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GE3 Contemporary World

The Contemporary World

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The Contemporary World

COURSE SYLLABUS

WEEKS TOPIC RESOURCES/ READINGS ASSESSMENT

Week 1 Understanding the  Mills, C.W. (1967) The Promise. Assessment 1
Contemporary World In the Sociological Imagination. Understanding the
New York. Anchor Books Contemporary
 Claudio, L.E., and Abinales, World
P.N. (2018) Lesson 1. In the
Contemporary World. Quezon
City: C and E Publication
 Claudio, L.E., and Abinales,
P.N. (2018) Lesson 2. In the
Contemporary World. Quezon
City: C and E Publication
 Hardin, Garrett (1986). “The
Tragedy of the Commons”
Science, New Series Vol. 162 Pp
1243-1248
 Benczes, Istvan Chapter 9 (2014),
in the SAGE Handbook of
Globalization
 De Leon, Hector S. (2011)
Textbook on the Philippine
Constitution Rex Printing
Company Inc.

Week 2- Understanding Global  Logan, Amanda L. (2016) “ Why Assessment 2

4 Inequalities Can’t People Feed Themselves”: Understanding Global
 Colonialism & Archaeology Alternative Archive Inequalities
Neocolonialism of Food Security in Banda ,
 Theories on Ghana. American
Global Inequality Anthropologist. Vol. 118 No. 3
 Lappe, Frances Moore &
Collins, Joseph (o.n) Why
Can’t People Feed
Themselves? Article 33
 Claudio, Lisandro E. (2014) “
Locating the Global South” The
Sage Handbook of Globalization
 Wallerstein, Immanuel (2006) “
The Modern World System as a
Capitalist World- Economy. The
World System Theory Pp 20-29
 Namkoong, Young (1999) “
Dependency Theory: Concepts,
Classifications and Criticism”

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The Contemporary World

International Area Review Vol

2. No 1.

Week 3- Structures of  Claudio, L. E., & Abinales, P. N. Term Paper 1 :

5 Globalization 2018. The Contemporary world. The Globalization
 The South Triangle, Q.C.: C & E of World
Globalization of Publishing, Inc. Economies
World  Quintos P. June 2020. Policy
Economies Paper: The Philippines’ COVID-
 Global Politics 19 Response: Symptoms of Assessment 3:
and Deeper Malaise in the Philippine Global Politics and
Contemporary Health Systems. University of the Contemporary
Global Philippines National College of Global Governance
Governance Public Administration and
Governance

Week 6- The World of Regions Term Paper 2: The

8 World of Regions

Week 9- Contemporary Forms  Atkinson et.al. 2015. The Assessment 5: Media

11 of Connectivity Sociology Book: Big Ideas and Globalization
 Religion and Explained.DK publishing 345
Globalization Hudson Street, New York.
 Media and  Pew Research Center, April 5,
Globalization 2017, “The Changing Global
Religious Landscape”.
 Lule, Jack .2014. “Globalization
and Media: Creating the Global
Village” Sage Handbook on
Globalization

Week Global Demography  Aoki, H. 2008. Globalization and Term Paper 3: The
12-14  Global City the Street Homeless in Metro Global City
 Demography Manila. Philippine Studies, Vol.
and Migration 56, No. 1, Blair & Robertson. Assessment 6:
Ateneo De Manila University. Demography and
Migration

INTRODUCTION:

Why do we study the contemporary world? We all study history and it makes us believe that the
events in the past have something to do with the present, then we should also study the present which is
relevant to us. With this, the concept or process of globalization is being brought up. For Manfred Steger,
globalization refers to “the expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across
world-time and world-space”. It forms various kinds of connectivity, not just only in terms of economic
activity. When we say expansion, it is the formation

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of various connections in social, political, economic, cultural, and technological. As for intensification, it
refers to acceleration or maintaining these affiliations globally. With these processes of intensification and
expansion that globalization allows, globalism emerged that explains the belief that the integration of
economic markets is beneficial for everyone in global connections. If people criticize globalization, they
are, more often than not, criticizing the indication of globalism and not globalization as globalization is
not only focused on economic affiliation. More so, Globalization is widely recognized to remake the
traditional social structures that transform the reality of people in every corner of the world.

ABOUT THE SUBJECT:

This course introduces students to the contemporary world by examining the multifaceted phenomenon
of globalization. Using the interdisciplinary approach, the subject examines the social, economic,
political, and technological context of the contemporary world and the increasing awareness and
interconnected relationship of people from different places in the world. Moreover, the course provides
an overview of the contemporary problems faced by the globalizing world and the different discourses on
development and governance. Beyond this course’s description, the instructional materials to be
discussed in the class desire to enrich the student’s understanding of the world by which they act as agents
of change.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This will be a completely online course that will be delivered to you by the instructor once the
class schedule is finalized. Course content, including lecture PowerPoints, readings, videos, quizzes, and
instructions for term paper requirements will be sent to the class via google drive. Also, lecture
presentations will be conducted via video sessions through google meet where the instructor will virtually
meet with you to discuss the week’s lecture. All course requirements must be completed during the
semester. All discussions, term papers, quizzes, exams and other requirements the instructor finds
necessary to accomplish must be completed by the due dates shown on the subject syllabus.

COURSE OUTCOMES

The subject is to provide an educational experience for students to understand the world by examining
social, economic, political, processes that shape it. By completing the course students should be able to:

1. Understand the different social issues that presently exist in the contemporary world
2. Understand and apply the theories discussed in class to make sense of social issues.
3. Examine the general social problems faced by urban and rural settlers alike in the
contemporary world and critically provide solutions through research.

4. Demonstrate their skills in conducting social research through the methodologies

discussed in class

GRADE PERCENTAGE BREAKDOWN:

70%
Subject Assessment
30%
Term Paper

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100
TOTAL

COURSE RULES:

1. MISSED REQUIREMENTS: If a student misses any class activities such as quizzes, recitations, and
group activities, the faculty-in-charge will not provide any make-up class activities. If the reason for the
absence of the student is excusable, the faculty-in-charge will grade him or her according to her current
standing on the activity he or she missed. On the other hand, if the absence is not excusable, then said
student will receive a grade of zero (0) for the missed activity.

2. SUBMISSION OF REQUIREMENTS: Submission of papers and other requirements will only be

allowed during the class session unless otherwise provided for by the faculty-in-charge. Outputs of
students who have failed to adhere to the format given by the faculty-in-charge will suffer grade
deductions.

3. PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: The faculty-in-charge will require her students
to submit home works and other outputs from time to time. She need not remind you to always cite your
sources in APA (6th edition). Your failure to do so will tantamount to a grade of zero (0) for the said
output. Students who willfully engage in acts of academic dishonesty shall be given a grade of zero or F
on the academic exercise concerned.

4. CONTACT SCHEDULE: The faculty-in-charge strictly implements a schedule on approaching her

in this new mode of learning. For any clarification and concerns, send a message through email
provided by the faculty-in-charge only every Saturday to avoid influx and unread emails, you will
receive a response the next day. Do not forget to state your name, section, and concern clearly on your
email.

OUTPUT FORMAT:
Since this will be an online course that will be delivered to you, the instructor will divide the
following output formats into two for two kinds of students – Offline and Online Students.
What is an Online Student?
The online students are those who have access to the internet and can participate in online video
lectures. Online students will receive a google drive containing the readings, PowerPoint, and other
instructional materials to be used throughout the semester. The instructor will send a soft copy of this
module- Understanding the Contemporary World Module, as well as the google drive link to the class
at the start of the semester. If you are one of these students you must use this file to answer each self-test
and term paper output. These student modules will then be compiled by a designated student in one
google drive folder and sent to the instructor via email by the end of the term. All the Course Assessments
must be passed to the instructor by the end of the semester. Online students must use this word document
to answer each assessment, will serve as their main work book.
Format for Self-Tests and Term Papers:
● Arial 11
● Single spaced
● Justified

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What is an Offline Student?

Offline students are those who do not have the means to participate in online lectures. If you are
one of these students a printed version of this module- The Contemporary World Module, will be
delivered to you. For offline students, this course will imitate the practice of homeschooling where
students will be graded based on their outputs by the end of the term. Offline students could put their
answers in a short bond paper to be attached with this module, to be sent back to the instructor by the end
of the semester.

Format for Self-Test and Term Papers:

Students could answer the self-tests and term papers in the blank spaces provided per section.
Additional bond papers could be used by the students to answer each self- test and term paper as long as
it remains true to the format.

Contents
LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD.......................................................9
UNIT 1: Defining Globalization.................................................................................................................9
Sociological Imagination............................................................................................................................9
The Approach to this Course: Interdisciplinary......................................................................................11
Defining Globalization.............................................................................................................................11
Nation-State, Nations, and Nationalism...................................................................................................13
UNIT 2: Understanding Global Inequalities............................................................................................17
The History of Colonialism......................................................................................................................18
The Consequence of Colonialism.............................................................................................................19
Neoliberal Globalization..........................................................................................................................19
Theories on Global Inequality..................................................................................................................24
LESSON 2: STRUCTURES OF GLOBALIZATION.................................................................................32
UNIT 1: The Globalization of World Economies...................................................................................32
What is economic globalization?..............................................................................................................32
Early historical traces of exchange up to present.....................................................................................33
Economic Crisis into Social Crisis (Atkinson et.al 2015).....................................................................35
UNIT 2: Global Politics & Contemporary Global Governance...............................................................36
Politics’ Premise.......................................................................................................................................37
The International State System................................................................................................................37
Internationalism........................................................................................................................................38
The Global Governance............................................................................................................................39
The United Nations..................................................................................................................................39
LESSON 3: THE WORLD OF REGIONS..................................................................................................47

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The Global North and South.....................................................................................................................47
Defining Regionalism...............................................................................................................................47
What are Regions?....................................................................................................................................48
Why form Regions?..................................................................................................................................48
What is a Non-State Regionalism?............................................................................................................49
What are contemporary challenges to regionalism?.................................................................................49
LESSON 4 CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF CONNECTIVITY..............................................................50
Unit 1: Religion and Globalization..........................................................................................................50
What is Religion.......................................................................................................................................51
Connection between religion and economic structures.............................................................................51
Religion and Globalism............................................................................................................................52
Realities in Religion.................................................................................................................................52
Religion and Globalization.......................................................................................................................53
The Global Religious Change Landscape................................................................................................53
UNIT 2: Media and Globalization............................................................................................................54
Media’s role in glocalization....................................................................................................................56
How media affect societies?.....................................................................................................................56
LESSON 5: GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY....................................................................................................57
UNIT 1: Global City................................................................................................................................57
Global cities are strategic for new types of operations............................................................................58
Different Societies appropriate the materials of modernity differently...................................................59
Global Issues, Local Perspectives (Atkinson et.al 2015) p.146...............................................................61
Globalization and the Street Homeless in Metro Manila.........................................................................61
UNIT 2: Demography and Migration.......................................................................................................64
Global Demography.................................................................................................................................65
Overpopulation.........................................................................................................................................66
Population Growth and Food Security.....................................................................................................67
What is Migration.....................................................................................................................................67
References....................................................................................................................................................70

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LESSON 1: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

UNIT 1: Defining Globalization Learning

Objectives:

By the end of this unit students must be able to:

1. Understand and apply the sociological imagination

2. Understand the Interdisciplinary Approach
3. Demonstrate critical thinking in comprehending contemporary event in light of the
globalizing economic, social, political and cultural processes.

Sections of the Unit:

1. The Sociological Imagination

2. Defining Globalization
3. Nation-State, Nation, Nationalism

Sociological Imagination
Source(s): Mills, C.W. 1967. “The Promise. In the Sociological Imagination”. New York. Anchor Books

Why should we care? Why is

it important to know the different
global processes that influence our
society? Because, as C Wright Mills
argues, we must understand our
problems in light of the greater
context of social structures. By
doing this, we can cure the parochial
outlook to one's immediate
community. A person who only
looks at his community's problems
without looking at the wider context
of society is parochial. Also, one
who looks at his country's problems
without analyzing the larger global
context is close-minded. This course
aims
to stretch the limits of your imagination. To get under the hood and examine the intricate mechanisms of
the different global structures working hand in hand to maintain social equilibrium. As mentioned before,
one of the purposes of this course is to broaden your imagination to understand the relationship between
different structures of the contemporary world that produce our social realities. It is then critical for us to
understand what I mean by using the word imagination to achieve this level of understanding. Before
further discussing its implication, I would like to invite you to first read C Wright Mills' (1916-1962) first
chapter in his book, "sociological imagination."

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As C Wright Mills (1916-1962) discussed, sociological imagination is the ability to see the social
patterns that influence individuals, families, groups, and organizations. It is the individual’s awareness of
the relationship between the individual and the wider society, both today and in the past. By exercising it,
we make connections to the root cause of structures and move away from seeing things through our own
personal lens. Through it we will be able to understand and explain how some of our problems are caused
by underlying structural obstacles caused by certain social issues. As C Wright Mills explains (1916-
1962), neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without
understanding both,” For example, when a single person is without employment in a nation whose
population is close to a hundred million, the problems in employment remains a personal problem.
Possibly, the person just doesn’t have the desire to put himself to work. If, however, thousands are
without jobs in a nation of a hundred million people, then there may be a larger barrier that must be
addressed. It may be the issue of job mismatched where many students graduate with credible degrees but
remain jobless due to the inadequacy of finding the jobs that fit their particular skills within the country.
My point in this matter is that when people share a common problem, a common experience of difficulty
there may be an underlying social issue that must be addressed. Since these issues are outside of the
personal sphere of an individual it calls into action a collective to address it by its roots. When personal
problems are collectively shared it may be the expression of larger social issues that must be addressed.

Let us try to illustrate this by mapping out the cause of certain personal problems experienced by
students daily to its structural cause.

Given the provisions from the Polytechnic

University of the Philippines’ student manual, illness
excused by a medical certificate as well as absences
authorized in writing by the University, are the only
grounds for excusing tardiness or absence. Given the
urban circumstances of massive traffic and frequent
public transport malfunctions, increasing

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student’s travel time, it may be appropriate to interpret student tardiness beyond the student’s conduct and
inspect its social cause. Just as we may refer to the graph, student tardiness may usually be caused by
either traffic or public transportation malfunctions. Let us for a minute, try and trace the web of influence
that transcends the student’s personal sphere. Let us then ask, why is traffic in Metro Manila so
congested? One of its sources would likely be the state of the urban population in the city. Why are there
so many people living in Metro Manila? Well, we could trace three social roots: First, it may be because
of the Filipino Families’ lack of basic knowledge in family planning. One that we could also link to the
opposing views of the church and long- standing Christian values embedded into Filipino families’
traditions and social norms. Because of the inadequacy of knowledge in this subject, a surge in the
population may be expected. More so, there is also the issue of migration, not from country to country but
from rural to urban. Many Filipinos flock into urban centers with the prospect of finding a sustainable job
to match their standard of living. Why are they migrating? One probable cause is the unbalanced
discourse on development. As traditional livelihoods found in rural areas continue to become
unsustainable and harder some Filipinos decide to settle inside cities to find jobs. Why so? As technology
advanced people are finding new innovative ways to work and get paid. These kinds of jobs are usually
found in urban centers. This may also be attributed to the in flock of Transnational Companies who enter
the country to provide people with jobs through either services or manufacturing processes conducted in
infrastructures that are usually located within the city. This exercise merely demonstrates the networked
system of relations that exist within the contemporary world. For a true scholar of society to understand
it , he must broaden his horizon to trace the interlocked webs of relations and understand how his personal
problems are also consequences of larger social issues.

