Globalization is Good - Essay Example

? GLOBALIZATION IS GOOD Introduction 3 Information and Networks as Globalization 4 Political Economy and World System Theory 5 Cultural Dimensions of Globalization 6 Globalization and Violence 7 Global Citizenship 7 Globalization and Challenges to the Sovereignty of Public Sphere 8 Globalization: The Making of World Society 9 Conclusion 9 References 11 Introduction The concept of globalization has entered almost in all areas of our lives be it business, language, education, culture, lifestyle and other psychological and social behavior patterns. It is argued that we are fast losing our unique identity and sense of belonging. Many factors such as advancement in transport and modes of communication, virtual organizations made possible because of internet and various other factors leading to network societies have helped replace post modernism with globalization. According to Castells the network society is the new techno-economic system. The interaction between network society and the power of identity reflected in various social and political movements will transform the social structure of the society leading not only to globalized economies but globalized societies. He defines network society as a society where all the key social structures and activities are performed, executed and processed as electronic information network. This social network is considered as the key ingredient of globalized society. This paper aims at studying the meaning and characteristic of globalization along with the social developments. What are the driving forces and factors for the globalization and network society? What role internet has played in transforming the functional capabilities of the social networks? This paper also aims at studying various dimensions of globalization along with different social experiences and configurations of globalization as well as their alignment with each other. Information and Networks as Globalization Castell’s work is very important and links directly and indirectly the globalization debate. His contribution in the theoretical and empirical analysis of social change is exemplary. He proposed the concept of network society. According to him the technological change and the information revolution is the main driving force behind the transformation of space and time related to globalization (Castells, 2001). According to him there are three major arguments namely network society, informational capitalism and the development of contemporary global politics acts as a unifying thread for globalization. His trilogy works on the interaction of these three forces leading to globalization. It is this informational and technological revolution that led to network society where all society structure and activities are based on electronically processes information (Castells, 1998). This network society along with informational capitalism is the globalization system, which gives rise to globalized networks in the form of enterprises and political movements etc. This has only been made possible with the advancement information and communication technology (ICT). This ICT revolution has seeped in all aspects of our society and the economy and is responsible for the current phase of globalization. According to him the changes in economic policy resulting in liberalization and deregulation of economy is also made possible due to changes in ICT (Castells, 2000). It provided the technological capacity to the system to work as a single global unit. Castell’s view is different from Gidden’s on globalization who talks about globalization in totality whereas Castell’s emphasizes on the transformation to global society and the leading factors. According to Castells this informational capitalism is quite unique in its form and shape from the earlier forms of market society. it is argued that this form emerged in the wake of failure of capitalism in the 70’s due to declining profits, burgeoning social cost, rising standards of living and the post war settlements which led to full employment. Changes in information and technology not only provided new ways of production, but it also helped in improving productivity and organizational expansion. Hence this informational capitalism stabled the economy (Castells, 1997). Political Economy and World System Theory The information technology has played a pivotal role in speeding up the process of globalization of world economy. After the Second World War the era of post modernization emerged which saw the emergence and growth of many multinational corporations (MNC’s). High cost of research and development and the decreasing cost of transmitting information was the major force behind this growth of MNC’s. This evolution of the world system started with changes in the Marxist theory. According to theorist most of the changes takes place in the semi periphery society which brings changes in the core society. Hence this evolution has lies not in the modes of production as in the orthodox Marxist theory but due to changes in the modes of accumulation. It is argued that this transformation has been similar across regions. The organizations and production that facilitate this transformation are therefore not only interested in technology, social institutions and legitimate power but also in the conflicts within and between the societies. Hence social complexity is the leading edge for fast development. According to him post industrialist societies are fast moving from industrialization to informationalism. This information mode works in collaboration with capitalist mode. Hence collective consumption is organized by state and private consumption is organized by market with ever increasing use of information technology. Castells talks about “space of flow” where space is defined as place where power, capital and people etc have been concentrated such the big urban cities. This information technology has transcends boundaries and now people now more needs to be in the same place for working together (Castells, 1977). Cultural Dimensions of Globalization Castells has discussed the transformation of globalization, which only shows it as a natural progression from capitalism. Various aspects and dimensions of globalization need to be studied before deciding whether it is good or bad. Appadurai has discussed various dimension of globalization including culture. It is argued that huge flow of people, images, technologies and capital as a result of globalization has its impact on the societies in many predictable and unpredictable ways. He provides a new framework for the study of globalization from the cultural perspective. According to him modernity at large shows how imagination can bring changes and can work as a social force. He argues that in today’s world national identities are fast eroding or diminishing and giving rise to new identities which transcends boundaries. He sees imagination as providing resource, energy and an alternative to national identities. He argues that imagination created through migration and mass electronic media in this globalized world has led to popular consumption patterns and multiculturalism. He considers that how international