Download - Globalisation and the study of society
Aims• The context of modern societies
• Three Schools of Thought on the Globalization Debate
• factors contributing to globalization:
– Economic
– Social
– Political
– Environmental
• One culture?
• Self-study
Pre-modern Societies • Hunting and gathering societies
– 50,000 BC, almost disappeared– Small numbers; fishing, hunting, edible
plants– Some still exist in parts of Africa ; Brazilian
jungles and New Guinea– Modern institutions are far from ‘natural’
features of all human life.– No real inequalities of wealth and power
• Pastoral and Agrarian Societies– 20,000 yrs ago– Pastoral societies rely on livestock; agrarian
grow crops.– Many still exist in areas of Africa, the
Middle East and Central Asia – Cultivation supported larger communities.– Small and rural, some inequality, rule by
chiefs
Pre-modern Societies
• Non-industrial or Traditional societies
• 6,000 BC to 19th century, all now disappeared
• Settlements in millions, cities, trade and agriculture, kings
• Pronounced inequalities of wealth and power• Aztecs of Mexico
• Mayas of Yacatan Peninsula
• Incas of Peru
• Also empires• Chinese empire
• Roman empire
• Shows that long-term process of globalization has involved invasion, wars and violent conquest
• as much as cooperation and mutual exchange 5
Modern Societies
Industrial societies now dominate:
• Employment: factories, shops and offices (not agriculture)
• 90% live in towns and cities
• Urban life impersonal and anonymous
• developed and intensive political systems
• transport and communications lead to more integrated nation-state
24 hours of humanity:
• 23.56:00 – agriculture
• 23.57:00 – civilizations
• 23.59:30 – modern societies
How can we define globalisation?
• A process where;
– individuals
– groups
– nations
• become interdependent:
– economically
– politically
– socially
Social ChangesThree main influences:
• Cultural factors– Religious beliefs (Max Weber) (What do you remember?)
– Communication systems (invention of writing)
– Charismatic leadership (e.g. Gandhi)
• Physical environment– Climatic conditions and availability of plants and animals
(eg., Australia has hardly any plants suitable for cultivation, or animals that could be domesticated, so native population never stopped being hunters and gatherers).
• Political organization– Democratic ideology or military power
Three Schools on the Globalization Debate
• Theorists who write about globalization can be broadly grouped into three categories:– Sceptics
– Hyperglobalizers
– Transformationalists
• The extent to which it is valid to explain social, political and economic changes as ‘globalization’ is contested.
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Three Schools on the Globalization Debate:
Hyperglobalizers Sceptics Transformationalists
Global capitalism
Global governance
Global civil society
World less inter-
dependent than in
1890s
‘Thick’ (intensive and
extensive)
globalization
National governments
declining in power
National governments
power reinforced or
enhanced
National governments
reconstituted and
restructured
Driven by capitalism
and technology
Driven by
governments and
markets
Driven by combined
forces of modernity
Erosion of old
stratification
hierarchies
Increased
marginalization of
South
New architecture of a
world order
Political, cultural and economic forces of modernity: ways to engage with the Theoretical
Schools on Globalisation
• Global environmental issues
• Global cities and governance
• Life expectancy - ageing
• Families
• Globalisation and disability/ HIV- AIDS
• Inequalities
• Migration
• Religious Belief
• Mass Media
• International Organisations/ Global Networks
• Education – E-universities
• Organised crime/cybercrime
• Spread of Democracy
• Terrorism
Globalization
Factors contributing to globalization:
• Information and CommunicationsTechnology (ICT)
– Cable technology, satellites, information flows
• Economic Factors
– Weightless economy, transnational corporations, global commodity chains (Barbie), electronic economy
• Political Factors
– Collapse of Soviet Union, growth of international government and non-government organizations
Factors contributing to globalisation 1: Information and communications
technology
• For example; telephones, digital, cable and satellite TV, email, Internet
• Technology is cheaper than ever before
• Technology is more widely available than ever before
• But, access to this technology is uneven
World Internet Usage Statistics
The impacts of modern technology: the shift to a ‘global outlook’
1. Global Civil Society
For example, 24 hour news
media bring far-off events
into our homes:
• Environmental disasters
• War in Iraq
• China Earthquakes (2010)
The impacts of modern technology: the shift to a ‘global outlook’
2. Nationalism declines in importance in constructing sense of identity
– Cornwall (UK) to call themselves ‘Cornish’ or even ‘European’, rather than ‘British’
– Basque rather than Spanish
Cornwall’s flag: The cross of Saint Piran
Economic Factors
• Globalisation being driven forward by the continuing integration of the world economy.
