WAVES AND THEORIES OF GLOBALIZATION Flashcards
started as early as the 1st Century BC silk and spices were bartered between Asia and
Europe. By the 15th Century, trading widened when the so-called Scientific Revolution brought
us discoveries in the fields of astronomy, mechanics, physics, and shipping. These discoveries
led to the discovery of the Americas by Columbus and aided Magellan’s circumnavigation which
ended pre-Columbian civilizations, connected the East and West, and opened roads to the
Spice Islands and other supplies of goods and resources.
Intercontinental Trade
True globalization kicked in by the end of the 18th Century as Great Britain dominated
the world through the British Industrial Revolution. This gave birth to the twin engine of
global trade —
1. innovation of industrial machines that gave Britain the ability to make products that were
in demand globally, like iron, textiles, and manufactured goods, and
2. the innovation of steam engines which created steamships and trains that allowed the
transport of goods both within countries and across countries.
FIRST WAVE (1860-1914)
{THE WORLD WAR 1 & 2 (1914-1945)}
● The first wave of globalization was bound to end in a major crisis, and it did. The
outbreak of World War I from 1914 to 1918 brought an end to globalization and the reign
of the high societies of the West — war replaced trade, soldiers and civilians died,
infrastructures and establishments were destroyed, countries closed their borders, and
financial markets collapsed. World War II followed in 1939-1945 and by the end of it,
trade as a percentage of the world’s GDP had fallen to 5% – a level not seen in more
than a hundred years (World Economic Forum, 2019)
SECOND AND THIRD WAVE (1946-PRESENT)
(THEORIES OF GLOBALIZATION)
globalization is an extension of modernization.
___ is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the
governed, political equality, right to private property and equality before the law. Liberals
believe that human beings have a natural desire to exercise their basic freedoms and
maximize their material well-being. Therefore, they take on activities and programs that will
advance their political liberties and economic welfare such as:
1. technological developments, particularly in the areas of communication and
transportation and
2. legal and institutional undertakings to enable the liberalization of markets.
LIBERALISM = Natural Desire
(THEORIES OF GLOBALIZATION)
STATE → STATE POWER, NATIONAL INTERESTS, AND INTERSTATE CONFLICTS
Political realists believe that states are innately self-serving, thus competition for power
is inevitable. While some of them believe in the balance of power — assuming that when
one state attempts to dominate the world, it will be opposed by the collective resistance of
other states — most claim that the existence of a dominant state is necessary in bringing
stability to world order. They argue that a hegemon (Leadership power) or the dominant
state (presently the USA) shall determine international rules and control international
institutions to advance its national interests and at the same time mediate interstate
conflicts;
POLITICAL
REALISM = State
(THEORIES OF GLOBALIZATION)
People’s mental construction of the social world → One’s personal perception and symbolic
exchanges with others help them construct ideas of the world, belongingness in the world, and
the rules for social interaction → Globalization is just a result of people’s individual
consciousness and inter-subjective communications.
constructivism has an
apolitical tendency. Constructivists typically come from the fields of Humanities,
Sociology, and Anthropology.
They concentrate on people’s mental construction of the social world and believe that
one’s personal perception and symbolic exchanges with others help them construct ideas of the
world, and belongingness.
Constructivism is based on the idea that people actively construct or make their
own knowledge, and that reality is determined by your experiences as a learner. Basically,
learners use their previous knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new things that they
learn.
CONSTRUCTIVISM =Individual
Consciousness
(THEORIES OF GLOBALIZATION)
a social, economic and political philosophy that analyzes the impact of the
ruling class on the laborers, leading to uneven distribution of wealth and privileges in the
society.
The capitalist scheme to advance transglobal connectivity that provides them
opportunities to accumulate profit.
Extract Resources → Control flows of products and prices → Exploit Labor
● Bourgeoisie keeps generating income.
● Capitalists (who own the means of production).
● Proletariat are exploited and alienated from their own products.
● Working class (who provides labor).
Marxists believe that class should be the point of analysis in the study of globalization as
capitalism is fueled by class struggle or the conflict of interests between the capitalists (who
own the means of production) and the working class (who provides labor) where the first
dominates while the latter is subordinated. They argue that globalization has a tendency to
cause inequalities as one class dominates the world. Moreover, it furthers the gap between the
two classes — the bourgeoisie keep generating income while the proletariat is exploited and
alienated from their own products.
MARXISM = Capitalist Scheme
(Accumulate Profit)
increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of countries evident in
international political partnerships, trade of products, and cultural exchange, among
others, there is no question that we are living in the global age. But there is another question
which often gets varied answers from different disciplines — what drives globalization?
WHAT DRIVES GLOBALIZATION?
( CLASSIC DIVISIONS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES )
Globalization is driven by the evolution of ideas and knowledge
→ that instead of thinking local or national → we have become global in scope.
IDEALIST APPROACH:
( CLASSIC DIVISIONS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES )
Max Weber: famous theorists to adopt such a view argued
that material factors are the main drivers of globalization. → Karl Marx: Economic factor
→ Marxist: capitalist exploitation which means that transglobal connectivity is being
advanced, first and foremost, to provide opportunities for capitalists to accumulate profit.
MATERIALIST APPROACH:
The new era of globalization: The systematic spread of capital and open
markets.
GLOBAL ECONOMY:
Most states liberalize their economic policies with the aim of integrating their
country’s economy to the world economy and improving its productivity. → Country eliminates
state control over its economic activities or imposes fewer constraints on economic transactions
LIBERALIZATION:
Liberalizing policies and taxation on trade has led to the growth of
exports and imports → It has worsened the system of production and employment in
developing countries. → Import-dependent and allow the surge of imports to their country and
rely on them for supply.
TRADE LIBERALIZATION:
