Globalization and Social Theory - Essay Example

Globalization and social theory When do significant things in life change? This is one of the most demanding questions one can raise. It does not matter if the questions are personal or global but people are more concerned about when significant changes start to occur. We are more bothered more about why these changes must take place but in the lack of a satisfactory answers to the why, the when becomes more appropriate. The why is the most important question in the social sciences and at the same time it is the most complex to answer. it is most probable that social science would be none existent without common people wanting to know why things exist the way they are. In social science we are interested about the why, we have a clue of the how, but the when question becomes the most appropriate. All the above questions of social theory are hard to answer, but the when question has the advantage of being basic to daily life and to academic social sciences. Social theory can be defined as the art, if not at times the science of posing the right questions to the detriment of those who have already acquired solutions to their questions. According to social theory, limited answers can be deemed right or wrong hence they can still be considered relevant up until now. Globalization covers a wide range of unique economic, political and cultural aspects. It has become one of the most common terms of daily political and academic arguments. In most cases globalization can be substituted to mean the pursuit of an open market policy in the global economy (economic liberalization), the rising superiority of western and particularly American political, economic and cultural styles (westernization or Americanization), the age of information technology (the internet) and the idea that the world is at a point of accepting one common and unified community (global village) where social conflicts will be absent (global integration) (Schaeffer 81). In the ongoing debate, most social theorists contend that globalization is more or less concerned with critical change in space and shape of social existence, where the importance of space and boundary evolve due to a major change in the structure of important forms of human behavior. Since distance between locations is determined using time, and as time required covering such distances is reduced or eliminated, space is ultimately condensed. The accurate sources of the changes in spatial and sequential contours of humanity, has been a source of contention among globalization theorists but they generally agree that the change in the experience of time and space eliminates the significance of territorial boundaries in many facets of human undertakings. From the mid 1980’s social theorists have deviated from the concept of reduction or elimination of space, to bring an in depth analysis of globalization. Although the accurate causes of globalization still arouse disagreements, there is a rising general agreement about the fundamentals of the idea of globalization. First, globalization has been linked to elimination of territories (deterritorialization) (Schaeffer 81). Many social functions take place in different localities without the participants being together. Telecommunication, digital computers, audiovisual media, and others have facilitated global activities to take place simultaneously in any part of the world and at any time. Globalization has facilitated action between entities in circumstances where space is irrelevant to the social activity taking place. Despite the fact that location is still critical in some industries like farming, deterritorialization comes in many forms. E-commerce enables businessmen to transact in different continents, people can follow news from every corner of the globe from the comfort of their living rooms, teleconferencing allows academicians to conduct seminars involving participants who are globally distributed, and the internet allows instant communication between people who are widely dispersed geographically. Globalization has been related to the development of interconnectedness between existing geographical and political territories. Focusing exclusively on deterritorialization would be faulty as most of human activities are still rooted to a solid geographical location, the most influential characteristic of globalization focuses on the way in which far removed events affect local and regional undertakings. Therefore globalization refers to a process of transformation that underscores the shift in the management of human interaction by bringing together and widening activity across far regions. In this sense, globalization can be examined as a matter of degree as any social event can affect activities more or less removed. In many cases faraway events have limited impacts on activities in a certain locality. The level of interconnectedness between distant regions is no longer disorganized but determinable and precise. Globalization has significant influence on the rate of social activities. At first, deterritorialization and interconnectedness look mainly spatial. But there is a direct relation between these spatial changes and the rate of spread of some social events. Since the advent of high speed forms of transport, communication and information technology have played a critical role in reduction of geographical space, many other factors influence the rate of flow of human activity. Certain behaviors and notions including the love of speed and motion also contribute to the spread of social activity. Globalization theorists propose that globalization should be taken as long term process. The combinations of deterritorialization, interconnectedness and social speed rarely depict an immediate event in current social life. Globalization