of Brazil, India, and China – the so-called BRICS
economies – have become the most dynamic sector of global corporate growth, represented in part by their
significant FDI over three decades.

Emerging Market Global Corporations:

• Basic Element (Russia) is a world leader in alumina production
• Bharat Forge (India) is one of the world’s largest forging companies
• BYD Company (China) is the world’s largest manufacturer of nickel-cadmium batteries
• CEMEX (Mexico) has developed into one of the world’s largest cement producers
• China International Marine Containers Group (China) is the world’s largest manufacturer of shipping
containers
• Cosco Group (China) is one of the largest shipping companies in the world
• Embraer (Brazil) has surpassed Canada’s Bombardier as the market leader in regional jets
• Galanz Group (China) has a 45 percent share of the European and a 25 percent share of the US
microwave market
• Hisense (China) is the number one supplier of flat-panel TVs to France
• Johnson Electric (China) is the world’s leading manufacturer of small electric motors Nemak (Mexico)
is one of the world’s leading suppliers of the cylinder head and block casings for the automotive industry
• Sistema (Russia) is a conglomerate with a focus on telecommunications
• Tata Chemicals (India) is an inorganic-chemicals producer with a significant global market share of
soda ash
• Techtronic Industries Company is the number one supplier of power tools to Home Depot Wipro
(India) is the world’s largest third-party engineering services company.

Governments and Citizens in a Globally Interconnected World of States by Hans Schattle

Alongside the growing economic interdependence of the past half-century, states have formed regional
partnerships with their neighbors, from loosely-knit organizations promoting trade and economic cooperation
such as the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to trading blocs such
as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Caribbean Community (Comunidad del
Caribe).

The United Nations Meets the Twenty-First Century: Confronting the Challenges of Global Governance
by Thomas G. Weiss and Ramesh Thakur

One way to think of “governance” is as purposeful systems of rules or norms that ensure order beyond what
occurs “naturally.” In the domestic context, governance is usually more than the government, implying shared
social purpose and goal orientation as well as the formal authority or police powers. Global governance is a
rules-based order without government.

Global governance reflects the realization that states and state-centric institutions cannot address the
challenges that render borders ever more porous. Several expose the limited ability of states to control
outcomes through self-help.

The Corporation Analyzed by Segments

The Corporation; Individual or Institution

1. to understand the legal rights and responsibilities of a corporation;
2. to recognize that institutions are comprised of individuals, so it is the character of the individuals
that define the institutions;

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3. that managers have considerable discretion in their decisions, and that shareholders do not
participate in the day-to-day choices of management;
4. that corporate social responsibility has a legal and moral aspect to it, and the two are not always
aligned.
The Corporation as Government
1. Often corporations must address social issues because governments do not, cannot, or should not
resolve them.
2. However, corporations can and should do only so much. Corporations can easily overextend their
activities in the social arena, which may, in itself, be irresponsible.

Some strengths of public sector ownership:

a. Accountable to the public, and spending, service levels, management, and employment practices are
more transparent to public scrutiny.
b. Allows factors such as public interest, equity, social cohesion, product stewardship, and solidarity to be
included in decision-making.
c. Ensures continuity, equity, and stability in the provision of services.
d. Oriented towards social responsibility and environmental awareness.
e. Has local knowledge of and experience with difficult-to-serve populations.
Some strengths of private sector ownership:
a. Accountable for shareholders to reduce costs and use resources efficiently.
b. Has a creative, dynamic, innovative, and entrepreneurial spirit.
c. Responds quickly to changing circumstances and demand.
d. Managerial and operational flexibility and efficiency.
e. Good at performing complex tasks.

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