The Approach to this Course: Interdisciplinary

Source(s): Claudio, L. E., & Abinales, P. N. (2018) The Contemporary world. South Triangle, Q.C.C & E
Publishing, Inc.

Our study of Globalization and the

Contemporary World must be inherently
interdisciplinary. Using the illustration, we
notice that the conclusions of different experts
are different from each other all though they are
studying the same thing. Why do you think they
differ in conclusions? Because of their parochial
perspective, they do not consider each part as a
member of a larger whole. With an
interdisciplinary approach, we could paint an
accurate picture of the various globalizing
processes. Our study of the process of
globalization must
then be inherently interdisciplinary so that we will be able to accurately understand the social, economic,
political, and cultural processes that shape its structures. We will be able to see the whole elephant as it is
and conclude a more accurate diagnosis of current events and the world in general.

Defining Globalization

Let us first clarify what it is not. As opposed to popular/ activist definition globalization is not
neoliberal globalization or market globalism. Market Globalism or Neoliberal Globalization specifically
conceptualize how neoliberal policies desire to create an international framework for

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economies to raise profit by minimizing the cost of investment. Globalization on the other hand,
according to Steger, refers to the expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness
across world time and world space. Fulcher and Scott (2007) on the other hand, defined Globalization as a
complex of interrelated processes, which have in common the idea that relationships and organizations
have increasingly spread across the world. Globalization is a process that has destroyed distance in the
sense that its processes are no longer limited to geographic boundaries. Moreover, with the intensified
social relations that have linked people across the globe, men have a greater awareness of the events that
are continually happening in the world.

Attributes of Globalization
Source(s): Claudio, L. E., & Abinales, P. N. (2018) The Contemporary world. South Triangle, Q.C.C & E
Publishing, Inc.

1. Various Form of Connectivity

- These are forms of connections that may be economic, political, or cultural. For example,
the Philippines and Vietnam as both members of the ASEAN ( Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) engaging with trade with each other may be considered as an economic form
of connectivity. On the other hand, the friendship or courtship of Ed and Rose forged within
the platforms of social media sites may also be a form of connectivity that transcend world
space and time.
2. Expansion and Stretching of Social Relations

- An example of this is the expanding function of NGO ( non-government organization) in

protecting the rights and dignity of Overseas Filipino Workers abroad ( OFWs). Migrante
International, for instance, is a non-government organization based on the Philippines that
seeks to form a global alliance because of its mission to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of
Filipinos who are working abroad.
3. Intensification and Acceleration of Social Exchanges and Activities

- As we have already stated, the intensification of social relations and consciousness across
world time and world space is one of the key components of globalization. The stated
intensification of social relations is largely attributed to the advanced technologies that are
invented to improve human communication. For example, in the past, it would take two to
three days before a message may be received by another person in the next city due to the
slow-paced transportation of mail. With the discovery of Facebook and many social media
sites, communication is instant and easily accessible from our fingertips. This is an example of
how globalization has restructured our concept of time and space. Usually, due to the slow-
paced mailing system, the further the receiver of the message is the longer it would take to
communicate its content. However, with the invention of the World Wide Web and various
social media platforms, our messages could reach other people, no matter the distance in mere
seconds. Another example would be the screening of live television. No matter where you are
in the world, you could all share the same experience of watching a Pacquiao fight through
our televisions and computers. This is how globalization reshaped our concept of time and
space. We seemingly are liberated more from its constraints.
4. Occurs Subjectively

- Lastly, Globalization occurs subjectively in the sense that we are more conscious of the
world we are living in. We live in a network where we could trace the various forms

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of social connectivity that shape our perception of the world and at the same time influence
our actions within it. For example, we now think about the world; we voice out our opinions
and our position in social issues that do not necessarily involve us. We are affected by
campaigns such as the #BlackLivesMatters that happened in the United States to end police
brutality against African Americans. We grieve and pray for the Australians who lost their
homes in the forest fires that torched their houses. We do our part to alleviate climate change
because we become more conscious that there are also problems without passports that
demand our collective actions.

Nation-State, Nations, and Nationalism

Source(s): Claudio, L. E., & Abinales, P. N. (2018) The Contemporary world. South Triangle, Q.C.C & E
Publishing, Inc. & Dannug, Roman D.(2005) Politics and Governance C&E Publishing, Inc. & De Leon,
Hector S. (2011) Textbook on the Philippine Constitution Manila: Rex Book Store

With the intensified social relations reaching across the globe, it is expected that there has been an
increasing rate of interdependence between nations from different parts of the world. Let us first define
the Nation-State. It is considered as a political unit that has:

1. A National Citizen (People)

2. A National Territory (Land)
3. A National Administration (Government)

The State

The State is considered to be the main political actor inside the global political and economic arena.
It is based on the objective realities that define a country. Meaning, it is measurable and quantifiable in
the sense that the citizens are numbered, its territories have bounds and the national government is
recognized and defined by the constitution of the land. Moreover, the State is considered as a community
of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying definite portion of territory, having a
government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom
from external control.

Elements of the State

a. People- this refers to the inhabitants living within the state. Without people there can be
no functionaries to govern and no subjects to be governed. There is no requirement as to
the number of people that should compose a state. Ideally, it should be neither too small
nor too large: small enough to be well-governed and large enough to be self-sufficing.
b. Territory- it includes not only the fixed portion of land over which the jurisdiction of the
state extends ( territorial domain), but also the rivers and lakes therein, a certain area of
the sea which abuts upon its coasts ( fluvial and maritime domain) and the air space
above the land and the waters( aerial domain). Thus, the domain of the state may be
described as terrestrial, fluvial, maritime and aerial.

c. Government- Usually used to refer person/s who has the function of political
control/ administration. It is the agency that carries the will of the state.
 Constitution- a body of rules and principles in accordance with which the power
of sovereignty is regularly exercised.
 Nature and Purpose/ Function of Constitution
1. Serve as the supreme or fundamental law

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2. Establishes basic framework and underlying principles of government.

d. Sovereignty- Supreme power of the state to command or enforce obedience. The term
may be defined as the supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience to
its will from people within its jurisdiction and corollary, to have freedom from foreign
control. It has, therefore, two manifestations:
i. Internal- the power of the state to rule within its territory
ii. External- the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection to
or control by other states. External sovereignty is usually referred to as
independence.

Origin of the States

Source(s): Dannug, Roman D.(2005) Politics and Governance C&E Publishing, Inc & De Leon, Hector
S. (2011) Textbook on the Philippine Constitution Manila: Rex Book Store & Laskar, Manzoor Elahi (2013)
Summary of Social Contract Theory by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau SSRN Electronic Journal.

There are several theories concerning the origin of states, among which are:

1. Divine Right Theory - It is ordained by God to govern the people references to the law
which Moses receive at Mount Sinai.

Laws are from God; the tablet of our hearts bear His signature and our conscience bears
witness of it (Romans 2:14-15).We know that God has set natural laws as moral laws- rights that
come from God, written into the human conscience (Romans 1:19; Romans 2:12;14-15; 27).
Natural Laws are considered as general principles inherent to Human Nature. It is what God has
written in our hearts as the universal standard for recognizing good and bad (Romans 2:14-15).
Positive Law, on the other hand, are the rights granted by the State. It is the cornerstone for our
notion of social justice; which artificially materializes the provision of natural laws and creates
regulations for civil life. In

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other words, positive laws as laws created by men merely recognize the natural laws predisposed
by God. We notice how both are recognized in the United States’ Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right
of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.

As expressed, there are unalienable rights that are appointed to men as God’s creation,
among which is - Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The US government, having been
instituted by men, must then uphold these rights. With this in mind, natural laws are the
foundation of our government. Laws are then framed by the state to restrain sin and promote
righteousness. The very purpose of the Constitution is to uphold and recognize these natural laws
by obstructing the government. The Constitution not only recognizes people’s natural rights,
endowed by God but also recognizes that men are free to exercise these rights. It is through the
laws that our inherent , God given rights are recognized. As Attorney Patrick Henry also
interpreted, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is
an instrument for the people to restrain the government...- lest it comes to dominate our lives and
interests.” This is what happens in governance, the government pass laws and remove certain
liberties in the name of the “greater good” according to the pronouncement of natural laws and
uphold “ social justice,” as long as it is not unconstitutional and a violation of “unalienable
rights” outlined by the Constitution. Furthermore, based on the provision of human rights,
recognizing both the written and unwritten nature of legal and moral entitlement, citizens are
protected through the constitution from the government. It is these rights that limit the state's use
of its power against the citizens ( Wahiu 2011; Sarmiento 2014).

2. Necessity or Force Theory – It maintains that states must have been created through force, by
some great warriors who impose their will upon the weak

3. Social Contract Theory (Laskar 2013) - It asserts that the early states must have been formed
by deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form a society and organize
government for their common good. This theory justifies the fight of the people to revolt against a
bad ruler. It is not known exactly which of the above theories is the correct one. History,
however, has shown that the elements of all the theories have played an important part in the
formation and development of the state. This theory is largely credited to Hobbes, Locke and
Rousseau. The concept of social contract is found in man’s essential need to for regulation from
an independent body or institution. It comes from two kinds of agreement.

a. Pactum Unionis - people sought protection of their lives and property. With this in
mind, people under pursued a life of peace, respecting each other’s life and property.

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b. Pactum Subjectionis- refers to people united together to obey a common authority in

which, in exchange for protection they have to surrender a part of their freedom to an
authority. The authority must guarantee to protect their life and property. To escape their
state of Nature, without a proper authority they must all agree to live together under the
provision of a common law and create for themselves a system of enforcement. This is
the social contract and the laws that constitute it. The source of regulation is ultimately
from the people and for the people.

According to Thomas Hobbes, men lived in the state of nature where men were poor, nasty and
savage. To establish order, man puts into place his innate desire for security and order. Man,
voluntarily surrenders some rights and freedoms to an authority, signing a contract of obedience
in exchange for protection and preservation. This is the evident relationship of monarchs to their
subjects. Subjects had no right against the absolute authority of the land. They merely obeyed in
all situations. Hobbes asserts that man without subjection to a common power of rights and
freedom will inevitably be at war. Locke and Rousseau, on the contrary set forth the idea that the
state exist to preserve and protect the natural rights of men endowed by the creator. When the
governing authority fail in this matter, the people have the right to withdraw their support and
rebel. More so, Hobbes viewed the State as absolutely just. All of society mirror the will of the
authority of the ruler. Locke on the other hand, emphasized that the role of the state is to ensure
that justice is done to the people. While Rousseau viewed the State as the protector of the
people’s liberty.

The Nation

On the other hand, the concept of nation is based on the idea that a political unit corresponds to
nations. It is somewhat subjectively defined through the people’s sense of collective or communal
identity. It is what Max Weber considers as a “community of sentiment” with a specific sentiment of
solidarity in the face of other groups. Whereas, Benedict Anderson considers it an “Imagined
Community.” He considers it as such because this sense of community is not necessarily defined by the
objective provision of the law or the constitution.

Confronting Discourses

To ask what came first, the idea of a nation or the structures of a State, is like asking what came
first, the chicken or the egg. Giddens (1985) argued that a nation did not exist until the state had
constructed a national administration that stretched over its territory. To illustrate, we can put Giddens
explanation to the metaphor of a Body and Spirit- the Body signifying the objective and physical
structures of the state and the Spirit as the unseen essence of a nation as a “community of sentiment.” For
Giddens then, the objective vessel of the State (measurable, quantifiable) is first constructed for the
people to build a communal sense of shared sentiments, stretched over the State’s territory. As Giddens
(1985) argued it was the state’s unification of its citizens that created the nation. On the other hand, the
ideals of a nationalist movements run contrary to the sequenced relationship explained by Giddens. The
Ideals of a Nationalist Movements typically seek to create new states on the basis of a presumed national
identity (a community of sentiments). Nationalist Movements argue that the objective structures of a State
is born out of the struggle of a community with a common national identity. They struggle to claim that a
nation has the right to self-government through its own independence.

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The Contemporary World

ASSESSMENT 1

Instruction: In this section of the module, your general knowledge and understanding of the
subject so far will be tested. Please answer the following questions in a 150-word essay. Please
answer each question using the following format- Arial 11, single-spaced. For those who will receive a
printed version of this module please answer the following in a short bond paper. Indicate the Self Test
#_ and write your name ( Last Name, First Name , M.I) and your Course and Section .

1. What is Globalization and How does it occur subjectively?

2. Why should we use the interdisciplinary approach in studying Globalization?
3. Why do we need to exercise our sociological imagination to make sense of the
contemporary world?
4. Explain the difference between the State and The Nation.

UNIT 2: Understanding Global Inequalities

Introduction:

What is global inequality and why does it exist? This section of the course desires to answer this
question in light of the contemporary theories and studies that will be discussed in class. Specifically, it
will examine the source of global inequalities and their effects. The theories that will be discussed in class
will give the students a clear understanding of the structures of global inequalities and their social,
economic, and political consequences.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit students must be able to:

1. Understand and apply theories on examining world inequalities

2. Examine contemporary problems in light of the theories discussed in class
3. Demonstrate critical thinking in comprehending contemporary realities in light of global
economic relationships.

Sections of the Unit:

1. The History of Colonialism

2. The Consequence of Colonialism
3. Theories on Global Inequalities

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The Contemporary World

The History of Colonialism

Source(s): Lappe, Frances Moore & Collins, Joseph (o.n) Why Can’t People Feed Themselves? Article 33 &
Logan, Amanda L. (2016) “Why Can’t People Feed Themselves”: Archaeology Alternative Archive of Food
Security in Banda, Ghana. American Anthropologist. Vol. 118 No. 3

According to Francis Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins, the world is only divided into two:
Minority of Nations and Majority of Nations. The Minority of Nations represents the countries that
prioritize agricultural and industrial revolution. Whereas, the majority of nations are the countries that
remain primitive and underdeveloped. This expresses the conditions of global inequality in the
contemporary world. Francis Moore Lappe and Joseph Collin desire to understand why some nations are
not able to feed themselves. They traced its cause to the history of colonialism. Colonialism according to
Moore and Collins destroyed the already and initially built cultural patterns of production and change.
For them, hunger and underdevelopment must always be thought of as a process. The reason why so
many countries remain to be in poverty and underdeveloped is its history of colonialism. Lappe and
Collins further express the reasons why colonialism destroyed the initial built cultural pattern of
production.

1. Colonial Mind

This is the mentality of the colonizers who colonize other people to be their subjects. The
colonizers see agriculture in the subjugated lands as primitive and backward. Because of this,
their process of colonization is not only justified but they see it as a necessary process. John
Stuart Mill, an English economist, philosopher, and colonizer-apologist argued that, “
Colonies should not be thought of as civilizations or countries, but as agricultural
establishments whose sole purpose is to supply the larger community to which it belongs.”