• In contrast to previous eras, the global economy is no longer primarily agricultural or industrial in its basis;
– Knowledge/weightless economy
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Economic factors
• Fast and easy capital transfers
• A post-industrial economy based on new technologies
• National boundaries much less relevant to trade
• Growth of ‘trans-national corporations’ (TNCs): Coca-Cola, Mitsubishi
• Can you think of any more example?
• ‘Weightless economy’ one in which products have their base in information:– Computer software
– Media and entertainment products
– Internet-based services
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Transnational corporations
• ExxonMobil, for
example, reported its
revenue up 32% to
$100.7 billion:
– greater than the annual
GDP of all but just 38 of
the world's economies.
(USA Today, ‘Big Oil Tanks Up, 2005)
The ‘electronic economy’
• Banks, corporations, fund managers can move money internationally
• Increasing integration means financial collapse has disproportionate effects on other countries
– USA sub-prime mortgage crisis / UK credit crunch
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Political factors
• End of Cold war/ collapse of Soviet-style communism
• Growth of regional and international forms of government (UN, EU)
• Growth of international governmental organisations(IGOs) e.g. International Civil Aviation Organisation(from civil aviation to broadcasting to the disposal of hazardous waste)
• Growth in international non-governmental organisations (INGOs): e.g. Greenpeace
Social factors
• The rise of individualism• People are bound by
tradition less and less• Redefinitions of social
class, family, gender roles, sexuality, personal identity, relations to work, and to other people
• Can you see these ideas resulting from globalization?
Three Schools of Thought in the Globalization Debate
• The extent to which it is valid to explain social, political and economic changes as ‘globalization’ is contested by these three schools.
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Economic Globalization: ‘Barbie’
• ‘Global Barbie’ is clearly an example
of economic globalization. ( A global commodity chain: ‘the worldwide networks of labour and production processes yielding a finished product.’)
• Barbie is also a symbol of cultural globalization; her popularity is constructed and maintained?
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A Global Culture?
Five forces we have already mentioned:
– Television brings British and American culture
to world audience
– Unified global economy with structures
spanning continents and countries
– Global citizens who identify with cosmopolitan
culture rather than own nation
– International organizations
– Electronic and instantaneous communications
Americanisation?
• Some discourses describe as globalisation as ‘Americanisation’
• Reflects discourses of anti-American sentiment– Right-wing religious groups
may repeat such discourse
– Call to arms
– Expression of frustration at global capitalism’s failures (Fair Trade?)
Assessing the evidence for ‘Americanisation’: economics
• The world’s biggest economy
• US economy has a disproportionate impact on all other economies
• Many TNCs (trans-national corporations) are US-based (e.g. Ford, Walmart [ASDA])
• Profits are repatriated – what does this mean?
Assessing the evidence for ‘Americanisation’: politics
• Export of American political ideas through discourse (democracy, liberty)
• Deployment of US military power across the world (e.g. Iraq)
A nice piece of propaganda!
• Different cultures are adopting American habits and customs (e.g. fast food) More examples?
• Different cultures are adopting American cultural products (e.g. music, movies, fashion)
• By the 21st century, few economies in the world stood beyond the reach of transnational corporations . . .
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McDonaldization – George Ritzer
• Modernised rationality principle (Weber)
“The process by which the principles of the fast food organisation come to dominate the rest of society”
1. Efficiency
2. Predictability
3. Calculability
4. Non- human rather than human technology
McDonaldization
1. Efficiency – the optimal method of performing a task (fastest way to get from point a – b)
2. Predictability – standardizing uniform services –same product every time – highly routine – every burger is the same
3. Calculability – objective is quantifiable not subjective, quality = quantity, getting a large amount of products for a small amount of money
4. Non- human rather than human technology –people are irrational – pre-packaged, pre-measured – human employees are not required to think
Evaluation
• What evidence is there for the three schools of thought on globalisation?
• How convinced are you by Ritzer’s updated version of the rationality principle, McDonaldization?
• Do you think globalising forces will lead to one culture, economically, politically, and socially?
Self-study
• Essential reading:– Cornell notes; before lecture
– Homework reading; before seminar • Remember that seminars are the next week following
the lecture
• Homework Forums:– Add to the discussion
• Practical application of theories and revision
• Revise for formative test in lectures:– FHL Test paper 1 Wednesday 6th November
– FB1 Test paper 2 Friday 8th November