Reflection Essay - The Contemporary World

Cumitag, Owen Z.
BSA 5-11
Reflection Essay
"Once you know about other societies, you will not be able to see your own in the
same way." As the course comes to an end and our last day approaches. I thought I
would reflect upon the subject and my development as I discuss my key takeaways
from the course. During our time with the contemporary world subject, it is fair to say
that I have learned an array of lessons that greatly affected how I perceive the present
world. The subject taught me to stretch the limits of my imagination, which also taught
me to be a more open-minded person as the subject presented us with unfamiliar ideas
and knowledge that sparked me with new interests and realizations. Moreover, as these
interests of mine begin to daunt me, I can say that I still have a lot of things to improve
with regards to the subject, the contemporary world.
My first key takeaway that I have learned from the subject is the concept of
Globalization. It is with undeniable emphasis that Globalization is the centralized topic of
the subject. And with that, the concept is defined as the adoption and expansion of
international trade and exchange as different ideas, people, and cultures from distant
places circulate the globe. The inevitability of experiencing globalization is present since
the concept of globalization is a global phenomenon that one cannot avoid. Moreover,
as I have learned more about globalization, it still fascinates me and provides me with
new ideas on understanding the developing world today, such as how will globalization
take us to further advancements than we have today.
Another key takeaway that I have learned is the history of how globalization
extended human innovation and technological development around the world
throughout time. In human history, the silk road was introduced to be the first
international trading route, and without notice, people started trading, which resulted in
a process of globalization already taking place. As technologies continue to advance,
the occurrence of another system of trade happened, as the world reached the age of
mercantilism, trade systems through galleons and boats are evident where trade from
different continents occur. Further to the present, we can already observe wide progress
of globalization present in several forms as trade systems of the world continue to
Cumitag, Owen Z. BSA 5-11
develop, and information today reaches people easier as the majority have access to
more advanced technology.
The third key takeaway that learned from the subject is the presence of the idea
of Global Politics. After hearing the topic, I was hesitant in trying to put some effort into
really understanding anything related to politics. However, as the subject progressed, I
also started to take an interest in what my teacher was talking about. As we discuss the
two different ideologies, we were asked “What would be of the world if we were still in
the state of social internationalism?”. As we reached the topic of internationalism, the
concepts of liberal internationalism and social internationalism were heavily discussed.
Liberal internationalism as defined is the ideology where there is an existence of an
alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal, to which the ideology is favoring
in having a world government under the promotion of having a liberal democracy. On
the other hand, Socialist internationalism is interpreted as the ideology that humankind
is bound together by mutual sympathy and compassion. To which there is a belief in an
international class struggle as the true identity of people is based on social classes.
Going back to the question given to us, we then responded that globalization of the
world would be more difficult to achieve as countries continue to struggle and suffer
from the lack of innovation and competition among the people. With that being said,
politics for me is a bit heavy to understand, nonetheless, it may have benefited me in
discussing it in the subject as I have acquired a deeper understanding of how
globalization is also heavily influenced by global politics.
The fourth key takeaway that tackled the subject is global governance, which is
also connected with global politics. Global governance in the paper is defined as activity
at the international, transnational, and regional levels, also, it refers to activities in the
public and private sectors that transcend national boundaries, where regulations of
countries are administered to a head government. Moreover, as we discussed the topic,
we were also asked if global governance would be the best objective to focus on in the
current situation of the world. We then answered that we cannot say that it would be the
best solution for what is happening because having a global government takes time and
deeper research on how it will run and how will it benefit the world at the moment. Also,
Cumitag, Owen Z. BSA 5-11
as we further discussed the topics under global governance, International Organizations

such as the United Nations, World Health Organizations, and World Bank were
introduced to us. To which these international organizations are the closest to a world
government. All things considered, the topic of global governance is quite a complex
topic to tackle, however, I would be more in favor of having a global government in a
way that it would be more restricted than it will not much affect a state’s sovereignty.
All things considered, the course, the contemporary world, has a lot to offer to its
students. With all of the takeaways I have learned in the course, from the concept of
globalization, how globalization extended human innovation, global politics, and global
governance, it is fair to say that the unfamiliar topics and ideas have given me a better
understanding on how globalization continues to affect the world as it progresses.
These would be most of my takeaways from the course, and although we have not
spent a lot of time covering more about the course, it is undoubtedly one of the courses
that made me more interested in contemporary world problems and issues that all
societies face.

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Cumitag, Owen Z.

as we further discussed the topics under global governance, International Organizations

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