2. Forced Peasant Production

As Walter Rodney recounts in his book, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," cash crops
were often grown literally under the threat of guns and whips. The communities that were
colonized by neighboring countries were forced to plant cash crops instead of food crops. The
initial practice of planting food crops was for the sole purpose of feeding the community;
whereas, due to the desire of the colonizing nation to gain profit through the peasant’s
production of crops, they were forced to plant cash crops. This are the crops that are planted
for its market value. They are planted not on the basis of its ability to feed the populace but
rather its price in the global market. Because of this change the people were no longer
dependent to their own practice of production. More so, the colonial government ensured to
continue this peasant production of cash crops in two ways:

i. Taxation- This was the most preferred colonial technique to

force Africans to grow cash crops. The colonial administration simply
put taxes on cattle land, houses and even to the people themselves.

ii. Marketing Board- this emerged in the 1930s in Africa. It was

defined as an organization set up by the government to regulate the
buying and selling of a certain commodity such as coffee, cotton and
cocoa. Within a special area. These marketing boards of Africa

18
The Contemporary World

were only the institutionalized rendition of what is the essence of

colonialism, which is the extraction of wealth.

3. Plantation- The second approach was direct takeover of the land either by the colonizing
government or by private foreign interests. Some farmers were forced to work in
plantations fields through either enslavement or economic coercion.

4. Suppressing Peasant Farmers - The colonial government formulated a policy of

keeping the price of imported food low through removal of tariffs and subsidies. Peasants
were told that they do not need to grow their own food, for they can always buy it cheaply
through imported goods. However, the cheap food imports

In conclusion, Francis Moore Lappe and Collins answered, why people can’t feed themselves? It
is as they expressed the result of a history of colonialism that has destroyed the initial pattern of
production. Colonialism Forced peasants to replace food crops with cash crops that were
expropriated at very low rates. More so the colonial government, took over the best agricultural land
for export crop plantations and then forced the most able-bodied workers to leave the village fields to
work as slaves or for very low wages on plantations. Policies that were also implemented encouraged
a dependence on imported food; and blocked native peasant cash crop. Cash produced by settlers or
foreign firm.

The Consequence of Colonialism

Colonialism as expressed to be a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of one

people to another remains in contemporary forms as many scholars would argue. It is usually called
as Neocolonialism. Neocolonialism is an indirect form of control through economic or cultural
dependence. This is expressed in the continued control of former colonies through ruling native elites
compliant with neocolonial powers, populations that are exploited for their labor and resources in
order to feed an insatiable appetite. Neocolonialism is defined as the continuing active control
exercised by the past colonizer government to control the affairs of the newly independent state. It
perpetuates a system where great powers (usually the past colonizer countries) maintain their
exploitative relationship with past colonies. This covert and indirect form of control creates a system
of dependency. The metropolitan centers in seeking to be even more developed by “underdeveloping”
the peripheries through trade exploitation. The peripheral countries (usually bearing the mark of
colonial history) is extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in price and demand. The products they
market have a higher ratio of competition. It is because many other neighboring countries produce the
same products. According to Harold Nyikal in his article- “Neocolonialism in Africa: The Economic
Crisis in Africa and the Propagation of The Status Quo By the World Bank /IMF and WTO,”
Neocolonialism is colonialism in its modern dress. Western countries masked under the pretext of
economic support for Africa, directly enforced or institutionalized in the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund ( IMF) and the World Trade Organization ( WTO) . The policies that are
implemented in Africa because of the loan conditionalities with this institutions chained it to western
economies to continue to be dependent upon them. Their discourse on development prevents self-help
programs and perpetuate the continuing relationship of dependence.

Neoliberal Globalization

Neoliberal globalization is the main driving system that continue systems of exploitation.
It is generally marked by three essential characteristics:

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The Contemporary World

1. Economic Liberalization- it is characterized by the flooding of the local market with

imported goods that destroy the local industries and livelihood of the populace. Because of
this, poverty and unemployment increase because locally produced goods suffer from the
unfair competition brought about by the cheaper imports from the global market. The
consequence of economic liberalization may be expressed in the state of Food Insecurity in
the Philippines. Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) the Philippines is required
to allow the progressive importation of rice ( 1% of domestic consumption in 1995, 2% in
2000 and 4% by 2004). More so, the unregulated market cause the transnational corporations
and richer foreign nations to control the local market, forcing local production and local
entrepreneurs out of the market.

2. Deregulation – the price of the products sold in the local markets of the peripheral states
are no longer regulated by the government. Many commodities and products consumed by
local consumers are privatized.

3. Privatization- This is the core of IMF/WB’s structural adjustment policies. Trade

liberalization and market deregulation also lead to the privatization of public utility. This
eliminates public subsidies on social services and public sector corporations. Privatization of
state-owned water utilities was one of the conditions for loan in the 1995-1997 structural
adjustment of IMF. Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System was privatized.

4. Labor Export- More so, the exportation of labor force becomes the government’s strategy
to pay debt ad regulate unemployment. In 2000, Philippines become one of the most top labor
exporter. This had also led to the feminization of migrant labor, since majority of Filipino
women comprise majority of the export labor

5. International Division of Labor – Under the old international division of labor,

underdeveloped areas were incorporated into the world economy principally as suppliers of
mineral and agricultural commodities. As developing economies are merged into the world
economy, more production takes place in these economies.

The Unholy Trinity

Sources(s): Cavanagh, John & Manderm Jerry (2003) “World Bank, IMF turned poor Third World nations into loan
addicts” A Critique of Corporate Globalization (Part III). & Peet, Richard (2003) Unholy Trinity, The IMF , World
Bank and WTO London & New York: Zed Books

The World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank (WB) and IMF (International Monetary
Fund) are usually considered as the unholy trinity. WTO and WB were institutionalized in Bretton Woods
NH in July 1944. It was set up to regulate and govern the contemporary global economy. IMF was
established to promote international monetary cooperation and provide policy advice and capacity
development support to help countries build and maintain strong economies. IMF provide loans (short
and medium term) funded by the pool of quota contributions from its members to countries that need it.
Whereas, the World Bank for a time was called IBRD(International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development) was established to help stimulate economic activity within poor countries. It was
established in the aftermath of World War II to help finance the reconstruction of European nations. In the
modern age, The World Bank promotes long-term economic development and poverty reduction by
providing technical and financial support to help

20
The Contemporary World

in countries reform and development projects – such as building schools, health centers, providing water
and electricity, fighting disease, etc. To an unsuspecting eye, these intentions are good intentions to help
developing countries get up on their own feet and compete with other nations in the global market. The
problem however, lies on the loan conditionalities and structural- adjustment programs imposed on low-
and intermediate-income countries by these institutions. According to Cavanagh and Mander (2003)
structural adjustment requires governments to do the following:

a. Cut government spending on education, healthcare, the environment, and price subsidies
for basic necessities such as food, grains and cooking oil
b. Devalue the national currency and increase exports by accelerating the plunder of natural
resources, reducing real wages and subsidizing export oriented foreign investment
c. Liberalize (open) financial markets to attract speculative short-term portfolio investment
that create enormous financial instability and foreign liabilities while serving little, if any,
useful purpose
d. Eliminate tariffs and other controls on imports, thereby increasing the import of
consumer goods purchased with borrowed foreign exchange, undermining local industry
and agricultural producers unable to compete with cheap import, Increasing the strain on
foreign exchange accounts, and deepening external indebtedness.

With these loan conditionalities and structural adjustment programs Countries suffer from trade
liberalization and the increasing privatization of public utility. By Liberalizing the financial market and
eliminating the tariff the country’s local producers suffer because of the global competition.

Globalization, Liberalization and Protectionism: The Global Framework Affecting Rural

Producers in Developing Countries
Source(s): Khor, Martin (2007) Globalization, Liberalization, and Protectionism: The Global Framework Affecting
Rural Producers in Developing Countries. Malaysia: Third World Network

Globalization according to Khor (2007) is often taken to mean a process that is synonymous with
liberalization, or the opening up of the local and national markets to the global market. However, the
economic globalization process is much more nuanced than this simple or automatic linkage between
globalization and liberalization; for example, the internationalization of intellectual property rights (IPR)
systems through the WTO has led to increased monopolization, especially by transnational corporations,
that are better able to charge higher prices for their products then if they there were greater competition.
Also, the high subsidization of and high tariffs on agricultural products constitute the continuation of high
protection of the agricultural sector in the rich countries. in many developing countries, the process of
liberalization and trade, investment, and finance has been taking place at significant rate and scope. This
process has promoted by the loan conditionalities of the international finance institutions, the rules of the
world trade organization, and unilateral policy measures.

Thus, the policies associated with the globalization process are a strange combination of
liberalization and protectionism (the theory or practice of shielding a country's domestic industries from
foreign competition by taxing imports). The strangeness is perhaps accentuated by the fact that in some
important instances developing countries are asked to undertake more intensive liberalization, whilst the
developed countries are proposing to retain or even increased protection is policies. it is strange because
normally it is accepted that the poorer and weaker countries

21
The Contemporary World

should be given more time and flexibility to liberalize as they have to prepare and be ready to face
competition from the bigger and stronger and surprises of the developing world; and that the already
developed countries should liberalize more and faster as they have already reached a high level of
development and can compete. perhaps the most important aspect of globalization is the globalization of
policymaking. policies and decisions on a range of issues that for once under the sole or main purview of
national governments are now made through international agencies or under their influence. many
developing countries are policymakers in the sense that they had little "say" in the making of the rules or
policies of some of the powerful international agencies, particularly the International Monetary Fund, the
World Bank and the World Trade Organization, and they have to implement the policies at national level
which have been laid out through these agencies. Ocean, as its decisions are made on a one country one
vote system and as the developing countries are better organized to represent their interests there.
However, in recent years the influence of the united nation over economic and social matters has declined
significantly and the mandate and influence of the IFI ( International Finance Institution) and the WTO
have expanded this shift of power to institutions that are dominated by the developed countries has meant
the reduction of the influence of the developing countries in decision-making over economic and social
issues at the international level

There have been increasing concerns that the policy is adopted at or by some the major
international agencies have not been appropriate or effective in meeting the development needs of
developing countries. in the area of trade and trade-related rules, the concerns of particularly centered on
the disappointment of developing countries that have not benefited much in terms of trade or income from
the implementation of world trade organizations rules and some of them have suffered cause and losses.
they are also concerned that the implementation of the trade- related aspects of intellectual property rights
or TRIPS Agreement in the world trade organization may arrow the rights of farmers and holders of
traditional knowledge. there are also concerns that alone conditionalities of the IFI have caused many
developing countries to liberalize their import successively and to rapidly, especially as the high subsidies
and protection continued to dominate in the developing countries. for many developing countries, the
potential benefits of meeting export opportunities have not been realized, whilst the risk of import
liberalization have become very real and a half already adversely affected rural livelihood and national
incomes.

The Global Agriculture Policy Framework

Source(s): Khor, Martin (2007) Globalization, Liberalization, and Protectionism: The Global Framework Affecting
Rural Producers in Developing Countries. Malaysia: Third World Network

Many developing countries that at one stage or another suffered a debt default situation came
under the purview of the world bank and IMF, which were agreeable to arranging death rescheduling and
new credit on condition the countries agreed to implement conditions, now commonly known as
structural adjustment policies. The policies normally include the following approaches and measures as
they pertain to the rural sectors: the withdrawal of the state from economic activities, the closure or
downgrading of state marketing boards, privatization, reduction or removal of subsidies, elimination of
import control such as quantitative restrictions, reduction of import tariffs, free orientation towards
exports, and investment liberalization and deregulation, or the opening up of assets to for rent ownership.
The structural adjustment policies have had a major impact on agricultural policies in developing
countries. In particular, the removal of subsidies and protection from imports has made the rural
producers more vulnerable to the direct effects and vagaries of the global markets, as the interventionist
measures and capacity of the state were withdrawn. In many countries, rural producers are facing intense
competition from imports that are cheaper than their own produce. the effects of loan conditionalities
began to be

22
The Contemporary World

felt in the 1980s and 1990s for most of the affected countries. The WTO made a later entry, as it is
published in 1995. at first, to developing, country governments were hopeful that they would benefit from
the new rules in agriculture, as the incorporation of agriculture into the system of the WTO would
presumably lead to the dismantling of protection in the developed countries. agriculture is one area where
the developing countries are widely believed to have a comparative advantage, and thus they expected to
benefit from expanded exports to the rich markets.

However, they were sorely disappointed, as the expected benefits have not accrued, due to the
continued protectionism in the North. This maintenance of protectionist measures was allowed within the
framework of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) On the other hand, the developing countries had,
under the AoA, also committed to play strict limits on their domestic subsidies, to give quantitative
restrictions placed on imports, and to reduce their boundaries. these commitments made it even more
difficult for them to promote and protect the interest of their rural producers.

The global economic framework on agriculture shaped to a large extent by the loan
conditionalities of the IFS and the rules of the WTO has resulted in a situation where the developed
countries are able to continue with an even expanding domestic subsidies and to continue with a
significant level of export subsidies, as well as high tariffs on their sensitive agricultural products, while
the developing countries are constrained ( by the WTO rules, by loan conditionalities and by budget
constraints) from increasing their farm subsidies, and have strong pressure( through loan conditionalities)
to maintain low applied tariff rates and even reduce these, as well as to significantly reduce their bound
tariffs( through existing WTO rules and new proposed rules).

The imbalances in the global framework have handicapped to developing countries, which
already have week starting points due to their lack of financial and technical resources and their low level
of development. The unilateral policies taken under structural adjustment have been reinforced or
complemented by multilateral commitments that the countries are obliged to implement under the world
trade organization rules. This combination of policies initiated under loan conditionality and then
reinforce under multilateral rules as bound the developing countries in a web of commitment and policy
constraints and measures and they find it difficult within this context to maneuver or to be able to choose
between policy options that are suitable for their agricultural development. More so, many developing
countries that had faced a debt default situation has come under the influence of loan conditionalities of
the IFI ( IMF and WB). The 'structural adjustment' programs and policies include measures that affect
rural producers directly. These include the liberalization of imports, the dismantling of state marketing
boards and state procurement systems, and the reduction or elimination of subsidies. These policies
resulted in the rural communities of many of these countries facing greater vulnerability.

Effect of Inequality to the Rural Population

Source(s): Ibon Facts and Figures (2014) Worsening Peasant Situation. Vol. 37, No.18

Worsening Exploitation

The exploitative landlord-tenant relationship with crop sharing systems such as 50-50, 1/3- 2/3,
¼-3/4 of the gross harvest in favor of the landlord remain widespread. Farmers get only 21% of the value
of their fross harvest in Southern Tagalog and Only 19% in Eastern Visayas. Farmworkers also continue
to receive low wages ranging from Php35 to Php200 per day. In Hacienda Luisita, sacadas (farmworker)
earn only an average of Php 35 to Php 80 per day. IN

23
The Contemporary World

Eastern Visayas, farmworkers earn an average of 18,000 a year or only Php 49 per day. In Cagayan
Valley, farm workers are paid only Php40-Php70 per day in cassava and sugarcane plantations. All these
are way below the so-called minimum wages set by the Regional Wage Boards. In Eastern Visayas, rice
farmers’ incomes average Php 23.50 per day. In Southern Tagalog copra famers are left with nothing and
driven deeper to debt. For fishermen working in fish cages and fish farms, they earn only Php100 to
Php150 for 20 hours of work.

