MODULE

1
Globalization
The Structures of Globalization

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Define globalization
 Examine the six (6) claims of globalization and types of globalization
 Agree on a working definition of globalization for the course
 Narrate a personal experience of globalization

Introduction to Globalization
In the Philippines, notice the entry of Korean, Indian and French restaurants, to name a
few. Filipinos do not need to go to Korea just to try Korean food. So, what is globalization? How
new is globalization? What has led to increase globalization? What are some positive effects of
globalization? When people trade, how do both sides (two or more countries) benefit? What are
some negative effects of globalization? What roles do the international monetary fund (IMF), the
World Bank and the world Globalization Now: Risk and trade organization (WTO) play in
globalization? What are some effects of multinational businesses? What are some of the issues
involved with outsourcing jobs? What is the future of globalization?

Several literatures defined globalization focusing on a variety of phenomena, including

process, a condition, a system, a force, and an age (Steger, 2005). Further, Steger (2005)
elaborated globalization as something that is "confined to a set of complex, sometimes
contradictory, social processes that are changing the current social condition based on the
modern system of independent nation-states" (p. 12). It is the result of political, economic,
cultural change and technological innovations Globalization "implies that we are moving from
the modern socio-political order of nation states that gradually emerged in the seventeenth
century toward the 'postmodern' condition of globality" (Steger, 2005, p.13). The changes may
occur slowly or quickly depending on the people's idea of change Balaam (2013) described
globalization as the growing interdependence among people and state all over the world that
resulted from digital revolution and the spread of Western (American) culture. He further
characterized it as:
 an economic process that reflects dense interconnections based on new technologies
and the mobility of trade and capital,
 the integration of national markets into a single global market,
 a political process that weakens state authority and replaces it with the power of
deregulated
 markets,
 a cultural process that reflects a growing network of complex cultural interconnections
and interdependencies in modern society.

The IMF (2005), defined globalization as the opening of international borders to flows of free
trade, immigration, direct investment, information and technology. The IMF, World Bank, WTO,
and other international organizations work to promote the good side of globalization and
mitigate its risks to less developed economies. However, despite the good benefits of
globalization, its risk is greater among poorer countries like the Philippines. It promised higher
standards of living but it increased marginalization of people (Balaam & Dillman, 2014). In the
year 2000, the United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) directed
at increasing foreign aid for poorer nations, halving global hunger, reducing debt, and fighting
diseases like AIDS.
Three Dominant Perspectives in the Study of Globalization (Balaam & Dillman, 2014,
pages 17-22)

Economic Liberalism (Neoliberalism). A political and economic ideology that attempts to

improve human well-being by promoting individual self-interest, it advocates for the withdrawal
of government interventions in the economy (such as tariff and quotas, but also government
services); it strives for the free movement of goods, services, people, and money.

1. Mercantilism (economic nationalism). It focuses on state efforts to accumulate wealth and

power to protect society from physical harm or the influence of other states. Its policy tool:
protectionist industrial and trade policies oftentimes necessary to make markets work and
enhance national wealth and welfare

2. Structuralism. This focuses on how different social classes are shaped by the dominant
economic structure. The state controls the economy, prices are set by state officials and
emphasis on state planning and agenda setting. Its policy tool: monetary, fiscal, and fair trade
policies that redistribute income to everyone in society.

Six Core Claims of Globalization (Steger, 2005)

Claim one globalization is about the liberalization and global integration of markets

In "globalization", it requires the necessary move for "liberalization" of market for the
"integration" with countries, regardless of the political and cultural preferences expressed by
local citizens, to happen.

Claim two: globalization is inevitable and irreversible

Nobody can stop globalization, whether individuals like it or not, Globalization exists. As,
former Senator Manuel Villar said, it is a reality of the modern world. The process is irreversible'.
But the importance is for countries to be responsive to a broad range of political, social, cultural,
and economic issues.

Claim three: nobody is in charge of globalization

In globalization, there exists a "self-regulating market" This means that no one is in

control, not controlled by any individual, any government, or any institution.

Claim four globalization benefits everyone (...in the long run)

The idea in globalization is that eventually all countries will experience "economic
growth" and "prosperity". However, the pace that each country moves differs depending on the
whether the countries are at the periphery or at the center.

Claim five globalization furthers the spread of democracy in the world

Globalization allows the spread of democracy based on the proximity to "market" and the
making of economic choices. Although, "globalization and capital development do not
automatically produce democracies, the level of economic development resulting from
globalization is conducive to the creation of complex civil societies with a powerful middle class"
(p.32).

Claim six: globalization requires a global war on terror

In other words, the desired spread of globalization makes it prone for countries to
experience acts of terror, thus, are required to fight terrorism.
Drivers of Globalization

The level to which a certain state adapt to globalization depends on how each formulate
policies to ensure movement. Each state should address the drivers of globalization to ensure
economic, political, and socio-cultural activity.

