Course Code/Description : GE ConWorld Instructor : Luzl T.

Dramayo
Program : BAT Term : First Semester, AY 2020-2021
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MODULE 1

TITLE: The Contemporary World

TOPIC: Globalization
TIME FRAME: 6 hours

INTRODUCTION:
Much has changed since time immemorial. Human beings have encountered many changes over the last century especially in their social relationships and social
structures. Of these changes, one can say that globalization is a very important change, if not, the “most important” (Bauman, 2003). The reality and omnipresence of
globalization makes us see ourselves as part of what we refer to as the “global age” (Albrow, 1996). The internet, for example, allows a person from the Philippines to know
what is happening to the rest of the world simply by browsing Google. The mass media also allows for connections among people, communities, and countries all over the
globe.

OBJECTIVES/INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:
 Identify the different definitions of globalization.
 Provide their own ideas of what globalization is all about.
 Describe the metaphors in defining globalization.

PRE-TEST:
Activity 1.1: Concept Map
In the figure below, write words or phrases that you think is related to globalization.

Globalization

CONTENT/DISCUSSION:

So, what is globalization? This question is probably an easy one to answer. However, many scholars gave and tried to formulate its definitions. This resulted in
different, sometimes contradicting views about the concept. It cannot be contained within a specific time frame, all people, and all situations (Al-Rhodan, 2006). Aside from
this, globalization encompasses a multitude of processes that involves the economy, political systems, and culture. Social structures, therefore, are directly affected by
globalization.
Over the years, globalization has gained many connotations pertaining to progress, development, and integration. On the one hand, some view globalization as a
positive phenomenon. For instance, Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson (2001) saw globalization as “the process of world shrinkage, of distances getting shorter, things
moving closer. It pertains to the increasing ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact, to mutual benefit with somebody on the other side of the world.”
On the other hand, some see it as occurring through and with regression, colonialism, and destabilization. In the mid-1990s, Martin Khor, the former president of Third World
Networl (TWN) in Malaysia, once regarded globalization as colonization.