Labor flexibilization is enforced in the plantations through the systems of gang labor and
contractualization. Under these systems, regular farmworkers have been displaced and the hacienderos
deal only with contractors or labor gang foreman. Prices of farm inputs, from seeds to fertilizers and agri-
chemicals, increase every year. Fertilizer prices are now at Php 2,000 per bag from Php436 per bag in
2001. Other agrichemicals such as pesticides cost between PHp800 to Php1,600 per bag. On the other
hand, rent for farm tools is also exorbitant. For example, the rent for a tractor is Php6,000 per hectare; the
rent for thresher is 1/10 of the threshed palay.

Peasant Struggles

Despite the continuing hardship and repression, Filipino farmers are undaunted. For centuries,
they have suffered the same forms of exploitative relation and repression. The struggles against Spanish
and American colonization were largely pushed by agrarian demands and peasant revolts where hundreds
of thousands of peasants fought and perished. Even after the country gained nominal independence from
the US, peasant struggles have continued precisely because of the same feudal and semi-feudal condition
has persisted.

Land Occupation

Farmers and farmworkers also wage successful land occupation campaigns across the country.
The network of advocates from the church and non-government organizations (NGOs) including lawyers
and international organizations provide support to such campaigns. In the Visayas area members of the
San Roque Farmers Association (SRFA) in Bgy. Bonbon, Aloguinsan, Cebu stood up for their rights over
the 168-hectare corn lands claimed by the Gantuangco family and other vested interests. They made their
claim stronger the disputed lands by cultivating the lands for organic farming and strengthening their
organization. In Bohol, the Trinidad Talibon Integrated Farmers Association (TTIFA) successfully
occupied and cultivated 1,900 hectares of idle lands which were once a cattle farm issued to Marcos crony
Danding Cojuangco and partners. The farmers have occupied and cultivated the land since the 1980s and
struggle to have their organization and members reorganized by the DAR and be issued certificates of
land ownership awards (CLOAs). They asserted their rights for support services such as paved roads and
water supply including farm implements from the DA and the LGU. To date, even as they are threatened
with land-use conversion to oil palm plantation promoted by the DA, the TTIFA members remain
steadfast in their struggle to assert their right to decide what to plant and how to appropriate their produce.
They have their rice mill, trade their rice, and set their price independent from big rice traders in Bohol

Theories on Global Inequality

World System Theory

Source(s): Wallerstein, Immanuel (2006) “ The Modern World System as a Capitalist World- Economy. The World
System Theory Pp 20-29 & Internet Modern History Sourcebook (o.n) Summary of Wallerstein on World System
Theory Modern History Sourcebook

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The Contemporary World

Immanuel Wallerstein in his book, The Modern World System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins
of the European World Economy in the Sixteenth Century, developed a theoretical framework to
understand the historical changes involved in the rise of the modern world. The modern world system of
capitalism emerged after the crisis of the feudal system. Wallerstein in developing this theory explained
how Western Europe rose to supremacy between 1450 and 1670. As Wallerstein argued, before the 16 th
century Western Europe was dominated by the feudal system. A system of relation between those who
“have” and “have not”— the landlords who own the land and the peasants who do not own the land but
work within it for wages. Wallerstein argued that Europe moved towards a capitalist world economy to
ensure the continuing economic growth of the nation. This however, meant the expansion of geographical
size in controlling the process of production across different states. The new world economy was not
forged through imperial system of government which used political force (usually showing brute colonial
control) to direct the flow of economic goods from the periphery to the center. The modern world
economy did not rely on political force or colonial systems of exploitation but rather through economic
coercion. Immanuel Wallerstein argues that nations co-exist in a world economy- a large geographic zone
where there is a division of labor, exchange of basic goods and constant flow of capital and labor. In this
kind of world structure capitalism strives. Capitalism as Wallerstein simply defines is an economic
system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit.
Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary
exchange, a price system, and competitive markets. The World-Economy and a Capitalist System coexist
because of the international division of labor. A capitalist system cannot exist within any framework
except that of a world- economy.

Wallerstein as he defined the world-system as the necessary condition for capitalism to thrive- the
linkage of sate’s economically through the international division of labor. Wallerstein (1974) said that a
world-system is a "multicultural territorial division of labor in which the production and exchange of
basic goods and raw materials is necessary for the everyday life of its inhabitants." This international
division of labor can be illustrated through these categories:

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The Contemporary World

Core Countries

Countries that are classified under the category

of core- exploit other countries for labor and raw
materials. They benefit most from the capitalist
world economy. They are referred to as the “haves”.
These countries have industries, government, social
elites, financial power and systems of education. For
the period under discussion, Wallerstein argued that
much of northwestern Europe (England, France and
Holland) developed as the first core region.
Politically, these states developed strong central governments, extensive bureaucracies and large
mercenary armies. This permitted the bourgeoisie or the local capitalist to extend his international
commerce to extract capital surpluses from other countries through trade. They are at the forefront of
technological progress and have significant influence on less developed non-core nations

Semi-Periphery

Between the two extremes the semi-peripheries are the countries that attempt to improve their
relative position in the world economic system. They often serve as buffers between the core regions
and the peripheries. Economically, these countries fail to predominate in international trade and do
not benefit as much from a capitalist world economy as the core countries. They are countries that are
exploited by the core but are also able to exploit other peripheral countries.

Periphery

These countries are considered to be those who “have not” By contrast, the periphery countries
possess mining, forestry, agriculture, less power, poor systems of education and low wages that are
incapable of sustaining affluent lifestyles. These areas lacked strong central governments or were
usually controlled by other states. They export raw materials to the core, and relied on coercive labor
practices. These countries usually have a colonial history that have damaged the structures of their
local economy. In our context for example, America is the core state and the Philippines is the
peripheral state. We export raw materials (i.e. electronic parts) to America, which they, in turn,
process into a product because they are the ones who have capital (i.e. cellphones). Then sell it back
to us. The core countries dominate and exploit the peripheral countries for labor and raw materials.
The peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital. Moreover, it is usually
characterized by high percentages of uneducated people who can mainly provide cheap unskilled
labor to the core nations. There is also a high level of social inequality, together with a relatively
weak government which is unable to control country’s economic activity and the extensive influence
of the core countries.

Capitalism as a World System

Source(s): Wallerstein, Immanuel (2006) “ The Modern World System as a Capitalist World- Economy.
The World System Theory Pp 20-29
& Internet Modern History Sourcebook (o.n) Summary of Wallerstein on World System Theory Modern History
Sourcebook & Vela, Carlos Martinez A. (2001) World System Theory ESD. 83

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The Contemporary World

Within Immanuel Wallerstein’s work the theme of inequality marks the gap between the Third World
and the West. Only a transformation of the world-system itself, dealing with the structures of the
international division of labor can inequality truly be resolved. According to Wallerstein Capitalism de-
territorialized meaningful state boundaries. As he argued, “the techniques of modern capitalism and the
technology of modern science, the two being somewhat linked as we know, enabled this world-economy
to thrive, produce and expand without the emergence of a unified political structure.” Wallerstein also
mentioned in his book- The Modern World System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the
European World Economy in the Sixteenth Century, how capitalism continue to thrive in the modern
world economy. He used the Kondratieff Cycle developed by Nikolai Kondratiev as a reference. In the
1930s the Soviet Union asked Nikolai Kondratieff a mathematician, to create a model that would prove
that capitalism would fall and communism would endure. However, Kondratiev’s work proved to be
contrary to the ideals of the Soviet Union. In his study of economic history, he reached the conclusion that
economics was better explained by technology than class struggle. Kondratiev observed that technology
did not evolve linearly but rather it leaps every 50 to 60 years.

Cycle Period Description

1st Cycle 1770-1820 Initial mechanization

2nd Cycle 1820-1870 Steam power, railroads and telegraphs

3rd Cycle 1870-1930 Electricity, internal combustion and heavy engineering

4th Cycle 1930-1980 Mass production, Fordism and nuclear energy

5th Cycle 1980-2030 Telecommunications and informatics

6th Cycle 2030-2080 Robotics, alternative energies, and Human Enhancement

Technologies

Karl Marx predicted that capitalism was crisis prone and that it would soon fall apart. But
Kondratieff found that capitalism reinvented itself with each crisis. As the saying goes, “ desperate times
call for desperate measures” Crisis give rise to new solutions( investment in technology and new business
models). These periods of crisis and struggle, lasting generally between 12- 15 years, eventually creates a
new form of capitalism.

Crisis Sub-phases of Kondratieff Cycles

Cycle Period Description

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The Contemporary World

Pre-cycles 1770-1820 Seven years’ War (1756-63)

1st Cycle 1820-1870 Napoleonic Wars

2nd Cycle 1870-1930 Crimean War, Triple Alliance War, American Civil War, Unification of
both Germany and Italy

3rd Cycle 1930-1980 World War I and inter-war period

4th Cycle 1980-2030 Vietnam War, Space Race, Cold War, Arab-Israeli Wars
(1967,1973)

5th Cycle 2030-2080 ??

The 1939-1945 period was one of intensive technological development and economic growth, in the face
of massive destruction. The post-war period gave us strong and fast expansion with a new public
“business model” of the Welfare State. As the K wave propose it is in times of desperation that people
are investing in new technologies and thinking out of the box, trying new things and accepting the
previously unacceptable. This is when a set of new technologies that have bene too risky to develop
becomes more feasible due to the increased tolerance of risk.

How Business Models Adapt

When technology changes, capitalism adapts. Business models evolve for companies to continue
to gain profit. As technology and the economy co-evolved new business models are created. Models like
retail business, public companies, franchises, manufacturing, joint ventures, Private-Public Partnership,
etc. have been developed to cope with the increasing complexity of the modern world. To simplify,
Kondratiev argued, every technological revolution gives capitalism the opportunity to reinvent itself. For
example, we have recently seen the invention of new extra- national currencies such as bitcoin and
commercial transactions are focused on reducing bureaucratic barriers between the provider of service
and monetization, like Pay Pal. Understanding the consumersis important in developing new dynamic
business models. The users may change over time which is why businesses must remain flexible. We
could use the manufacture of drones as an example. It was initially created for military used; however,
after some tie, it is also used as a tor or in agriculture to dust crops with insecticide.

The Kondratieff Cycle or K Wave as some would call it is a long duration economic cycle of
capital goods expansion that plays at over a period of about 50 years and underlies the usual boom-bust
cycles characteristics of a capitalist economy. It may be divided into four phases.

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The Contemporary World

Spring- A time of new innovation sparks production and growth. People start investing into new
technologies and think outside the box to try and find new things previously unacceptable. This is when a
set of new technologies that had been too risky to develop becomes more feasible.

Summer- increase in the general affluence level leads to changing attitudes toward work that result in a
deceleration of economic growth.

Autumn- Stagnating economic conditions give rise to a deflationary growth spiral that gives rise to
isolationist policies, further curtailing growth prospects.

Winter- Economy in the throes of a debilitating depression that tear the social fabrics of society. This is
when the dwindling number of the “haves” and the expanding number of the “have-nots” increases
dramatically.

The first resulted from the invention of the steam engine and ran from 1780 to 1830.The second
cycle arose because of the steel industry and the spread of railroads, and ran from 1830 to 1880.The third
cycle resulted from electrification and innovation in the chemical industry, and ran from 1880 to
1930.The fourth cycle was fueled by autos and petrochemicals, and lasted from 1930 to 1970.The fifth
cycle was based on information technology and began in 1970 and ran through the present, though some
economists believe we are at the start of a sixth wave that will be driven by biotechnology and healthcare.

Stages of Growth

The development of the modern world economy according to Wallerstein lasted centuries. During
this time, different regions changed their positions within the system. Wallerstein divided the
emergence of the capitalist world economy into four stages.

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The Contemporary World

Stage 1 & 2

Wallerstein believed that this emerged between 1450-1670m, when the Hapsburg Empire failed
to convert the emerging world economy to a world empire. Since it cannot be politically united under
the same system of empire what emerged was the modern world system sustained by the international
division of labor among states- existing interdependently. Bureaucratization was the process that
aided the limited but growing power of the king. Because of the state’s power to collect taxes the king
increased the state power to borrow money and thereby further expand the state bureaucracy.
Homogenization also helped the process of solidifying the modern world economy. To underline the
state involvement in the new capitalist system they encouraged the rise of indigenous capitalist
groups. Minorities were expelled from the core states. Spain and France were expelled with the rise of
absolute monarchy. Next, the Expansion of the militia (military force that is raised from the civil
population), to support the centralized monarchy through military resources. More so, it would
prevent the state from invasion. Next, Diversification was also important to improve the economic
activities of the state to maximize its profits and strengthen the position of the local bourgeoisie.
According to Wallerstein, by 1640 northwestern European states secured their position as core states
in the emerging economy. Spain and Northern Italy was displaced; declining to the category of semi-
periphery.

Stage 3 & 4

Industrial rather than agricultural capitalism represented this era. With the shifting emphasis on
industrial production. European state participated in exploration for the exploitation of new markets
across the globe. The competitive world system emerged such as the Indian Ocean system. Asia and
Africa entered the system in the 19th Century as peripheral zones. During this phase, the core region
shifted to a combination of agricultural and industrial interest to purely industrial concern.

Through this theory, Wallerstein attempts to explain why modernization had such wide- ranging
and different effects on the world. He showed how political and economic conditions after the
breakdown of feudalism transformed northwestern Europe. With his theory in mind, we could see
how the geographic expansion of the capitalist world economy altered the political system and labor
condition wherever it was able to penetrate. In hindsight the world system analysis gives us a
narrative of world historical development from the 16 th century to the present, with boundaries,
structures, member groups, rules of legitimation and coherence.

Dependency Theory

The dependency theory explains the economic development

of states. The theory was developed in the 1950s. to explain how
both the development and the underdevelopment of countries are
related in the international system. It in itself is a mixture of various
theories that also include Wallerstein’s world system theory. This
theory simply answers why there are countries that are poor and
some rich. Economically, it argues that neoliberal policies continue
the system of dependence that chain developing countries’ economic
status to the developed countries. This is why developing countries
remain poor. They fit in the mold of the economic hierarchy of the
world economy. The core countries,

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The Contemporary World

1st world countries perpetuate their dominance through resource bondage. Where instead of the practice of
self-help- where developing countries produce goods and resources for themselves, they are economically
coerced through the neoliberal policies and loan conditionalities established by the World Bank, World
Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund. These countries continue to be dependent to the
core countries since synonymously the core countries need the infinite supply of raw material sand cheap
labor that these peripheral countries provide to maintain their economic status.