1. Decline of barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital. After World War II
countries like France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Holland, Sweden, UK and US removed economic
barriers and allowed the free flow of goods, servicesand capital between nations. These
resulted to different countries to trade goods and share their resources which eventually lead to
some countries to develop.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was the first multilateral free trade
agreement aimed to eliminate trade protectionism that took effect on June 30, 1948 until
January 1, 1995. The most important requirement in GATT is that each member must confer
most favored nation status. This means that all members will be treated equally when it comes
to tariff GATT further prohibited restriction on the number of imports and exports. In 1993, the
Uruguay Round established the World TradeOrganization (WTO) to police the international
trading system.

2 Technology. Technology transformed globalization by promoting a "borderless" world that

allowed the effortless entry and exit of goods.
In the case of the Philippines, several measure have been adopted to ensure free flow of
goods, services and capital. One of which is the Philippines active involvement in the ASEAN
integration, this will ensure that the country will be able to compete with other member country
by lowering the taxes that each country might incur which will result to lower prices of goods and
services in the country, it will also help in allowing the Philippines to have access to goods
which we do not have before, Filipinos will be given a chance to have higher and better working
opportunity with other ASEAN country and allow for easy travel in and out of the ASEAN region.

Types of Globalization

The degree of each state's response to globalization depends on how each adapt the different
types of globalization. Each state vary in its accommodation of the types of globalization
depending on what each state believed they will benefit the most

1. Financial Globalization. The world's financial systems have become intimately

interconnected: the stock market trading in New York Stock Exchange can affect Tokyo and
Hong Kong.

2. Economic Globalization. The existence of transnational corporations like Ford, Coca Cola,
and Nike.

3. Technological Globalization. There exists a "global village" where everything can be

accessed by using computer and mobile phones.

4. Political Globalization. The pressure for different countries to adopt uniform policies to boost
interdependence like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
5. Cultural Globalization. Through technology, the culture of other countries became known to
the extent that it became part of another countries' culture leading to loss of identities of some
local culture.

6. Sociological Globalization. A single "world" society exists having one set of values/beliefs, like
the agreement of different societies about the horror that terrorism brought

7. Ecological Globalization. Different countries from all over the world experienced the dreadful
effect of global warming.

8. Geographical Globalization. A borderless world concerned with ecological, political, cultural

and economic relationships.

The dawn of globalization lead to the existence of different worlds: the developed and
developing countries. Developed countries or the North have industrialized and diverse

economies like Canada. United State of America, Britain, and Japan. Some refer to developing
nations as the least developing country (LDC), or the South. These countries have varied
history, culture, economy, and political system. Below are their characteristics:

Table 1.1 Characteristics if LDCs

Developed Countries Developing Countries
Good Governance High level of laws, customs, and Weak government
institutions that promote good
governance
Infrastructure Good infrastructure Lack of infrastructure
Cost of necessities Basic food and shelter is Basic food and shelter are
expensive cheap
Poverty incidence Low instances of poverty High instances of poverty
Literacy High literacy rates Relatively low literacy rates
Foreign aid and Provides foreign aids and Dependency on foreign aid and
humanitarian assistance humanitarian assistance humanitarian assistance

Dependency resulted in the underdevelopment among developing countries Because of

this, there exists undevelopment and underdevelopment. Undevelopment is "characterized by
lack of development, while underdevelopment is the outcome of a process that further damaged
developing countries' economies and simultaneously made the industrialized (developed) world
more prosperous (Balaam & Dillman, 2014)

Economic liberal perspective on development requires developing countries become

part of the global market economy, through trade (Balaam & Dillman. 2014) Further, he said that
by using their comparative trading advantages (the resources that their country mostly have will
be exported), developing countries areable to capitalize on the benefits of international trade
and build a strong economy. Also, trade enables poorer economies to export their natural
resources (mainly agricultural commodities), while affording access to manufactured goods from
abroad. And as these economies grow from export earnings, gradually they will be able to
acquire more foreign technology and knowledge to promote new investments in manufacturing.
According to this perspective, as "latecomers," developing countries can use the market to
develop and industrialize, while learning from the policy mistakes of the now developed nations.
However, according to the liberal model, major obstacles to economic development are the
developing countries anemic capital, productivity, and technological base. Other obstacles
include poor infrastructure, weak educational systems, and/or traditional value systems.
Exercise 1

A. Complete the box below. Choose and compare one developed and one developing
based on the characteristics identified below. This exercise will require you to
scan the Internet, make sure ti use only reliable resources.

DEVELOPED COUNTRY DEVELOPING COUNTRY

1. Life Expectancy
(The average period that
a person may expect to
live)
2. Literacy Rate
(The percentage of
people who are able to
read and write)
3. Population Rate

4. Access to Housing
(Percentage of people
who do not have decent
houses)

B. Based on the data above, how dos globalization affects these countries?

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Exercise 2

Pick a recent news article that focuses on some international or global problem,
and pick out important information that will identify the type of globalization. You can
have several or one news article to complete the box below.

Types of Globalization News Article

(To document properly, follow the format:
Title of the news article, Name of the writer,
Date and the important information(can be a
sentence or just a short statement that will
identify the type of globalization)

Economic Globalization

Technological Globalization

Cultural Globalization

Ecological Globalization