The Task of Defining Globalization

Since its first appearance in the Webster’s Dictionary in 1961, many opinions about globalization have flourished. The literature on the definitions of globalization
revealed tha definitions could be classified as either (1) broad and inclusive or (2) narrow and exclusive. The one offered by Ohmae in 1992 stated, “…globalization means
the onset of the borderless world…” (p. 14). This is an example of a broad and inclusive type of definition. If one uses such, it can include a variety of issues that deal with
overcoming traditional boundaries. However, it does not shed light on the implications of globalization due to its vagueness.
Narrow and exclusive definitions are better justified but can be limiting, in the sense that their application adhere to only particular definitions. Robert Cox’s
definition suits best in this type: “the characteristics of the globalization trend include the internationalizing of production, the new international divisions of labor, new migratory
movements from South to North, the new competitive environment that accelerates these processes, and the internationalizing of the state… making states into agencies of
the globalizing world” (as cited in RAWOO Netherlands Development Assistance Research Council, 2000, p. 14). Other definitions of globalization are shown in chronological
order in the Appendix. Each could fall to either one or two types of definition.
No matter how one classifies a definition of globalization, the concept is complex and multifaceted as the definitions deal with either economic, political, or social
dimensions. In fact, in a comprehensive study of 114 definitions by the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) in 2006, 67 of them refer to economic dimension. These
definitions include political and social dimensions as well. The sheer number and complexity of definitions do not mean that there is a remarkable iimprovemnt in every
definition given by scholars. Kumar (2003) took on a different argument about the issue. To him, the debate about what can be done about globalization and what it is are
similar. This is in relation to what some academics have claimed about defining globalization – it is a useless task.
A more recent definition was given by Ritzer (2015), “globalization is a transplanetary process or a set of processes involving increasing liquidity and the growing
multidirectional flows of people, objects, places, and information as well as the structures and create that are barriers to, or expedite, those flows…” (p. 2). Generally, this
definition assumes that globalization could bring either or both integration and/or fragmentation. Although things flow easily in a global world, hindrances or structural blocks
are also present. These blocks could slow down one’s activity in another country or could even limit the places a person can visit.
If so, why are we going to spend time studying this concept? How can we appreciate these definitions? How can these help us understand globalization?
First, the perspective of the person who defines globalization shapes its definition. The overview of definitions implies that globalization is many things to many
different people. In 1996, Arjun Appadurai said, “globalization is a ‘world of thigns’ that have ‘different speeds, axes, pints of origin and termination, and varied relationships to
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institutions; structures in diferrent regions, nations, or societies’” (as cited in Chowdhury, 2006, p. 137). In a more recent study, Al-Rhodan (2006) wrote that definitions
suggest the perspective of the author on the origins and the geopolitical implications of globalization. It is a starting point that will guide the rest of any discussions. In effect,
one’s definition and perspective could determine concrete steps in addressing the issues of globalization. For example, if one sees globalization as positive, the person can
say that it is a unifying force. On the other hand, if it is deemed as creating greater inequalities among nations, globalization is negatively treated.
Second, to paraphrase the sociologist Cesare Poppi: Globalization is the debate and the debate is globalization. One became part and parcel of the other. As
Poppi (1997) wrote: “The literature stemming from the debate on the globalization has grown in the last decade beyond any individual’s capability of extracting a workable
definition of the concept. In a sense, the meaning of the concept is self-evident, in another, it is vague and obscure as its reaches are wide and constantly shifting. Perhaps,
more than any other concept, globalization is the debate about it” (as cited in Kumar, 2003, p. 95).
Third, globalization is a reality. It is changing as human society develops. It has happened before and is still happening today. We should expect it to continue to
happen in the future. The future of globalization is more difficult to predict. What we could expect in the coming years is what has happened over the past 50 years and that is
the fluidity and complexity of globalization as a concept, which made more debates, discussions, and definitions than agreement on it.
Overall, globalization is a concept that is not easy to define because in reality, globalization has a shifting nature. It is complex, multi-faceted, and can be
influenced by the people who define it. Moreover, the issues and concerns involving globalization have a wide range – from the individual to society, from small communities
to nations and states, and from the benefits we can gain from it to the costs it could carry. In his article, “The Globalization of Nothing,” Ritzer (2003) said, “attitudes toward
globalization depend, among other things, on whether one gains or loses from it” (p. 190). Nevertheless, the task of defining globalization should stimulate more discussions
about it. More importantly, the fact that we experience globalization should give one the interest of engaging in the study of it.

Metaphors of Globalization
In order for us to better understand the concept of globalization, we will utilize metaphors. Metaphors make use of one term to help us better understand another
term. In our case, the states of matter – solid and liquid – will be used. In addition, other related concepts that are included in the definition such as structures and flows will be
elaborated.

Solid and Liquid

The epochs that preceeded today’s globalization paved way for people, things, information, and places to harden over time. Consequently, they have limited
mobility (Ritzer, 2015). The social relationships and objects remained where they were created. Solidity also refers to barriers that prevent or make difficult the movement of
things. Furthermore, solids can either be natural or manmade. Examples of natural solids are lanforms and bodies of water. Man-made barriers include the Great Wall of
China and the Berlin Wall. An imaginary line such as the nine-dash lline used by the People’s Republic of China in their claim to the South China Sea is an example of
modern mana-made solid. This creates limited access of Filipino fishers to the South China Sea. Obviously, these examples still exist. However, they have the tendency to
melt. This should not be taken literally, like an iceberg melting. Instead, this process involves, how we can describe what is happening in today’s global world. It is becoming
increasingly liquid.
Liquid, as a state of matter, takes the shape of its container. Moreover, liquids are not fixed. Liquidity, therefore, refers to the increasing eases of movement of
people, things, information, and places in the contemporary world. Zygmunt Bauman’s ideas were the ones that have much to say about the characteristic of liquidity. First,
today’s liquid phenomena change quickly and their aspects, spatial and temporal, are in continuous fluctuation. This means that space and time are crucial elements of
globalization. In global finance, for instance, changes in the stock market are a matter of seconds. Another characteristic of liquid phenomena is that their movement is difficult
to stop. For example, videos uploaded on YouTube or Facebook are unstoppable once they become viral. The so-called internet sensations become famous not only in their
homeland but also to the entire world. Finally, the forces (the liquid ones) made political boundaries more permeable to the flow of people and things (Cartier, 2001). This
brings us tok what Ritzer (2015, p. 6) regarded as the most important characteristic of liquid: it “tends to melt whatever stands in its path (especially solids).” The clearest
example is the decline, if not death, of the nation-state.
Liquidity and solidity are constant interaction. However, liquidity is the one increasing and proliferating today. Therefore, the metaphor that could best describe
globalization is liquidity. Liquids do flow and this idea of flow (Appadurai, 1996; Rey and Ritzer, 2010) will be the focus of the next discussion. Also, it should be expected that
this concept will appear in the succeeding lessons. The literature on globalization makes use of the cconcept of flows.
The previous section described the melting process of solid phenomena followed by the increase in liquidity. It is only logical to discuss the flows of liquid
phenomena. Flows are the movement of people, things, places, and information brought by the growing “porosity” of global limitations (Ritzer, 2015). Think of the different
foreign cusines being patronized and consumed by the Filipinos. Aside from local dishes, many of us are fond of eating sushi, ramen, hamburger, and French fries – foods
introduced to us by foreign culutres. Clearly, foods are being globalized. Another example of flows is global financial crises. As Lander (2008, p. C1) put it: “in global financial
system, national borders are porous.” This means that a financial crisis in a given country can bring ramifications to other regions of the world. An example of which is the
spread of the effects of American financial crisis on Europe in 2008. The following are other kinds of flows that can be observed today: poor illegal migrants flooding many
parts of the world (Moses, 2006), the virtual flow of legal and illegal information such as blogs and child pornography, respectively, and immigrants recreating ethnic enclaves
in host countries. A concrete example is the Filipino communities abroad and the Chinese communities in the Philippines.