According to Romanuik (2017) there are three main characteristics of the dependency theory
worth taking note of. First, the international system seen as the sum of two set of states- the dominant and
the dependent. Secondly, the dependency theory holds that external forces are critical in terms of
economic activity of dependent states. Lastly, the relationship of the two is based on historical patterns
and dynamics. The years that followed the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the swift and
extensive process of decolonization could be traced as the roots of state’s dependency. After the Second
World War the United States and the Soviet Union acted as the new leaders of the new world (a world
where there are more independent states liberated from their past masters). Both acted to lead the world
into a new although with opposing ideals in mind. Neocolonialism was the dominating and expanding
ideology of the United States and Socialism for the Soviet Union. Many countries did not follow the
international framework of the United States, rather they pursued the influence of the Soviet Union’s
socialist model. The economic system established by the neocolonial ideology of the United States
explain the continuing structure of relationship between past colonies to their past colonizers. Peripheral
countries become dominated by the foreign interest that originates from core countries. Although
underdevelopment can be overcome, for it to be accomplished, countries need to be disconnected from
the dominance of the core countries and the system or structure that their interest and policies produce.

ASSESSMENT 2

Instruction: In this section of the module, your general knowledge and understanding of the
subject so far will be tested. Please answer the following questions in a 150- word essay. Please
answer each question using the following format- Arial 11,
single-spaced. For those who will receive a printed version of this module please answer the
following in a short bond paper. Indicate the Self-Test #_ and write your name ( Last Name,
First Name , M.I) and your Course and Section .

· Write a short paper (1,000 words min) that addresses the contemporary condition of the
Philippines by applying both the dependency theory and the world system theory. By
doing so, students must apply the theories discussed in this module to shed light on the
present circumstance of the country’s economy. Students are advised to use newspaper
articles to try and make sense of the Philippine’s position in the world economy.

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The Contemporary World

LESSON 2: STRUCTURES OF GLOBALIZATION

UNIT 1: The Globalization of World Economies

Introduction:

We learn that politics, culture, and economy are interconnected. This chapter will focus on the
economic area of globalization and how it came to be. This section will not only focus on the the global
history but apply the theories on the present situation, specifically with the global pandemic we are
experiencing. The discussion will provide how important the economy is. At the same time the discussion
will also focus on the matter of macro (global market) perspective and micro perspective (community
/individuals). The discussion will give the students a clear understanding of the structure of the global
economy and its consequences.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit students must be able to:

1. Define economic globalization

2. Identify the actors that facilitate economic globalization
3. narrate the short history of global market integration in the twentieth century
4. Demonstrate critical thinking in comprehending contemporary realities in light of global
economic relationships.
5. And articulate stance on global economic integration

Sections of the Unit :

1. What is economic globalization?
2. Early historical traces of exchange up to present
3. Economic Globalization today
4. Economic Crisis into Social Crisis

What is economic globalization?

According to Held et. Al (1999), globalization may be thought

of initially as the widening, deepening, and speeding up of worldwide
interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life.
Globalization is best thought of as a multidimensional phenomenon. It
refers to the increasing integration of economies around the world,
particularly through the movement of goods, services, capital and even
people (labor) & knowledge (technology) across borders.
In this discussion’s context these are the important terms and
concepts:
Internationalization- Extension of economic Activities.
Economic Globalization - Integration between dispersed activities. As defined by Szentes, ‘in

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The Contemporary World

economic terms globalization is nothing but a process making the world economy an organic system by
extending transnational economic processes and economic relations to more and more countries and by
deepening the economic interdependencies among them. Nation State is still a relevant factor on
globalization.
Globalization- Globalization is nothing but a process making the world economy an “organic
system”Globalization transforms the national economy into a global one.Globalization is an effective
manager of the national economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) regards “economic globalization” as a historical process
representing the result of human innovation and technological progress (Claudio and Abinales 2018). It
is characterized by increasing integration of economies around the world through movement and
exchange of goods, services and capital. (Claudio and Abinales 2018). Much like globalization, the
definition of integration along with other consequences of it is qualitative and subjective. Are the
increase in Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are good
indicators of the increasing integration? According to the United
Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD), the amount of FDIs flowing across the
world was 57 billion US dollars in 1982, by 2015 that number was 1.76 trillion dollars (Claudio and
Abinales 2018). These dramatic increases in global trade
happened in the span of just a few decades.
Considering the increased speed in exchange and frequency of trading due to technological
advancements, the world is quickly evolving. From songs Compact Disks to MP3 format that you can
download online. Physical exchange was gradually replaced or supplemented by online virtual access. On
the other hand, there is a cultural lag between not only nations but also in the communities that belong to
it. Internet connection is now considered as an essential commodity especially now that everything that
we do is now anchored to the world wide web. In these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, access
to the internet and personal priorities were the problems of a poor student. The discrepancies between the
rich and poor are still significant. This chapter assesses economic globalization and examines who
benefits and who is left out.

Early historical traces of exchange up to present

Gills and Thompson (2006) suggests that globalization processes

have been ongoing since Homo sapiens began migrating from the African
continent ultimately to populate the rest of the world. International
Trading Systems is not new, the oldest known international trade was the
Silk Road – a network of pathways in the ancient world that spanned
from China to what is now the Middle East and to Europe. Traders used
the Silk Road from 130 BCE when the Chinese Han Dynasty opened the
trade to the West up until 1453 BCE when the Ottoman Empire closed it.

However, the Silk Road was not considered “global” because it

had no ocean routes that could reach the American continent. According
to historians Dennis O. Flynn and Arturo Giraldez, “all important
populated continents began to exchange products continuously – both
with each other directly and indirectly
via other continents – and in values sufficient to generate crucial impacts on all trading partners.” Flynn
and Giraldez, trace this back to 1571 when the galleon trade was established, that connected Manila in
Acapulco. This was the first time that the Americas were connected to Asian trading routes.

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The Contemporary World

Important concept: International Monetary System (IMS)-Rules, customs, instruments, facilities, and
organizations for affecting international payments (Salvatore, 2007).Reflects economic power and
interests.

Galleon trade was part of the age of mercantilism. Mercantilism was thus also a part of the global
trade but with multiple restrictions. A more open trade system emerged in 1867, when the United States
and other European nations adopted the gold standard at an international monetary conference in Paris.
Mainly, the goal is to establish a common system that would allow more efficient trade. The countries
established a common basis for currency prices and a fixed exchange rate system – all based on the value
of gold.

The gold standard, despite being the simpler trade, is a very restrictive system, as it compelled
countries to back their currencies with fixed gold reserves. During World War I, many countries were
forced to abandon the gold standard, when they depleted their gold reserves. Since European countries
had low gold reserves, they adopted floating currencies that were no longer redeemable in gold.

Returning to a pure standard became more difficult as

the Great Depression came in the 1920s and extended until up
to the 1930s. This depression was the worst and longest
recession ever experienced by the Western world. Some
economists argued that this was largely caused by the gold
standard, since it limited the amount of circulating money and
therefore, reduced demand and consumption.

Economic historian Barry Eichengreen argues that the

recovery of the United States began when they abandoned the
gold standard and the US government was able to free up
money to spend on reviving their economy. At the height of
World War II, other industrialized countries, other
industrialized countries followed suit.

Though more indirect versions of the gold standard were used until the 1970s, the world never
returned to the gold standard of the early 20th century. Now, the world operates using what is called the
fiat currencies – currencies whose value is determined by their cost relative to other currencies. This
system allows governments to freely and actively manage their economies by increasing or decreasing the
amount of money as they see fit.

Economic Globalization Today

Exports make national economies grow. In the past, the countries who benefited most from the
free trade were the advanced nations that were producing and selling industrial and agricultural goods.
The United States, Japan, and the member-countries of the European Union were responsible for 65
percent of global exports, while developing countries only accounted for 29 percent. More countries
opened up their economies to take advantage of the increased free

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The Contemporary World

trade, which results in higher percentages accumulated by the developing countries. The trade
liberalization has altered the dynamics of the global economy.

In the recent decades, economic globalization has spiked in global growth rates, partly as a result
of the increased exports. According to the IMF, the global per capita GDP rose over five- fold in the
second half of the 20th century.Yet, economic globalization remains an uneven process, with some
countries, corporations, and even individuals are benefitting a lot more than others.

Economic Crisis into Social Crisis

Source(s): Atkinson et.al. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Explained.DK publishing 345 Hudson Street, New
York.

Karl Marx reiterated that capitalist societies are more prone

to economic crises and that this will worsen over time, which will
lead to workers’ revolution. But why is it that when a society falls
in a crisis, a different change in the political climate often follows?

This question was posed by Jurgen Habermas in the early

1970s. Habermas was intrigued by the relationship between
capitalism and crises.

He also suggests that traditional Marxist theories of crisis

tendencies are not applicable to some Western late-capitalist
societies. The reason is because these societies have become more
democratic and have changed significantly because welfare-state
policies, such as free healthcare provision. Also, collective
identities have fragmented and there is increased individualization,
and fewer class-based conflicts.

Although the economic cycles of prosperity and recession continue,

policy measures by nation-states have enabled them to avert major
crises. Unlike earlier capitalist societies, under state-regulated late-
capitalism, the primary site of crisis and conflict has shifted to the
cultural and political spheres. The crisis of modern Western society
is, according to Habermas, one of legitimation. Legitimacy has
become the focal concern because the state, as manager of the “free
market” economy, has simultaneously to solve economic problems,
ensure democracy, and please the voters. If the public feels
government policies are unfair, it withdraws its support for the
government. The state therefore has the difficult task of balancing
the pursuit for capital with maintaining mass support. In other
words, state policies must favor business and property owners while
appearing to represent the interests of

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The Contemporary World

all. This means the conditions exist for government institutions to suffer a large-scale loss of
legitimacy.

If citizens sense that the government is just and benevolent,

then they will show support. If, however, they feel that policies
are not in their interests, people will respond with political
apathy or even large-scale discontent and protests. Given a
threat to the status quo, a government may try to appease its
citizens with short lived social welfare measures.

TERM PAPER 1

Instruction: Students will be tasked to write a critical paper that addresses the contemporary
condition of the Philippines by applying both the economic relations and the status of the country on
battling the COVID-19 Pandemic. How has the world economy and the global pandemic influence
the state of the Philippines’ economy? Please answer each question using the following format-
Arial 11, single-spaced. For those who will receive a printed version of this module please
answer the following in a short bond paper. Indicate the Term Paper #_ and write your name (
Last Name, First Name , M.I) and your Course and Section .

 Supplementary reading (optional):

Policy Paper: The Philippines’ COVID-19 Response: Symptoms of Deeper Malaise in the
Philippine Health Systems (June 2020) by Paul Quintos. https://ncpag.upd.edu.ph/wp-
content/uploads/covid19response.pdf

UNIT 2: Global Politics & Contemporary Global Governance

Introduction:
Governance and Government are usually expressed as synonyms in most dictionaries, indicating
the authority exercised by an institution, state, or organization. However, governance, unlike the
objectively defined institution of the government, is defined more as the process of exercising political,
economic, and administrative authority to manage national or international affairs. It ensures the
distribution of power to manage public resources and provide solutions for existing problems. In this
lesson, we focus on how connectivity or integration of countries occur in globalization and shed light in
the discussion of international order and world government. It puts United Nation as the main platform for
the integration of world leaders in terms of politics, economy, and military affairs. The principal
institution in charge of the process of governance is the United Nations- founded in 1945 in the wake of
the Second World War. The institution was established to limit future conflicts that bring catastrophic
global consequences that endanger the innate rights and dignity of men. The United Nations' primary
mandate is to preserve global security and settle international legal issues that jeopardize the sovereignty
of some Nation States.

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The Contemporary World

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this unit students must be able to:
1. Analyze the dynamics of global politics and governance
2. Explain the drivers of global governance
3. Understand the process of governance and how it influences the relationship of Nation States.
4. Examine the implications of established universal principles to the manner of national
governance.

Sections of the Unit:

1. What is state and nation?

2. The interstate system and internationalism
3. Global governance and the United Nations
4. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

As discussed briefly in Lesson 1, the state and nation are different but highly related to each other. A
state is independent and has sovereignty over its territory while nation is a population having shared
culture, history, territory and more. Sovereignty is a power to control its state externally (its relationship
to other sovereign state) and internally (its relationship to citizens and other governing bodies).
Politics’ Premise
1. There are countries or states that are independent and govern themselves
2. These countries interact with each other through diplomacy
3. There are international organizations, like the UN, that facilitate these interactions (such as UN)
4. International organizations has its own focus on specific sector (ILO, WHO, UNICEF)
The global politics recognize that nation states are sovereign but they opt to participate in the global
community as these international organizations tend to organize interactions between countries to avoid
conflicts.
The International State System
The concept of sovereignty (present-day) can be traced back to Treaty of Westphalia (1648), a set of
agreements to end the Thirty Years’ War between the major continental powers of Europe (Claudio &
Abinales, 2018). A long brutal war between the Catholics and Protestant. The birth of interstate system
avoided wars in the future by recognizing state sovereignty. From then on, state begins to grow in power.
It started in Europe and spread to the rest of the world. Europeans experienced fast development
necessary (tax systems and military power) to spread influence and power around the world. The
expansion of the Interstate system began in Europe, spread globally through imperialism, resulting in over
two hundred states and most existing in poverty.

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The Contemporary World

Internationalism
The internationalism is the desire for greater unity among states and people. It comes in two different
forms:

Liberal Internationalism – it offers orderliness Socialist Internationalism - the greatest

and protection, without a form of world happiness of all nations taken together.
government, international system would be
chaotic.
◾ Immanuel Kant – likened states in a ◾ Karl Marx – economic equality
global system ◾ Joseph Stalin – Communist
◾ Kant imagined a form of global International Bureau
government.
◾ Jeremy Bentham – creation of
international law for inter-state
relations.
◾ Giuseppe Mazzini – system of free
nations that cooperated with each
other to create an international
system
◾ Woodrow Wilson – prominent
advocate for the creation of the
League of Nations.

The liberal advocates for participative global community where integration for politics and economy is
highly encourage while the socialist advocates for economic equality. They do not problematize the
divided nations as it is not a problem for them, their main concern is the economic division of people. For
the post-war period, liberal internationalism would once again prosper and the best evidence to this is the
United Nations as the center of global governance. The first attempt to build a global system is the
creation of League of Nations at the end of World War I. American President Woodrow Wilson is highly
associated in the formation of League of Nations. Although he was advocating for the formation of it, he
was not able to join the league the moment it was formed due to opposition of the Senate.

