Commodity, Rationalization and Globalization - Essay Example

Glossary Glossary Commodity The term commodity has been referred to as an element or product or service which is produced by the use of human labor and after it has been produced it is presented for the purpose of sale within a market (Marx, 2009, p.193). Certain goods that are priced are even recognized as commodity, for example, laborers, resources obtained naturally, and art work. These goods may not be created with the intent of sale at the market and these goods can not even be reproduced once they are used. This definition of commodity was provided by Karl Marx through his critique of political economy. He further states that objects (commodities) are not a part of human being, but these commodities achieve value regarded as “use value” to individuals when these objects gain the status of necessity and important in individual’s life. When an object is regarded gains use value, the commodity becomes an object that is highly wanted by individuals and in certain cases becomes a mean of an individual’s survival. For example: insulin dependant diabetic patients can not survive without insulin, so insulin is an object that has attained status of use value in an individual’s life. The first characteristic of commodity is that it has certain value that is a representation of the amount of labor used to produce that commodity. Since commodity has a value attached to it, individuals try their level best to use in an economical manner. Other characteristics of commodity include value of exchange, use and a price attached to it. A commodity has a value of use because it consists of characteristics that can satisfy individual’s desires and requirements and these desires can be in physical as well as emotional in nature. This means that a commodity has a social value attached to it as it is not only a beneficial object to the manufacturer; it is of even great importance to the user and other stakeholders. The commodity comprises of a value of exchange this means that one commodity can be obtained in exchange of another commodity. Commodity provides the benefit of other’s work to the owner of the commodity. The characteristic of price of a commodity is the representation of the value of exchange of the commodity. Value of exchange can even be represented through exchange of different commodities. According to Marx, the trade and exchange of commodity started taking place between communities that had separate boundaries in form of economics. He further stated that a manufacture aims at obtaining those commodities in exchange that he aims at having at a surplus level to satisfy their own requirements and while the exchange takes place the manufacturer aims at obtaining something that is of similar value in exchange. Frederick Engels refers to this kind of exchange of commodity as simple commodity production (Marx, 1996, p.96). According to him, when a good is produced, it is produced without the intention of exchange but due to the development of economy based on cash and markets where goods and purchased and sold, exchange of goods becomes the intent. Rationalization In the context of sociology, rationalization is referred to as an element that is replacing prior values and traditions as drivers of human behavior in a particular society. For example: the decision of implementing democracy in a nation and accepting education are kinds of rational behaviors. They believe that rationalization is the reason due to which modern society is experiencing a shift away from main values of enlightenment. The concept of rationalization was put forward by Max Weber, according to him rationalization is the occurrence of views caused because individuals impart from the view of the world provided by religion (Shepard, 2010, p.17). Weber states that rational thinking or rational decision making is one of the most significant requirements for the development of the modern societies of the west. Weber stated that conventional ways of thinking and decision making were not rational because these decisions were made on the basis of religion, magic and the explanation of the social world was conducted through an individual’s insight and emotional feelings which are all regarded as irrational while making decisions. Weber states that as compared to traditional decision making which was irrational in nature, rational decisions are made or rationalization is achieved when an individual is involved in the process of calculating, reasoning and pursuing his own rational interest. In the business world and other settings such as educational settings, various decisions are made and various actions are conducted. These actions and decisions are recognized as rational in nature because these decisions consist of the characteristics of rationality as proposed by Weber (Jones, 2011, p.96). Rationality is achieved when decisions are made in a calculated manner; this means that certain assumptions are taking into consideration and means of achieving particular outcomes are even taken into account before the action is conducted. Rationality can not be achieved without efficiency, this means that there are several options available to an individual and an individual can use them to solve a problem but individuals need to find the most effective problem solving method to consider the action as a rational one. Rationality is achieved when there is certain amount of certainty of the outcome; this means that the final result can be predicted before the action is carried out. These predictions may not be completely true and might be dependant on probability. The principle of rationalization can be adopted in the real world in different walks of life such as the economic walk. The existence of rationalization can be witnessed in at a greater level in economic settings such as organizations and businesses. In today’s society, the principle of rationalization has become an integral part of the social world and the elements such as religion and politics which are portions of the social world. Weber believes that it is very essential for an organization to conduct its operations in a rational manner if they want to achieve efficiency. He even stated that this mode of decision making may eventually be witnessed in all spheres of society. Globalization The concept of globalization has not been a part of the society for several years; it has recently been introduced to the world of economics, culture and sociology. Several theories have been created regarding this aspect of society from different points of view. The term globalization was first used during the ages of 1960s and since its inception it has been a hotly debated aspect of community (Singh, 2003, p.491). The concept of globalization can be witnessed in the era before the cold war but it gained higher amount of popularity after the cold war. After cold war it was regarded as an imaginary world that has no borders and in this world, exchange of ideas and goods take place in quite an easy manner. Globalization itself is regarded as a process but this is not a one dimensional process. Globalization that is economical in nature is represented by activities such as global production of goods and services. Globalization that is political in nature is represented by activities such as organizations that operate at the international level and social movements that are created and carried out all over the world. Globalization that takes place in cultural context is represented by practices such as global consumption of goods and services and immigration. The importance and the definition of globalization are still unclear and theorists explain the process differently. For example those who are in support of globalization such as Friedman state that it is a world that does not have border and this world elevates potentials of the human beings (Singh, 2003, p.491). Those who are against the process such as Rosenberg state that the process is the outcome of difficult changes in the regions of society, politics and culture (Singh, 2003, p.491). The process of globalization does not refer to connections between different parts of the world; it even reflects the restructuring of spatial society. Robertson describes the process of globalization while giving importance to consciousness that is global in nature and state that globalization is represented by decrease in borders of the world and is even represented by the world’s increase in consciousness (Singh, 2003, p.491). Giddens has taken a time-space approach toward the definition of globalization; he believes that individuals living in one nation are greatly impacted by situations that take place far away from their locality (Robotham, 2005, p.62). For example: the economic recession faced by US during 2008 had a damaging effect throughout the world. Urry believes that the process of globalization has a broader impact and the study of sociology should not be limited to societies (Robotham, 2005, p.62). He believes that due to globalization there has been a decline in the concept and reality of nations and states and due to this decline, societies even fail to exist. Researchers and theorists have failed to reach a consensus on the definition of globalization but they all agree to the fact that globalization can be both fruitful as well as regretful for the society. For example: globalization comes with the opportunity of trading in different markets but it even comes with the threat of terrorism that is international in nature. References Jones, P., Bradbury, L., & Le Boutillier, S. (2011). Introducing social theory. Cambridge, UK, Polity Press. Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1996). Das Kapital: a critique of political economy. Washington, DC, Regnery Gateway. Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2009). Communist manifesto ; Wages, price and profit ; selections from Capital. London, CRW Pub. Robotham, D. (2005). Culture, society, and economy bringing production back in. London, Sage Publications. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10218257. Shepard, J. M. (2010). Sociology. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Singh, R. (2003). Governing America: the politics of a divided democracy. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Read More