The the years the government has been
The historical beginnings of globalisation is a subject of ongoingdebate. Many scholars position globalisation with the modern era, while othersrecognize the long historical origins it has to developing nations. Reflectingon the multiple definitions of globalisation, I acknowledge that one cannotestablish a strong argument surrounding globalisation without understanding therelationship it has with colonialism.
Globalisation through the lens ofcolonialism, both aim to take place of something, have interaction among people,economic control over an area, and the physical expansion of an area thatexists politically. The differences that I have researched between colonialismand globalisation tend to come from the ways in which individuals understandhistory, or the way history was told. For example, colonisation is state to bemore aggressive as it is a site of war, whereas globalisation is often amovement taking an empty place. I acknowledge the many benefits to globalization, althoughover the years the government has been taking advantage of the positivedepiction globalization stands for and in actuality displaces racialized folks,decreases diversity while also increasing cultural appropriation. Many of thedeveloping countries are extremely vulnerable that globalisation is seen astheir only way to escape the cycle of poverty. What the developing countries’governments fail to realize is that globalisation is driven by neoliberalismand facilitated through the ‘unholy trinity’.
Therefore, I argue that the ideaof globalisation for the Multinational Corporations and the Transnationalcorporations is to enable the idea of “the world as a single”, whichdeconstructed is directly correlated with the goal that colonialism has(Steger, Goodman, Wilson, 4). In the book, titled Justice Globalism: Ideology Crises, Policy by Manfred Steger, JamesGoodman, and Erin K Wilson, the authors state Duringthe last two decades, political and social theorists have researched the impactof globalization on existing ideational systems, arguing that the contemporarytransformation of conventional ideologies is linked to the right of a newsocial imaginary that casts the world as a single independent place (Steger,Goodman, Wilson 4). Iagree with this statement because, though society may have stepped away fromvisible or direct acts of colonialism, invisibly globalization is acontemporary colonial act that aims to generate developing countries to inhabita political, economical, and socially advanced space. However, I cannot denythat globalization has provided opportunities, similarly stated in ValentineMoghadam’s book titled Globalization andSocial Movements: Islamism, Feminism, and the Global Justice Movement. Morespecifically, Moghadam states, “globalization is a multifaceted process ofsocial change with economic, political, and cultural dimensions that reflecthomogeneity and heterogeneity, new forms of inequality and competition, andtransnational forms of organizing and mobilizing” (27). The analysis ofglobalisation historical and contemporary, I argue that globalisation is notworking in ally ship to provide a socially just society. The traditionaldefinition of globalisation deliberately hides the capitalist base ofglobalisation that perpetuates intersectional oppressors.
Therefore, I argueusing the lens of colonialism, globalization is the new modern type ofcolonialism. We need to understand that globalization along with other socialjustice methods is constantly changing and developing with the quickly shiftingworld.Globalisation is farfrom a new concept because simple acts such as trading goods and services traceback to thousands of years. The international exchange process among developedand developing countries has established in an ever-increasing opportunity to discoverand appreciate the diversity of the world, with the expense of displacingracialized bodies.
The damaging consequences of globalization are undisputable however,it is important to first acknowledge the positive results of globalisation aswell. In Forbes magazine Mike Collinswrote an article titled “The Pros and Cons of Globalization”, he statedAstory in the Washington Post said “20 years ago globalization was pitched as astrategy that would raise all boats in poor and rich countries alike. In theU.
S and Europe consumers would have their pick of inexpensive items made bypeople thousands of miles away whose pay was much lower than theirs. And intime trade barriers would drop to support even more multinationals expansionand economic gains while geo political cooperation would flourish (Collins,2015).Collinslike many other academics acknowledge the constructive benefit of globalizationfor developing countries, “who now have access to our markets and can export cheapgood” (Collins, 2015). The argument in support of globalization is multidimensional,involving complex political, cultural, economic, and ethical factors. First,the central component in globalization is the continuous increasing need toincorporate the bridging of political globalization functions. The components of political globalization areto facilitate various types of international agreements, an example of this isthe creation of the United Nations. The United Nations is an “intergovernmentalorganization” implemented to promote “international cooperation and to createand maintain order” (United Nations, 2016).
Therefore, this directly ties intothe questions surrounding how can globalization and social justice beintertwined. While there are many ethical concerns associated withglobalization, there are ethical benefits through political globalization. Whenthe United Nations is used correctly, the political aspect of globalization isable to empower local to global bridges that provide society members a way tosee the positive interconnectedness that globalization provides. For example,the international awareness, using the United Nations as a platform. This givesopportunities for all nations and organizations to address human rights injusticescommitted across the globe. This allows for a rising sense of social justiceagents, the ideology that folks in power have the responsibility of assertingthe right type social justice.
Similarly, the “shrinking world” has allowedindividuals to travel the globe. The benefits of cultural globalization are thejoining of difference through the foundation of local to global. Thus, withinthe lens of social justice if used properly, has empowered individuals tobecome allies to various communities through sharing art, music, religion, andvarious media platforms. This provides an outlet for developing countries toempower the modes of innovation through the aid of developed nations. InGindin’s (2002) article he states that the two components of ensuring thecompatibility of social justice and globalization: “seeks a return to thesocial democracy of capitalism’s “golden age”, and while the other emphasizesbuilding a community based “social economy”” (Gindin, 2002). The economic benefitsof constructing globalization with social justice is that areas with limitedresources are able to access goods that can substantially improve theirpopulation’s environmental living space.
I acknowledge the socioeconomicfactors of creating social justice and globalization compatible. However, inorder for this to be possible there needs to be an intersectional lens thatprovides local and global bridges, instead of constructing globalization basedon westernized hegemonic and neo-liberal structures.