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The Contemporary World

The Global Governance

Governance is the action or the manner of governing. In the contemporary global governance, there is no
one organization that various states are accountable to follow and more likely no organization can
militarily force a state to follow the global rules. But there are, somehow, existing general behavior of
states such as following navigational route and recognizing respective territorial boundaries. If they would
not, it will be a global concern. Maintaining the international order is by following the global norms
despite the lack of holistic single world government. Global governance is the different intersecting
processes that create this order.
Sources of Global Governance

International Organizations refers to international intergovernmental organizations or groups that are

primarily made up of member states (e.g. United Nations). IOs can become influential as an independent
organization. They are merely a union of various state interest and that is where the conflict occurs.
Powers of IOs (from Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore):
• Power of Classification (e.g. urban vs. rural in which affects the salary rate, and land value
of a place)
• Power to fix meanings (e.g. setting the spread of the virus from outbreak to pandemic in which
the countries rely their response)
• Power to diffuse norms (e.g. declaring the use of mask as not important if you are not
exposed to an infected person)
IOs can create great good or great harm. They can promote relevant norms such as environmental
protection and human rights while turning an eye to the communities that challenge their beliefs.
The United Nations
It was not perfect but so far it achieved its primary goal of preventing another global war.
Five Active Organs:
1. The General Assembly
2. Security Council
3. Economic and Social Council
4. Trusteeship Council

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The Contemporary World

5. International Court of Justice

The General Assembly
 ”main deliberative policymaking and representative organ”
 annually elects GA President to serve a one-year term
 all member states (currently at 193) have seats in the GA.
 Philippines played a prominent role when Carlos P. Romulo was elected
(1949-1950)
 Although GA is the most representative organization, Security Council is
considered to be the most powerful
Security Council

 Consists of 15 member states

 GA elects 10 of these 15 to two-year terms
 Other 5 (sometimes referred to as permanent 5 (P5)) are China, France, Russia, United Kingdom
& United States
Security Council’s P5
• Each country holds veto power over the council’s decisions. It only takes one veto vote from a
P5 member to stop an SC action dead in its tracks.
• Russia has threatened to veto any SC resolution against Syria
• United States sought to Iraq in 2001, claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass
destruction (WMS) that threatened the world. UN vetoed the resolution for intervention.
There were no WMS.
IOs can be an effective tool in meddling global problems but it can also turn it backs on the major global
issues of today if it has conflict of interest in dominant countries. That is why this contemporary
governance is not an end point, and UN was never perfect governing body for global community, but it is
recognized because of its eminent role. International institutions like the UN are always in precarious
position in global governance. We knew that they are composed of several sovereign states which makes
them a collective group, but they are also an organization with their own rationalities and agendas creating
conflict on their own interests.

Defending Dignity: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (From: Amnesty International)
Source(s): The following are resources gathered verbatim to a short course offered by Amnesty International

One of the accomplishments of the end of the barbarous Second World was that the need to
consider human rights to be universally respected was recognized to be important. The extermination of
almost 17 million people during the Holocaust horrified the entire world. After the war, governments
worldwide made a concentrated effort to foster international peace and prevent conflict This resulted to
the establishment of the United Nations in June1945. In 1948, representatives from the 50 member
states of the United Nations came together under the

40
The Contemporary World

guidance of Eleanor Roosevelt (Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly) to devise a list of all
the human rights that deserve universal protection in order for every individual to live their life freely,
equally and in dignity. Two of the chief drafters of the Declaration were Charles Malik from Lebanon and
Peng Chun Chang from China. Women from a range of countries played a crucial role in shaping the
Declaration, including Minerva Bernardino from the Dominican Republic, Hansa Mehta from India and
Begum Shaista Ikramullah from Pakistan. The drafting committee of the Declaration and the Human
Rights Commission that contributed to the development of the Declaration further consisted of members
from France, India, the former Soviet Union, Chile, Australia, United Kingdom and Canada.
On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a revolutionary new
document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human Rights were not invented in December
1948. The need for security, dignity and freedom is part of human nature, and the idea that those in power
have an obligation to respect and realize these needs has been around for hundreds of years. What made
the Declaration of 1948 truly revolutionary was that the UN member states acknowledged that all human
beings, all over the world and without any discrimination, were born with the same, indivisible human
rights that deserved international protection, and all nations and every people had a right and a duty to
stand up for the rights of everybody else.
1. Right to Equality (Article 1): All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. We are
all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way. The
notion of human dignity and freedom is the very essence of the Declaration.
2. Right to Life, Liberty and Personal Security (Article 3): We all have the right to life, and to live in
freedom and safety. The right to life is the prerequisite for the enjoyment of all other human rights.
3. Freedom from torture and other ill-treatment (Article 5): Nobody shall be subjected to torture or
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Freedom from torture is an absolute right and can never be
taken away from us. Torture is considered as one of the most severe human rights violations and a
gruesome attack on our dignity as human beings.
4. Right to recognition as a person before the law (Article 6): We are all entitled to all human rights
and we all have the same right to use the law wherever we go. Being recognized as a person before the
law enables us to enjoy and exercise the rights tied to our dignity. To put it simply, Article 6 is “the right
to have rights”.
5. Right to privacy (Article 12): Privacy enables us to protect our dignity from unjust interference in our
lives by states or any other power holders. It enables us to determine who we are and how we want to
engage with others.
6. Right to social order (Article 28): We have a right to a social and international order in which we
can all enjoy our human rights. States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill our rights and
create a society that preserves the dignity of everyone.
7. Freedom from interference in these human rights (Article 30): Nobody, no government,
company, individual or group can take away the rights and freedoms from us.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights relates to all aspects of our lives, whether it is work,
education, health, food or housing. When human rights are respected, they often go unnoticed and only
become visible when they are being denied.
Important Issues Addressed by the Declaration

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The Contemporary World

1. People should receive equal pay for equal work regardless of their gender

- Art. 1 (Right to Equality)

- Art. 2 (Right to Non-discrimination)
- Art. 23 (Right to Work)
2. People who have to flee their country because of war or persecution should be able to seek
shelter
- Art. 14 (Right to seek asylum)
- Art. 13 (Freedom of Movement)
- Art. 25 (Right to Food and Shelter)
3. When People Love each other they should be able to express it and marry
- Art. 2 (Right to Non-discrimination)
- Art. 16 (Right to Family life)
- Art. 19 (Freedom of Expression)
4. Children should be able to play and sing, grown ups should be able to have a break from work

- Art. 25 (Right to Health)

- Art. 2 (Right to Non-discrimination)
- Art. 22 (Right to Social security
5. People should be allowed to play music, read books, dance or engage in other cultural activities
- Art. 24 (Right to Leisure)
- Art. 22 (Right to Social security & Culture)
- Art. 19 (Freedom of Expression)

Human Rights in your Every Day Life

Article 25: Right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being. When I buy food and
clothes, and have a place to sleep
Article 3: Right to life and to live in freedom and safety. When I walk freely in my town without fearing
for my life
Article 19: Right to freedom of expression. When I post issues, I’m interested in on social media.
Article 23: Right to work and form or join trade unions. When I get the same salary as other people
doing the same job as me
Article 12: Right to privacy. When I know the information I provide to websites I use is not going to be
shared with other
Article 26: Right to education. When I am able to attend school
Principles of Human Rights
Interdependent and Indivisible: All human rights in the Universal Declaration have equal standing.
There is no hierarchy of human rights. The guarantee of one human right facilitates

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the guarantee of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one human right often causes the violation of
others.
Inalienable: Human rights are unconditional and do not have to be bought, inherited or earned. Human
rights cannot be taken away, renounced or exchanged – no one has the right to deprive another person of
their rights or to give up their rights for any reason.
Universal: All human beings, everywhere in the world, have human rights. While the significance of
national, regional and cultural particularities must be kept in mind, it is the duty of all states to promote
and protect all human rights. Rights belong to and are to be enjoyed by all human beings without
distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex or language, religion, political and other opinion, national
or social origin, property, birth or other stature. In other words, human rights belong to everyone. More
so, it means that it must be internationally recognized that human rights are the basic core minimum to be
observed everywhere.
The Notion of Equality
Right to Equality (Article 1): Without equality there FACTS ABOUT GLOBAL INEQUALITY
cannot be justice. If people are viewed as “less than”
*The richest 1% is twice as wealthy as the
others it opens doors to further discrimination, and poorest 50% (World Inequality Report 2018,
communities without equality are more likely to World Wealth and Income Database)
suffer additional human rights violations.
• Only 22.8 per cent of all national
Freedom from Discrimination (Article 2): parliamentarians were women as of June 2016
Regardless of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, (UNWOMEN)
gender identity, religion or belief, ethnicity, disability,
• More than 1 in 5 young persons are not in
age, political opinion, nationality, language or any other employment, education or training (NEET). 3 out
status, we deserve to be treated equally. Freedom of 4 of these are women (ILO)
from discrimination is
• 19.5% of the world’s children (387 million) live in
important in every community because it shapes the extreme poverty ($1.90 a day) compared to just
relationships that exist between individuals and power 9.2% of adults (UNICEF)
holders.
• 57% of refugees today are from just three
Right to equality before the law (Art. 7): The law is countries, Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan
the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly. Every (UNHCR, Global Trends Report 2018)
human being is different, but we are all equal
• In the least developed countries, barely 60% of
before the law.
girls complete primary school and just 30% enroll
Right to seek asylum (Article. 14): If we are being in secondary school (UNWOMEN)
persecuted in our community or country for who we are,
• Globally, 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have
we all have the right to go to another country and ask for
experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate
protection as a refugee. partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in
Right to adequate living standard (Article 25): Right their lifetime (WHO, 2017)
to adequate living standard (Article. 25): We all have the
• Children in sub-Saharan Africa will be 10 times
right to an adequate standard of living, including food, more likely to die before their fifth birthdays than
clothing, housing, and healthcare. Mothers and children, children in high-income countries (UNICEF)
people without work, old people and persons living with
• 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing
disabilities all have the right to receive special care. countries. (WHO)
Right to education (Article. 26): We all have the right
to an education, and to primary school, which •Average life expectancy in Central African
Republic is less than 55 years old compared to 80
years old in Japan. (WHO, World Health
Statistics, 2018)

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The Contemporary World

should be free. At school, we should be able to develop all our talents and learn to respect others,
whatever their race, religion or nationality.
Right to Participate in cultural life of the community (Article. 27): We have the right to participate in
the traditions and learnings of our community, to enjoy the arts and to benefit from scientific progress.
 Responsibilities to the community (Art. 29): We have a duty to other people, and we should
protect their rights and freedoms in our communities and beyond

Participation and Social Inclusion

Our rights to participate in decision making processes and shape our societies is key to further
developing the rights enshrined in the Declaration and crucial to fulfilling the promise to ensure all of us
live free from want and fear. Below are some of the rights that enable people to participate in and
influence the processes and decisions which affect their lives.

1. Freedom from slavery (Article. 4): Under no circumstance can a human being be enslaved or perform
forced labor. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone else our slave. A truly
fair and inclusive society must be free of slavery, servitude, forced labor and trafficking. Slavery is the
most severe form of social exclusion.

2. Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article. 18): We all have the right to believe
in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want, and to manifest it in public or
private. We also have a right not to profess any religion or belief. No one can be compelled to reveal his
or her thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief, nor interfere with our own choices.

3. Freedom of opinion and expression (Article 19): Without being able to freely receive, seek and
impart information, we cannot form an opinion and make informed decisions, engage in public debate or
share our thoughts and concerns. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like,
to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people wherever they live, through books, radio,
television and in other ways.

4. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (Article. 20): When people join forces, they can hold
governments to account, draw attention to an issue and stand up against power-holders that commit
human rights abuses. We all have the right to group with others and to work peacefully together to defend
and promote human rights and shape our societies accordingly.

5. The right to participate in public affairs (Article. 21): Being able to choose who represents us in
government, or being able to be part of the government ourselves, is essential to shape our societies and
influence decisions that affect us.

6. Right to work and to form and join trade unions (Article. 23): Every grown up has the right to a
job, to get a fair wage for their work, to have just and favorable conditions of work and to join or form a
trade union. Being a part of a trade union allows for workers to unite and have collective power to make
their voices heard. Participating in a trade union allows workers to enjoy fair treatment in the workplace.
Employers can not penalize you for participating in trade union activities or for trade union memberships
nor force you to join a particular trade union.

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The Contemporary World

Crucial Elements of a Participatory Society

1. Free and Independent Press: A participatory society allows opinions, ideas and information to flow
freely through various media, newspaper, radio, blogs and social media.

2. Participation in Decision Making: Ensure that all people can take part in the conduct of public
affairs and have effective opportunities to make their voices heard. The right to political participation
and to take part in government is protected by the UDHR and is an essential element of inclusive
society
3. Independent and Impartial Court: Every person whose rights have been violated, including their
right to non-discrimination, has the right to an effective remedy. And anyone who is accused of a crime
has the right to a fair trial. Independent and impartial courts are crucial for this, and thus they should not
be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan
interests. This is to ensure that the judiciary is impartial and independent of all external pressures so that
those who appear before them and the wider public can have the confidence that their cases will be
decided fairly and in accordance with the law.

Local Implication
Source(s): Dannug, Roman D.(2005) Politics and Governance C&E Publishing, Inc & Sarmiento, Rene
V. (2014) Human Rights Law, Human Rights Culture Quezon City : Rex Printing Company, Inc

1987 Constitutions contains an Incorporation Clause found in its Article II, Section 2, stating, "
the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy adopts the generally accepted principles
of international laws as part of the land...." This clause made possible the application in the Philippines of
the human rights principles stated in the International Bill of Rights (composed of the three- Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights).
The preamble to the declaration is important because it refers to the concept of inherent human dignity
and one inalienable human rights as the philosophical sources of the declaration and inspiration for
further development of human rights. The preamble calls for inter-cultural consensus by indicating that, a
common understanding of the rights and freedom is of the greatest importance for the full realization" of
the pledge of members of the united nations which if the promotion of universal respect for and
observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Conceptualizing Social Justice

Source(s): Dannug, Roman D.(2005) Politics and Governance C&E Publishing, Inc & Sarmiento, Rene
V. (2014) Human Rights Law, Human Rights Culture Quezon City : Rex Printing Company, Inc

Social justice is not defined in the 1987 constitution. What commissioner Teresa, chairperson of
the committee on social justice in the 1986 constitutional commission, said that social justice is the
centerpiece of the 1987 constitution and rights, dignity, and participation remain illusory without social
justice. It was Jose P. Laurel in Calalang vs. Williams (70 Phil.726) who defined social justice as, "
neither communism nor despotism, not atomism, nor anarchy, but the humanization of laws and the
equalization of social and economic forces by the state so that justice in its rationale and objective lee
secular conception may at least be approximated.

ASSESSMENT 3
Instruction: Search for more UN activities/decisions and discuss its advantages and
disadvantages.

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The Contemporary World

Event Advantages Disadvantages

1.

2.

