Understanding Globalization

Rating:
Summary: A very good introduction!
Review: Having difficulty in comprehending what exactly is meant by globalization, I readily purchased several books with somewhat forgiving titles: understanding globalization, taming globalization, rethinking globalization, globalization: an introduction, etc, etc. Be warned: the titles in no way capture the essence of the work! Some are extremely dense and difficult to understand (while claiming to be an enjoyable/readable introduction), while others are much more readable-and eminently enjoyable.

Overall I purchased about 15 texts (I have numerous listed for summer reading), and have ranked each in order, from what to begin with and what to finish with; naturally, the most basic and easy text is first to be read, and then the 2nd most easy, etc. The two most easy to understand, and which-combined-provide a solid foundation are the texts authored by Tom Friedman and Robert K. Schaeffer. Next I will head to Bill Grover's "One World..."

One problem with Friedman's analysis is that he focuses almost solely on economic globalization and basically never admonishes the cons-he simply says that developing countries need to understand, accept, embrace it--and get over it-or be left behind. Thus I headed to Shaeffer's book in order to get a "more" balanced picture--I don't want to only read the cheerleaders.

Robert K. Schaeffer's book, Understanding Globalization, though somewhat elementary in terms of the depth that he explores each topic, is very balanced in discussing the pros and cons on globalization-and---unusual for a PhD, highly readable! The sheer volume in comprehending or grasping globalization is daunting enough. This clearly is an audacious task by anyone, and this monograph explores--in little depth--the topics.

One of the problems in numerous other texts is that almost everything is averred as if other authors have the absolute truth--just check Implicating Empire-and the unsuspecting reader has neither the time nor probably the interest in checking on the author's purported axioms. In contrast, Schaeffer appears to have done his homework; each chapter is loaded with detailed endnotes! The first chapter, for instance, has 40, and the 2nd chapter has 123 from only 31 pages--unlike Friedman's, which has a grand total of ZERO.

Schaeffer prefaces his analysis with the following: everyone has different "theories or expectations about globalization...some...argue...[it] is new...[or] old. Some say it is unstoppable, others...not." (p.1.) He readily admits how this is a daunting task, involving numerous intertwined concepts that no one book can justly conquer.

Schaeffer divides most analysts into two distinct camps when defining globalization: 1. "growth and spread of investment, trade, production, introduction of new technology, and spread of democracy around the world." OR 2."spread of environmental pollution, commercialization of culture and languages, cross-border migration of people, spread of drugs, emergence of social and political protest movements opposed to globalization." (p.1)

At this point it is easy to see what Schaeffer accepts in his defining of globalization: the spread of capitalism (or more aptly put, the effects of unmitigated capitalism from the developing world's perspective. For instance, on culture, he says "the commercialization and spread of 'Western,' particularly American culture by ...media, fashion, and fast food..." (p.3) Language, similarly, is seen as the spread of English. Interestingly, he falls into the classic trap of thinking (or associating) the West as having a monopoly on cross-border migration. This belies other realities-simply look at India, and ask oneself why the population of Bombay (at 12 mil. Documented) has so many foreign residents from co-joined countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, and China.

Next he mentions trafficking of women, and how one of the factors contributing to this was the spread of U.S. military bases. This, I would simply extract from the text, and just simply argued how tourism and mass migration contributed. Most of the HIV+ in Bombay, India, for instance, got that way from truck drivers.

One main flaw right at the outset, critical to his analysis, is that hardly anything is defined. For instance, Schaeffer offers no inkling of what he means by democracy! But different definitions and understandings of this very term exist the world over!

Each subsequent chapter deals with one main issue: drugs, environmentalist movement, etc. An excellent way to divide and conquer such topics.

In sum, Schaeffer's monograph serves as an important aberration from many of the other works out there on globalization, which I will review shortly later.

One thing to keep in mind: Schaeffer's basic premise is that great changes across the globe have occurred, and everyone is interconnected; what happens in South Carolina influences something (it is unique and not uniform per region) in Vietnam, or vice-versa. This is exactly in line with Friedman's thesis.

A sidenote: I just came back from a vacation in New Delhi, India, where my wife and I ate at McDonald's. The food there tastes *nothing* like the food here-it is, for lack of a better word, totally Indianized. Don't expect the same thing there!

Also, I personally remain skeptical of globalization at this point. Clearly something is happening, but the scholars need to come up with a better, and more encompassing, definition of the problem. Scholars, even students, simply cannot define it. And the way they define it does not illustrate nor capture their arguments.

Case in point: Schaeffer regards globalization as having roots in elitist, classist, and racist society (based on feminist's arguments-similar to Virginia Held's philosophical works-but I find myself struggling with his argument on economic globalization: "most people work harder for less..." So is he arguing about their wages provided by such companies as Nike? Or the hours? If I was to counter argue that Nike paid Indonesian works 50% more per day than the locals, which I am sure he is aware of, then what is the problem? It seems that he is against corporations making huge profits, and giving back little-if any-to the communities. If that is the case, then he should simply come out and say corporations, in and of themselves-especially those that are the most profitable-are the real problem. I would buy that argument, but he ought to make a prescient case for it. Also, if you ask Schaeffer when globalization began, he would point to the 1970s on upwards (similar to Friedman, who would being with the spread/development of the pc). Yet most other analysts contend it began with the development of the sustainable boat-this is all because they have gyrating definitions.

Either way, this is an excellent introduction to get your feet wet in familiarizing yourself with some of the hottest contemporary topics being discussed! Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: an even-handed recent history of globalization
Review: There is one theme running through this excellent introduction to our interconnected world: what happens on one side of the globe (particularly what happens in the USA) leads to unintended consequences for everyone else. This book does not inspire optimism, but it does even-handedly explain the structures and processes that are driving globalization.

The book is divided roughly in two: the first nine chapters are devoted to a remarkably clear explication of global economic history since World War II; the remaining chapters take up one by one scattered issues of a globalized world, like the drug trade and population growth. The latter chapters serve well as basic introductions to their topics, but are also somewhat superficial and undermine the cohesiveness of the book.

The core of the book is another matter, particularly chapters 3-9. Although his prose is sometimes repetitive, Schaeffer provides a wondrously clear summary of the history of the post-war global economy. Rather than recounting a linear narrative, the author divides this complex history into separate topics (inflation, devaluation, debt, food, free trade, and the stock market) and shows how governments trying to confront one set of problems frequently created different problems for foreigners or themselves. Schaeffer's sensitivity to the economic devastation of the poor countries in the last 50 years is particularly welcome considering the many books that have ignored it in their globalization boosterism.

There are flaws in Schaeffer's account, particularly his tendency to present governments as looking out for the interests of all their citizens and only inadvertently deepening exploitation or inequality. But the insights of the author and the clarity with which he presents them far outweigh such drawbacks. This is a great text for students or anyone who needs to understand the fundamental dynamics driving today's world.