Activity 1.2: Connect the dots.

Using the words/phrases that you have written in the previous activity (Activity 1.1), write what you think is the best definition of globalization. (10 points)

Criteria:
Content – 5 points
Organization – 3 points
Grammar – 2 points

REVIEW OF CONCEPTS:
 Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson (2001) saw globalization as “the process of world shrinkage, of distances getting shorter, things moving closer. It pertains to
the increasing ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact, to mutual benefit with somebody on the other side of the world.”
 In the mid-1990s, Martin Khor, the former president of Third World Networl (TWN) in Malaysia, once regarded globalization as colonization.
 The literature on the definitions of globalization revealed tha definitions could be classified as either (1) broad and inclusive or (2) narrow and exclusive.
 A more recent definition was given by Ritzer (2015), “globalization is a transplanetary process or a set of processes involving increasing liquidity and the growing
multidirectional flows of people, objects, places, and information as well as the structures and create that are barriers to, or expedite, those flows…” (p. 2).
 As Poppi (1997) wrote: “The literature stemming from the debate on the globalization has grown in the last decade beyond any individual’s capability of extracting a
workable definition of the concept. In a sense, the meaning of the concept is self-evident, in another, it is vague and obscure as its reaches are wide and constantly
shifting. Perhaps, more than any other concept, globalization is the debate about it” (as cited in Kumar, 2003, p. 95).
 Solidity also refers to barriers that prevent or make difficult the movement of things. Furthermore, solids can either be natural or manmade. Examples of natural
solids are lanforms and bodies of water. Man-made barriers include the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall.
 Liquidity, therefore, refers to the increasing eases of movement of people, things, information, and places in the contemporary world.
 Flows are the movement of people, things, places, and information brought by the growing “porosity” of global limitations (Ritzer, 2015).

POST-TEST:

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 Activity 1.3 Essay.
Read and answer the following questions carefully.

1. What are the advantages and diadvantages of using (a) briad and inclusive definitions and (B) narrow and exclusive definitions of globalization?
2. What do you think is the importance of defining globalization?
3. How does solidity differ from liquidity?
4. If you look at your place (e.g. town, city, province, country), what metaphor of globalization is present? How can you say so?

Criteria:
Content – 3 points
Organization – 1 point/s
Grammar – 1 point/s

SOURCE/REFERENCES:
 RBS The Contemporary World by Prince Kennex Reguyal Aldama, First Edition, 2018

NOTE: Outputs maybe written/illustrated in or sent to the following:

Face-to-Face Sessions:
1. Spaces provided in the Module
2. Bondpaper/Paper

Online Sessions:
1. [email protected]
2. Facebook Messenger – Luzl Tonera Dramayo