media has circulated images of a particular life style, fashion, self representation and popular culture; it has hugely effected individual cultures of different nationalities. The images created by media and ICT has led to evolution of similar consumption and behavioral pattern depicted in various aspects and hence led to a great extent uniformity or globalization of culture. This globalization of culture has at one end led to multiculturalism and at other led to ethnic violence in an attempt to conserve one’s unique identity (Appadurai, 1996). Globalization and Violence The picture about globalization is not all that rosy. Globalization can lead to new forms of hatred, ethnocide and ideocide. The episodes of which were observed in the violence against Muslims in Mumbai in 1993 and in other parts of the world as well such as Rwanda and central Europe also witnessed large scale ethnocide violence in 1989. This brutality and war all around the globe is because there is division of people on grounds of race, religion, class, and many other nationalist and ethnic grounds. It is the ideology of hate that has divided us into little boxes of ethnic groups and communities. It has one single dimension of defining our individual identities which is made up of multiple factors like class, sex, politics and personal interests etc. such violence can only be cured by working on globalization at the grass root level (Appadurai, 2006). This extremism can be countered through freedom to choose one’s identity affiliations. He believes that narrow minded pluralism that defines our social psychology translates to group identity which often leads to violence. He believes that such violence can only be countered through humane pluralism. This concept is akin to global citizenship. Global Citizenship In recent times the idea of global citizenship in its various forms is fast gaining momentum all around the globe. It is inspiring youngsters to grow into global citizens; it requires them to be morally responsible, intellectually competent and culturally perceptive to diverse cultures. The trend for global citizenship started with social movements like eradication of poverty, labor rights, environmental protection etc. These organizations claim that they work for the welfare of humanity by ensuring social justice and democratic accountability in the world economy. These organizations claim the global citizenship and hence welfare for the humanity (Giddens, 2010). Global corporations also are working for the propagation of concept of global citizenship by projecting socially responsible public image through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Global citizenship is not a new phenomenon but it dates back to ancient Greece history. It is reflected in the fact that the word “Cosmopolitan” is a composite of Greek words for “order”, “universe” and “citizen”. In fact the idea of global citizenship is older than the concept of nationalism. This concept of global citizenship can be attributed to the growing public awareness about the global interdependence. However opponents of this theory which constitutes the intellectuals and political agents discard it as an impractical theory. They claim the concept of global citizenship is not possible in the absence of international or global governing bodies and global governments. The proponents of national government find global citizenship especially weak in the realm of politics, political science and legal issues where nationalism plays a vital role (Schattle, 2008). On the wake of global platform for digital communication and the interdependency of world the concept of global citizenship may flourish in other ways in educational institutions, global corporations and social organizations for humanity etc. Globalization and Challenges to the Sovereignty of Public Sphere Global nature of internet media has restricted or curtailed the role of regulatory culture, which was associated with the spatial practices in determining the concepts of jurisdiction of sovereign nations especially in the public private sector divide. The flow of information across the borders through internet etc disrupts the jurisdiction and sovereignty and the distinction between private and public spheres become blur. This combination of globalization and localization has not only transformed the ways but also has created problems for the law (Featherstone, 1990). Globalization: The Making of World Society An empirical analysis of the countries of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that globalization is a dominant factor in these countries since 1970’s. All OECD countries have opened trade by easing control on capital, foreign direct investments and lowering of tariffs. When link between globalization and spending on welfare was investigated it revealed that globalization and hence promotion of trade does not affect welfare spending. Hence it exonerates globalization from the allegation that it reduces welfare spending (Lechner, 2009). Conclusion After studying the forces, such as changes in communication and technology, that is responsible for transformation in globalization it is evident that globalization is inevitable. It has entered into every sphere of our life, including economy, politics, society etc. Society network has led to informational capitalism and has influenced the global economy. This globalization has not only been limited to economy and business it has changed the concept of nationality and identity as well. The new concept is of global citizenship that transcends national boundaries. The impact of globalization has generally been positive although it has led to more ethnic violence in some cases, but it is argued that such violence and hatred can also be resolved by introducing globalization at the grass root level. Globalization has also created some disruptions in the concept of jurisdiction and sovereignty but these problems can be resolved with appropriate legal measures. Hence generally globalization has been inevitable but good. References Appadurai, A. (1996) Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Appadurai, A. (2006) Fear of Small Numbers: An Essay on the Geography of Anger, edn. London: Duke University Press. Castells, M. (1998) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture Volume III. End of Millennium, Oxford: Blackwell. Castells, M. (2000) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture Volume 1. The Rise of the Network Society. 2nd Edition , Oxford: Blackwell. Castells, M. (2001) The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Castells, M. (1977) The Urban Question: A Marxist Approach, London: Edward Arnold. Castells, M. (1997) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture Volume II. The Power of Identity, Oxford: Blackwell. Featherstone, M. (1990) Global culture: Nationalism, globalization and modernity, London: Sage. Giddens, A. (2010) Sociology: Introductory Reading, Cambridge: Polity Press Lechner, F. (2009) Globalization: The Making of World Society, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Schattle, H. (2008) The practices of global citizenship, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Read More