Supplementary reading/material (optional):

● Esmaquel II, Paterno (2016) “Philippines wins case vs China” Rappler
https://www.rappler.com/nation/137202-philippines-china-ruling-case-west-
philippine-sea
● Santos, Matikas (2016) “PH win arbitration case over South China Sea”
Inquirer.Net https://globalnation.inquirer.net/140358/philippines-arbitration-
decision-maritime-dispute-south-china-sea-arbitral-tribunal-unclos-itlos
● Williams, Robert D. (2016) “ Tribunal Issues Landmark Ruling in South China Sea
Aritration” Lawfare https://www.lawfareblog.com/tribunal-issues-landmark- ruling-
south-china-sea-arbitration

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The Contemporary World

LESSON 3: THE WORLD OF REGIONS

The Global North and South Introduction
What is Regionalism and why is it important to understand in a Globalizing world?
There is an idiom: There is strength in numbers. In this discussion, formation of Regions and Regionalism
will be tackled. From each basic feature, formation, and the significance of its continuing existence in the
era of globalization. This lesson will try to merge the previous lessons regarding the political, social, and
economic factors that inspired the countries into forming these regional alliances.
Further, this lesson will discuss the new emerging form of Regionalism that identify alliances based on its
causes rather than geographic location.
Learning Objectives
Students are expected to learn the following, by the end of this lesson:
1. Able to differentiate the State Regionalism with Non-State Regionalism
2. Understand historical events that inspired the countries to form these alliances
3. Explain the significance of keeping the regions in the era of globalization
Sections of the Unit:

1. Defining Regionalism 2.
What Are Regions?

Defining Regionalism
Source(S): Claudio, Lisandro E. (2014) “Locating the Global South” The Sage Handbook of Globalization

From the previous lessons, you understand the processes and impacts of Globalization. From the aspect of
the political to the economic aspect, globalization seemed to identify each country as a player in this
worldwide phenomenon. If you understood globalization as a seemingly formal conference table with
each country representatives shaking hands with one another, then you understood globalization in an
optimistic manner with free trade and free market as its foundation. But for this lesson, I need you to
imagine globalization as a stadium of a fight, or stadium of performances. There is this certainty that there
will be losing country (usually those who do not have as many resources and machineries as others), and
there will be a winning country (those who have the means to innovate success).
With that in mind, Regionalism was established by groups of neighboring countries as a way of coping in
the “stadium of performances/fight” or the Globalization.
Regionalism is a political and economic phenomenon. You can disaggregate the motivations of a
particular phenomenon whether it was established through similar identities, ethics, religion, ecological
sustainability, or health. Further, it is also a process. Forming of Regionalism is not inevitable, it is not a
“natural process” in society. Formation of regionalism is observed to be inspired by socially emergent
issues that needs to be addressed. Regionalism is constructed and defined by policymakers (Claudio &
Abinales, 2018:50).
For further definition of Regionalism, this is its definition from the World Atlas:
Regionalism is defined as a political ideology that favors a specific region over a greater area. It usually
results due to political separations, religious geography, cultural boundaries, linguistic

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regions, and managerial divisions. Regionalism emphasizes on developing the administrative power and
swaying the available or some inhabitants of a region. Activists of regionalism claim that instituting the
governing bodies and civil authorities within an area, at the expense of a national regime, will
significantly increase local populations by improving the local economies through the distribution of
resources and execution of local policies and strategies.1
What are Regions?
• Basic features:
• A group of countries located in the same geographically specified area
• Regionalization vs. Regionalism
• Regionalization – regional concentration of economic flows
• Regionalism – political process characterized by economic policy cooperation and
coordination among countries
Why form Regions?
A way of coping with globalization – this does not only apply on the small lesser developed countries.
Forming alliances between neighboring countries is also a tactic used by the developed countries in terms
of protecting or solidifying their strengths. Following alliances with different motivations are briefly
discussed below:
For military defense
• Example: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Formed during the Cold War when
several Western European countries plus the United States agreed to protect Europe against
the threat of the Soviet Union...The Soviet Union imploded in December 1991, but NATO
remains in place (Claudio & Abinales, 2018:52).
For pooling of resources
• Example: OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) [In order to] get better
returns for their exports, as well as expand their leverage against trading partners, [and]
regulate the production and sale of oil…Iran, Iraq, Kuwait Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela…
established OPEC in 1960 (Claudio & Abinales, 2018:52).
To protect a country’s independence from the pressures of superpower politics
• Example: NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) …Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and Yugoslavia
created the NAM in 1961 to pursue world peace and international cooperation, human rights
national sovereignty, racial and national equality, non- intervention, and peaceful conflict
resolution (Claudio & Abinales, 2018:52).
To mitigate economic crisis
• 1997 Asian Financial Crisis The International Monetary Fund (IMF) tried to reverse the
crisis, but it was only after the ASEAN countries along with China, Japan, and South Korea
agreed to establish an emergency fund to anticipate a crisis that the Asian economies
stabilized. The crisis made ASEAN more “unified and coordinated” (Claudio & Abinales,
2018:53).

1
https://www.worldatlas.com/what-is-regionalism.html

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The Contemporary World

What is a Non-State Regionalism?

• Also called as the “New regionalism”
• Unlike with the first part of the discussion having the basic feature of forming a Regions is
the geographic location, with Non-State Regionalism, countries actually form an alliance
based on their common motivations regardless of their geographic proximity.
• The way they identify problems may:
• Differ as to form
• Tiny associations vs. huge continental unions
• Non-state regionalism is relatively as a smaller association compared to many
established regions before them. Participating countries in non-state regions may be
less compared to the participating countries in established alliance created before
them.
• Differ as to tactics and strategies
• Working with the government vs. Not working with the government
• Non-state regionalism may also have a relatively difficult budget source compared to
alliances established before them.
• Differ as to causes
• Specialized and general
What are contemporary challenges to regionalism?
• Resurgence of militant nationalism and populism
• For example, Trump’s standpoint regarding NATO does nothing for America any more
than taking advantage of the military resources; the urge to dismantle these alliances.
• Continuing economic crisis
• #Brexit – Amid the worsening economic crisis, Britain finally aimed for a more flexible
economic transactions that the European Union alliance was limiting them for the longest
time.
• Sovereignty vs. Regional stability
• Take for example the China and Philippine territorial dispute. Even the international ruling
favored the Philippines, votes and statements from fellow ASEAN countries were about
pursuing diplomacy over confrontation against China.
• Differing visions of what regionalism should be for
• Singapore, China, and Russia are some of the countries that are not in favor of this
democratic style of decision-making. The lengthy debate before an economic policy rolls
out simply means a delayed in probable economic growth.

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The Contemporary World

TERM PAPER 2

Instruction: Students will be tasked to write a critical paper that addresses the contemporary
condition of the Philippines by applying both the economic relations and the status of the country on
battling the COVID-19 Pandemic. How has the world economy and the global pandemic influence
the state of the Philippines’ economy? Please answer each question using the following format-
Arial 11, single-spaced. For those who will receive a printed version of this module please
answer the following in a short bond paper. Indicate the Term Paper #_ and write your name
(Last Name, First Name, M.I) and your Course and Section.

 Creative thinking: Situate one (1) of the Philippines contemporary (social/ political/
economic) issues. Assess and outline the root cause of this problem and create a new
regionalism. Propose the ideal countries to have an alliance with, in line with the chosen
problem. Justify how this created alliance will resolve the chosen problem. This policy report
should consist of not more than 1,500 words.

LESSON 4 CONTEMPORARY FORMS OF CONNECTIVITY

Unit 1: Religion and Globalization

Introduction

Religion is one of the binding forms of networks that have intensified people’s sense of
community across the world. The study of religion involves the study of religious practices, customs,
beliefs, and rituals in the context of social structures such as -religious institutions, education, community,
and family. The class will learn how the distinct belief systems embedded in distinct forms of religion
bind people together across different areas of the world. It is a significant phenomenon to examine since it
illustrates how globalization has transformed the contemporary world through these forms of
connectivity.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit students must be able to:
1. Understand Religion as a social system that binds people together
2. Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs
3. Understand how globalization changes the religious landscape of the contemporary world

Sections of the Unit:

1. What is Religion
2. Connection between religion and economic structures
3. Religion and Globalism and its realities
4. Religion and Globalization
5. The Global Religious Change Landscape

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The Contemporary World

What is Religion?
Source(s): Durkheim, Émile, 1858-1917. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, a Study in
Religious Sociology. London : New York :G. Allen & Unwin; Macmillan, 1915. & Claudio, L. E., &
Abinales, P. N. (2018) The Contemporary world. South Triangle, Q.C.C & E Publishing, Inc.

According to Emile Durkheim, ” religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral
community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.”
There are three elements in defining religion.
● Beliefs that some things are sacred, set apart from the ordinary things
● Practices (rituals) centering on the things considered sacred
● A moral community (a church) resulting from a group’s beliefs and practices.
There are two types of church: The literal church (the structure), and the Church with one moral
community.
Durkheim has three main findings in his study of Religion.

● That the world’s religions are so varied that they have no specific belief or practice in
common.
● That all religions develop a community centering on their beliefs and practices.
● That all religions separate the sacred from the profane

What is Sacred and Profane

• Sacred represented the interests of the group, especially unity, which were embodied in
sacred group symbols, or totems. An aspect of life having to do with the supernatural that
inspires awe, reverence, deep respect, even fear.
• Profane, on the other hand, involved mundane individual concerns or aspects of life that are
not concerned with religion or religious purposes but, instead, are part of the ordinary aspects
of everyday life.
For example: CASE STUDY: India’s Sacred Cow.
In India they treat cows as sacred, why? They used Cow as a main source of living, killing a cow is a
taboo especially female cow. It gives them livelihood. Cow serves as a symbol of wealth, strength,
and abundance.
Read “India’s Sacred Cow” by Marvin Harris
Connection between religion and economic structures

In the book of Max Weber, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber (1904/1958) theorized
that the Roman Catholic belief system encouraged followers to hold on to their traditional ways of life,
while the Protestant belief system encouraged its members to embrace change. Roman Catholics were
taught that because they were Church members they were on the road to heaven, but Protestants, those of
the Calvinist tradition, were told that they would not know if they were saved until Judgment Day.
Uncomfortable with this, the Calvinists began to look for a “sign” that they were in God’s will. They
found this “sign” in financial success, which they took as a blessing that indicated that God was on their
side. To bring about this “sign” and receive spiritual comfort, they began to live frugal lives, saving their
money and investing it in

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order to make even more. This, said Weber, brought about the birth of capitalism (Henslin, 2015).
Protestant ethic as to describe the ideal of a self–denying, highly moral life accompanied by thrift and
hard work and Spirit of Capitalism Weber’s term for the desire to accumulate capital—not to spend it,
but as an end in itself—and to constantly reinvest it.
Religion and Globalism
Religion has the most difficult relationship with globalism. Globalism as widespread belief among
powerful people that the global integration of economic markets is beneficial for everyone, abides by
human made laws and Religion as a divine commandment. Religion is concerned with our sacred beliefs
and globalism on our material wealth.
Religion Globalism
• A Divine Entity that defines and judges’ • A globalist is not worried whether he
human action in moral terms, will end up in hell or heaven.
what is good or bad.
• Religious people are less concerned • Globalism deals with how much of
with wealth and all that comes along human action can lead to the highest
with it. material satisfaction and subsequent
wisdom that this new status produces
• When a religious person aspires to be a • The globalist trains to be a shrewd
saint. businessperson.
• Religious people are ascetic because they • Globalists deals more in the seal trade,
avoid anything material for simplicity. raise the profits of private enterprises,
From what clothes should be worn and improve government revenue
food to eat. collections, protect the elites form being
excessively taxed by the
state and naturally enrich themselves.

The main duty of Religious person is to live morally upright to be assured of a place other than this world
( ex: Heaven) and the globalist values politics and humanity as both means and ends to open up further
the economies of the world.
As religion and globalism clash, Religious evangelization itself is a form of globalization.
For example, how Islam and Christianity spread their words to the world.
The religious are concerned with spreading holy ideas globally, while the globalist wishes to spread goods
and services.
Realities in Religion
Peter Berger argues that the contemporary world is … furiously religious. There are veritable explosions
of religious fervor, occurring in one form of another in all the major religious traditions like Christianity,
Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and in many places’ imaginative syntheses of one or more world
religious with indigenous faiths. `
Religions are the foundations of modern republics, for example, in Malaysia the government places
religion at the center of the political system. Also, Religious movements do not hesitate to appropriate
secular themes and practices, like in Indonesia, the moderate Muslim association Nahdlatul Ulama has
Islamic School where students are taught not only about Islam but also about modern science, the social
science, modern banking, civic education, rights of women, pluralism, and democracy.

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The Contemporary World

Religion has been at the very center of all great political conflicts and movements of social reform, from
independence to abolition, from nativism to women’s suffrage, from prohibition to the civil rights
movement, religion has always been at the center of these conflicts.

Religion and Globalization

Globalization less as an obstacle and more as an opportunity to expand and spread to reach all
over the world. Globalization has freed communities from the constraints of the nation- state but in the
process, it threatens to destroy the cultural system that binds them together. For example, Religion as a
form of solidarity, as Ferdinand Tonnies analyzed the fundamental shifts in relationship, Gemeinschaft
as type of society in which life is intimate; a community in which everyone knows everyone else and
people share a sense of togetherness, sharing similar beliefs and practices, has a traditional ties in the
community. And in contrast, Gesellschaft, a type of society that is dominated by impersonal
relationships, individual accomplishments, and self- interest. Religion seeks to take the place of these
broken “traditional ties'' to either help communities cope with their new situation, a Gesellschafts type of
society or organize them to oppose this major transformation of their lives and remain Gemeinschaft type
of society.
Religion can provide the “moral codes” answering problems like people’s health and personal happiness.
Religion is not the regressive force that stops or slows globalization, it is a pro-active force that gives
communities a new and powerful basis of identity. It is an instrument with which religious people can put
their mark in the reshaping of this globalizing world.
Religious fundamentalism may dislike globalizations materialism, Fundamentalism as a form of religion
that upholds belief in the interpretation of scripture. But with globalization it continues to use the full
range of modern means of communications and organizations that is associated with economic
transformation, which enabled the spread of almost promiscuous propagation of religious forms across the
globe in all sorts of directions. Religious Fundamentalism is the result of the spread of globalization; both
find ways to benefit or take advantage of each other.

The Global Religious Change Landscape

• Muslims are the fastest-growing major religious group, largely because they have the highest
fertility rate and the youngest population. As a result, the Muslim population is expected to
increase from 1.6 billion people (23% of the world’s population as of 2010) to 2.76 billion
people (30% of all people in 2050). At mid-century, Muslims will nearly equal Christians –
the world’s largest religious group – in size.
• The share of the world’s population that is Christian is expected to remain steady (at about
31%), but the regional distribution of Christians is forecast to change significantly. Nearly
four-in-ten Christians (38%) are projected to live in sub-Saharan Africa in 2050, an increase
from the 24% who lived there in 2010. And the percentage of the world’s Christians living in
Europe – which fell from 66% in 1910 to 26% in 2010 – will continue to decline, to roughly
16% in 2050.
• The number of religiously unaffiliated people, also known as religious “nones,” is increasing
in places such as the United States and Europe, and we project continued growth. Globally,
however, the opposite is true: The unaffiliated are expected
to decrease as a share of the world’s population between 2010 and 2050 (from 16% to 13%).
This is attributable mostly to the relatively old age and low fertility rates of large populations
of religious “nones” in Asian countries, particularly China and Japan.

