Globalization and Interdependence

Interdependence

• The interrelatedness of national societies, which are in varying degrees sensitive and vulnerable to each other’s policies

• Refers to a condition or state of affairs characterized by reciprocal effects among countries or actors in different countries

• It can increase or it can decline

Globalization• Globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of

all parts of the world in all areas, most notably communication, commerce, culture, and politics

• Unlike interdependence which can increase or decrease, the implication of globalization is that it is increasing

• Thomas Friedman argues that contemporary globalization goes “farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper”

• Others explain contemporary globalization as having “thickened”

Globalization: The Pro Argument

• The global economy delivers markets that operate with maximum efficiency

• Globalization is the only way to bring prosperity to the developing world

• Globalization is inevitable and should be embraced

Globalization: The Con Argument• The global economy is an untamed juggernaut

that rewards the few and impoverishes the many• Globalization is neither inevitable or desirable• It diminishes the sovereignty of local and national

governments and transfers the power to shape economic and political destinies to transnational corporations and global institutions

• It is responsible for the destruction of the environment, the widening gap between rich and poor societies, and the worldwide homogenization of local, diverse, and indigenous cultures

Different Perspectives of Globalization

Technology

• “… Advances in technology just increase our ability to do things, which may be either for the better or for the worse. All of our current problems are unintended negative consequences of our existing technology.”– Jared Diamond, Collapse, 505

Conflict

• “The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural…. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.”– Samuel Huntington, Clash, 1

West vs the Rest

• “The central axis of world politics is likely to be… the conflict between ‘the West and the Rest’ and the responses of non-Western civilizations to Western power and values.”– Samuel Huntington, Clash, 11

Western Dominance

• “…. The West has driven the globalization agenda, ensuring that it garners a disproportionate share of the benefits, at the expense of the developing world.”– Joseph Stiglitz, Discontents, 7

Eurocentric Explanation

• “In a world of relativistic values and moral equality, the very idea of a West-centered (Eurocentric) global history is denounced as arrogant and oppressive. It is intended, we are told, ‘to justify Western dominance over the East by pointing out European superiority.’ What we should have instead is a multicultural, globalist, egalitarian history that tells something (preferably something good) about everybody. The European contribution– no more or less the invention of and definition of modernity– should be seen as accidental or to use the modish word, contingent.”– David Landes, Wealth, 513-514

McDonaldization

• “…. America’s enormous cultural vitality and technological creativity, combined with hegemonic status in world politics, make her a net exporter of culture, giving her therefore no sense of threat from that direction either: it is her culture that spreads. But this spread of American culture threatens others to whom it goes.”– Jagdish Bagwati, Defense, 120

Greed

• “Globalization has little to do with people or progress and everything to do with money.”– Ignacio Ramonet, Debate, 118

Haves and Have-nots

• “A growing divide between the haves and the have-nots has left increasing numbers in the Third World in dire poverty, living on less than a dollar a day.”– Joseph Stiglitz, Discontents, 5

Different Realities

• “People in the West may regard low-paying jobs at Nike as exploitation, but for many people in the developing world, working in a factory is a far better option than staying down on the farm and growing rice.”– Joseph Stiglitz, Discontents, 4

The World is Flat

• “The world is flat… the global competitive playing field was being leveled. The world was being flattened.”– Thomas Friedman, Flat, 7-8

Opportunity

• “Globalization has reduced the sense of isolation felt in much of the developing world and has given many people in the developing countries access to knowledge well beyond the reach of even the wealthiest in any country a century ago.”

Joseph Stigltiz, Discontents, 4

Debate: Is globalization good or bad?

• Global inequality

• Free trade

• Communications technology

• Power

• Culture

Why is there global inequality,and is it getting worse?

• Pro: Globalization opens up new opportunities for developing countries, and only those countries who have not embraced world trade have suffered.

• Con: Globalization has made the rich, richer and the poor, poorer.

What are the costs and the benefits of free trade?

• Pro: Free trade reduces prices for consumers and creates jobs in developing countries.

• Con: Free trade has primarily meant that global corporations now are able to exploit foreign markets in terms of cheaper labor, low worker protections, and looser environmental regulations. In the US, this has cost workers their jobs as production moves overseas.

What is the role of the internetand communications technology in

globalization?

• Pro: The internet ensures everyone has access to information.

• Con: The predominance of English on the internet threatens other languages and cultures, and transnational corporations have made the internet a tool for disseminating their marketing information to the global economy.

Is globalization shifting power from nation states to undemocratic organizations?

• Pro: Nation states will always be the center of the international system because they control territory and military power. International governmental organizations are made up of individual nation states so the nation state is in fact represented.

• Con: Under globalization, international organizations such as the World Trade Organization and NGOs have increased in power at the expense of nation states. Some global corporations have greater assets than the GDPs of some nations. These powerful organizations are not democratically elected and make decisions behind closed doors.

How does globalization affect culture? Is it ‘Americanization’?

• Pro: There is no way a world of over 7 billion people can become a monoculture. In fact, some forces of globalization such as the internet can be used to project traditional cultures in a way previously impossible.

• Con: America dominates the world economy to such an extent that mass distribution of its products have negatively impacted global cultural diversity.