is an inclusive aspect of the current world and recent history include many forms of globalization.19th century thinkers lived to experience the compression of distance but modern theorists contend that globalization has rapidly moved in the recent past primarily due to the advances made in the communication, transport and information communication technology. While the railroad and the telegraph fascinated our ancestors, technological creativity has influenced most social activities. Widely entrench early attitudes concerning deterritorialization and interconnectedness. Despite all this, the effect of modern technological advancements cannot be neglected as it has direct impact to those in the industry and indirect impact on residents and buyers (Schaeffer 81). To have a clear view of globalization, it should be taken as many sided process , as deterritorialization, interconnectedness and acceleration are noticeable in economic, political, and cultural fields of social activity. Although each aspect of globalization is related to the major elements of globalization mentioned above, each should be examined independently to determine the dynamics unique to it. The emergence of internet financial transactions gives an example of economic globalization. This has enabled global financial markets to avoid regulation by the authorities, raising the fundamental question that, are financial markets growing more powerful than democratically established institutions? Effective communication has facilitated activists to collaborate on fighting ills that plaque society but require an international approach e.g. Global warming which illustrates an example of political globalization. The far reaching effects of globalization on humanity show that it obviously touches on common philosophical issues. In the past, political theory in the west acknowledged the presence of territorially enclosed societies completely removed from other communities. The modern day philosophers still espouse this inclination. Through out history, political and legal thinkers have played a critical role in coming up with the frameworks that define relationship with other states; they have clearly separated domestic and foreign affairs. Their strongpoint is that, the domestic front is appropriate in the realization of basic rights than in association with other states. In combating the challenges posed by globalization, those supporting international realism have opposed this view (Robertson 45). In the wake of deterritorialization and interconnectedness between borders, it is no longer plausible to hold that states can exist independently with minimal relations with others. Globalization has reduced the distinction between local and foreign affairs demanding the reconsideration of the benefits of handling political issues on the global scale. This implies that failure to achieve justice at the international level directly affect justice at the domestic front. When it comes to global issues like global warming, states will be forced to cooperate in tackling and regulating the emission of dangerous gases that affect the ozone layer. this issue is not a domestic one hence the failure to put in place effective management of the environment would eventually have far reaching negative impacts on the domestic front. Globalization has also brought to the fore the role of states in the pursuit of justice in the international stage. Cosmopolitans argue that everyone has the moral role of ensuring that justice prevails to those who live far away from us and we share nothing in common. Communitarians argue that we only have the obligation to those we share the nation state and not foreigners. Though some communitarians acknowledge the existence of globalization, some think that its impacts have been overblown (Zadja 77). Debate also rages about the chances of global institutions. Following the arguments of cosmopolitans, some hold the view that free democratic institutions should be installed at the global level. Domestic based institutions are not well equipped to handle issue like global warming which transcends the nation state. proponents of communitarians argue that history, beliefs and custom are necessary for any functional democracy, elements which are missing at the international level, therefore the likelihood of global democracy failing is high. Irrespective of the school of thought one ascribes to, globalization is a reality which should be tackled with caution because it is a phenomenon which is there to stay. Due to the shift in the manner in which the global agenda is currently handled, nations need to collaborate in many aspects than before as the nation state is slowly but gradually losing significance. Challenges facing humanity like global warming is not a problem of one state as the effects will be felt by the global population. Therefore nations need collaborate in coming up with measures to regulate and conserve the environment. Globalization also presents an opportunity to integrate humanity so that conflicts are avoided. This is possible in that information flow is fast and reliable hence activists are able to campaign for causes that take place in far removed regions. Globalization has reduced the influence of local jurisdictions. Deterritorialization has made it hard for the nation state to regulate aspects like financial markets due to the advent of electronic trading (Schaeffer 81). Work cited Robertson, Roland. Globalization: social theory and global culture. New York, NY: Sage, 1994. Print Schaeffer, Robert. Understanding globalization: the social consequences of political, economic, and environmental change. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003. Print Zajda, Joseph. Globalization, education and social justice. New York, NY: Springer, 2010. Print Read More