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The Contemporary World

• In the United States, Christians will decline from more than three-quarters of the population
in 2010 to two-thirds in 2050, with corresponding rises of religious “nones” as well as
Muslims, Hindus and others. At mid-century, Judaism will no longer be the largest non-
Christian religion in the U.S.: Muslims are projected to be more numerous than people who
identify as Jewish based on religion.
• Buddhists, concentrated in Asia, are expected to have a stable population (of just under
500 million) while other religious groups are projected to grow. As a
result, Buddhists will decline as a share of the world’s population (from 7% in 2010 to 5%
2050).
• Indonesia is currently home to the world’s largest Muslim population, but that is
expected to change. By 2050, the study projects India to be the country with the largest
number of Muslims – more than 310 million – even though Hindus will continue to make
up a solid majority of India’s population (77%), while Muslims remain a minority (18%).
Indonesia will have the third-largest number of Muslims, with Pakistan ranking second.
• The farther into the future we look, the more uncertainty exists, which is why the
projections stop at 2050. But if they are extended into the second half of this century,
the projections forecast Muslims and Christians to be roughly equal in number around
2070, with Muslims the slightly larger group after that year.
Read: The Changing Global Religious Landscape by Pew Research Center (Link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1luwz3R_y6F2V_uOc3LNhU6lIrUiZlO_6?usp=sharing )

With all the changes in Religion because of Globalization, between religious and globalist, differences,
and struggles, one is true that Religion is here to stay, it is within society and every one of us. As
changes take place, Religion remains.
Supplementary reading/material (optional):

● Read “India’s Sacred Cow” by Marvin Harris

● Watch Why Are Cows Sacred in India? (Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvjle50pByg)
and Do Hindus Worship Cows? - Hindu Beef Taboo Explained (Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ReneZkyGHI ).
● Read: The Changing Global Religious Landscape by Pew Research Center

ASSESSMENT 4

Instruction: In this section of the module, your general knowledge and understanding of the subject so
far will be tested. Please answer the following question.

1. In your own understanding in Religion and Globalization, what is the current state of Religion in the
Philippines. You can use your observation in your religion as an example.

2. Essay (500 words): Using the Pew Research Center’s research, explain how the changing religious
landscape expresses the condition of the globalizing world.

UNIT 2: Media and Globalization

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The Contemporary World

Introduction:
In the previous lessons, it is given that globalization is a process which is currently occurring as of now.
On its impact, it is easily seen in culture and technology. With the movies from Hollywood and Pop songs
from South Korea that circulates across the globe, people now can explore various cultures and way of
living in the world. The development of technology even made way for more accessible in food industry.
Foods from the other country is not anymore exclusive to them such as McDonalds from United States
dominates the world food chain and the obsession to South Korean’s Samgyeopsal. In this lesson, we
tackle more of the development of media and culture in the globalizing world.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this unit students must be able to:
1. Analyze how global integration form through various media
2. Explain the process between local and global cultural production
3. Derive cultural consumption and consumer pattern from the impact of globalization in media

Sections of the Unit:

1. What is media?
2. What is global village and imagined community?
3. Impact of globalization in media and culture

It can be true that globalization fueled the spread of values culture, but it can also be true that via media,
globalization was pushed through. By any means, such as oral, script, print, electronic, and digital, media
influenced globalization and even the way of living of the people. With the invention of the television,
people start sitting around their homes just watching the pictures and stories across the globe. The global
village, an imagined community, emerged merely because of the television. People start seeing how other
people live, eat, or work as if we knew everyone without seeing each other face to face. They imagined
themselves acting the things other people do. Since then, the interaction of cultures was intensified than
ever before. Lule (2012) claimed that we cannot imagine globalization occurring without the media which
is crucial to human life.
Media, as defined by Lule (2014), is “a means of conveying something, such as a channel of
communication”. Medium is the plural word and it is the technologies of mass communication. As we
have mentioned above, globalization enabled the large amount of interaction of cultures and it tends to
influence each other. In the Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange of Jan Nederveen Pieterse (2004:
41–58 cited in Lule, 2014) argues that there are actually three aspects to consider the influence of
globalization on culture:
 Cultural differentialism - suggests that cultures are different, strong, and resilient. It can
suggest that cultures are destined to clash as globalization continually brings them together
 Cultural convergence - suggests that globalization will bring about a growing sameness of
cultures. A global culture, likely American culture, some fear, will overtake many local
cultures, which will lose their distinctive characteristics.

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The Contemporary World

 ‘cultural imperialism’, in which the cultures of more developed nations ‘invade’ and take
over the cultures of less developed nations. (homogenized)
● Cultural hybridity – suggests that globalization will bring about an increasing blending or
mixture of cultures.
With the greater amount of interaction of cultures due to globalization, the term glocalization
existed. It specifies for the media and globalization as the facts of life in local cultures (Lule, 2014).
Media’s role in glocalization
o Site – i.e. American Idol
o Agents – i.e. KPop music spread globally through television, radios and magazines,
Philippine starts producing girl/boy band group

Korean song’s fame from Psy’s Gangnam Style craze

Surely, local culture was the result of multiple interactions with the other previous culture. Influencing
the local culture, in the times of globalization, is inevitable.
How media affect societies?
 Extend and amputate human senses – dulled our capacity to remember because of digital
development; with this development, people can now communicate easily but with lesser
intimacy.
 Creation of “global village”
 Homogenization of culture – as culture tend to homogenize, the spread of dominant culture
(e.g. American hegemony could create cultural imperialism where their values and culture is
spread and even manifested in consumer patterns nowadays as if it was dictated by the
Americans to them.)
 Cultural imperialism is criticized because consumers/audiences are active participants
and stressed that they are not passive thinkers in accepting/watching media messages.
Also, not all of the popculture refers to American culture, such as Hello Kitty, Pokemon,
and Korean novelas, this was due to Renewed strength of regional trends in the
globalization process.
 Democratization of access – knowledge can now easily access even using a smart phone.
 “Cyberbalkanization” – eco chambers (e.g. people tend to make their own world by hiding
some post from their news feed. With this, people prevent other users from listening to or
opinions and information that challenges their viewpoints, thus, making

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them more close-minded as if they are placed in a chamber. This can even manipulate political
events manifested in the film The Great Hack which discussed how Trump organization
influenced voters through Facebook algorithms.

ASSESSMENT 5
Write an essay answering this question: Has McLuhan's ideal of a ‘global village’ become a reality?
(if handwritten, capitalize your writing for better understanding) minimum of 150 words.
Supplementary reading/material (optional):
The Globalization of K-pop: Korea‘s 1 Place in the Global Music Industry by Ingyu Oh (2014)
https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/aiks/article/view/2008
KPop Explained in Netflix

LESSON 5: GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

UNIT 1: Global City

Introduction

The global structure is reflected upon the cities itself. Global and local are merging forming global
cities. These cities represent the interconnection and interrelation of nations in constant exchanging of
resources. This chapter provides discussions on the relationship of the global and local. This chapter
discusses the image of progress that cities portray and the contrasting poverty within it.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit students must be able to:

1. Defining the Global City

2. Relate the contemporary global issues and local problems and
3. Explain how local context affects the global ideas and vice versa.
4. Demonstrate critical thinking in comprehending contemporary issues and problems of
modernity

Sections of the Unit:

1. Global Cities Global cities are strategic for new types of operations
2. Different Societies appropriate the materials of modernity differently
3. Global Issues, Local Perspectives
4.Globalization and Urban Problems

Defining the Global City

Globalization is spatial, you can see it when foreign investments and capital move through the
city and when skyscrapers are built by companies. Bridges connect the flow of goods and

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The Contemporary World

services and many infrastructures assist or mediating exchanges. Accompanied by these events are jobs
generated by the demand created by this economic flow. As all these happen, the poor are driven to city
centers to make way for opportunities.

Saskia Sassen popularized the term “global city” in the

1990s using the economic criteria as the primary indicator. She
initially identified three global cities: New York, London and
Tokyo, which all are hubs of global finance and capitalism. They
are homes of the world’s top stock exchanges where investors buy
and sell shares in major corporations. Limiting the discussion of
global cities to these three metropolises, however, proving more
and more restrictive.(Claudio and Abinales 2018). The definition
of global city has expanded beyond the realm of economics. Some
cities are not as wealthy as these three aforementioned cities but
, an example of this is San
Francisco being home to Facebook, Twitter and Google.Another is Los Angeles having cultural influence
over the world through Hollywood.

Global cities are strategic for new types of operations

Source(s): Atkinson et.al. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Explained.DK publishing 345 Hudson Street,
New York.

Global cities, Sassen advises, produce goods in the form of technological innovations, financial
products, and consulting services (legal, accounting, advertising, and so on). These service industries are
highly intensive users of telecommunications technologies and are therefore integrated into business
networks that stretch across national borders. They are also part of the postindustrial or “service”
economies of the developed world, in that their main products are knowledge, innovation, technical
expertise, and cultural goods. Sassen argues in The Global City (1991, revised 2001) that the emergence
of a global market for financial and specialized services

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The Contemporary World

gives global cities a “command and control function” over economic globalization. This is because the
headquarters of many major transnational companies are located in global cities. Consultant Firms are
also “over-represented”in these urban hubs. These Companies make the decisions that direct global flows
of money and knowledge, and that can cause economic activity to expand or contract in other regions.

Global cities are supported by multifunctional infrastructure. Central business districts provide
employment clusters where the employees of local, national, and multinational firms interact. Influential
universities and research facilities also contribute to the production of knowledge and innovation, which
are central to information-based economies. Sassen’s research shows that global cities are sites where the
human activities behind the processes of globalization are performed and their consequences dispersed
through the socio economic networks of the global economy. While global cities are not free from
poverty and other forms of social inequality, they are nevertheless cosmopolitan sites of diverse economic
and social opportunities.

Different Societies appropriate the materials of modernity differently

Source(s): Atkinson et.al. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Explained.DK publishing 345 Hudson Street,
New York.

Indian social anthropologist and sociologist Arjun Appadurai has taken this debate in a different
direction. He argues that the conventional view of globalization as a form of cultural imperialism fails to
reflect the reality of the changes global -ization has set in motion. Instead, Appadurai suggests that
different societies appropriate the materials of modernity differently.
What this means is that one society, such as
China, may take up one aspect of global
change (such as economic change) very
rapidly, and another aspect (such as ideological
change) very slowly, while another society will
be different altogether. The results that
globalization does not necessarily denote a
uniform and all- encompassing process; rather,
nations are more positively disposed toward
certain facets of globalization than others,
depending on a range of factors, such as the
state of the economy, political stability, and
strength of cultural identity. Appadurai’s work
addresses how globalization diminishes the
role of the nation-state in shaping cultural
identity and argues that identity is increasingly
becoming deterritorialized by mobility,
migration, and rapid communications.

The key to understanding

globalization, says Appadurai, is the human
imagination. He argues that rather than living in face-to-face communities, we live within imagined ones
that are global in extent. The building blocks are five interrelated dimensions that shape the

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The Contemporary World

global flow of ideas and information. He Calls these dimensions ``scapes”—ethnoscapes, mediascapes,
technoscapes, finanscapes, and ideoscapes. Unlike landscapes, which are characteristically fixed,
Appadurai’s “scapes” are constantly changing, and the manner in which they are experienced depends
largely on the perspective of the social actors involved. In this context, social actors may be any one of a
number of groupings, such as nation-states, multinational corporations, diasporic communities, families,
or individuals. The different ways in which these five scapes can combine means that the imagined world
that one person or group perceives can be radically different, and no more real, than that seen by another
observer.

Appadurai first used the term “ethnos cape” in a 1990 essay, “Disjuncture and Difference in the
Global Cultural Economy,” to describe the flow of people—immigrant communities, political exiles,
tourists, guest workers, economic migrants, and other groups—around the globe, as well as the “fantasies
of wanting to move” in pursuit of a better life. The increasing mobility of people between nations
constitutes an essential feature of the global world, in particular by affecting the politics of nation-states.
Mediascapes refer to the production and distribution of information and images through newspapers,
magazines, TV, and film, as well as digital technologies. The multiplying ways in which information is
made accessible to private and public interests throughout the world is a major driver of globalization.
Mediascapes provide large and complex repertoires of images and narratives to viewers, and these shapes
how people make sense of events taking place across the world. Technoscapes represent the rapid
dissemination of technology and knowledge about it—either mechanical or informational—across
borders. For example, many service industries in Western Europe base their customer-care call centers in
India, and Indian software engineers are often recruited by US companies. Finanscapes reflect the almost
instantaneous transfer of financial investment capital around the globe in the fast- moving world of
currency markets, stock exchanges, and commodity speculations. Ideoscapes are made up of images that
are “often directly political,” either state-produced and intended to bolster the dominant ideology, or
created by counter ideological movements “oriented to capturing state power or a piece of it.” Examples
include ideas about a state built through concepts such as “national heritage,” countered by social and
political movements that promote the rights of minority groups and freedom of speech.

By conceptualizing globalization in terms of the five scapes, Appadurai is able to undermine the
view of globalization as a uniform and internally coherent process;instead,

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globalization is understood as a multilayered, fluid, an irregular process—and one that is

characterized by ongoing change.

Global Issues, Local Perspectives

(Atkinson et.al 2015) p.146

Globalization is giving rise to

new cultural forms as global products,
values, tastes, combine with their local
equivalents. According to British
sociologist Roland Robertson, the
intermixing of global and local, is a key
feature of society which produces new
creative possibilities.

Robertson argues that that the

cultural dynamics at the heart of
globalization can be understood by
focusing on the relationships between
four areas: “individual selves,” “nation-
state,” a “world system of societies,” and
“a notion of a common humanity.” This
allows him to examine the interacting
aspects of a person’s self- identity and
their relationship with national and global
cultural influences.

Robertson emphasizes the term “global unicity” in which globalization and cultural exchange is giving
rise to a global culture. But, the emergence of “global unicity” does not mean we are moving in a single
global culture.

Also, Robertson popularized the term “glocalization.” Glocalization is a twofold process of

“universalizing and particularizing tendencies.” Glocalization also refers to a localization of global
cultural products or forms.

Globalization and the Street Homeless in Metro Manila

Source(s): Aoki, Hideo.(2008) “Globalization and the Street Homeless in Metro Manila.” Philippine Studies Vol.
56, No1 Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University.

New types of homeless people have emerged simultaneously in cities around the world. In cities
of industrial countries the numbers of the "new homeless" have increased since the 1980s (Baumohl 1996;
Aoki 2006). In cities of developing countries the numbers of the "street homeless" have also increased
since the end of the 1990s (Levinson 2004). According to MariaCecilia Loschiard Dos Santos (2001), a
professor at São Paulo Universitywho studies homelessness in

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The Contemporary World

Brazil, the numbers of street homeless in SãoPaulo increased in the 1990s and reached more than 100,000
people at the beginning of the 2000s. Government officers, NGO activists, and social scientists whom I
interviewed from September 2006 to March 2007 said that the numbers of the street homeless are
increasing in Metro Manila. There Have been many street homeless in the past but their ranks are
increasing rapidly now. A writer calls them the permanent and visible homeless in contrast with the
squatter homeless (Padilla 2000, 5-6). The street homeless are becoming noticeable everywhere in the
urban center. "They can be seen with their pushcarts along the seawall, on the sidewalks, under bridges
and flyovers, in the middle of traffic islands, on the empty streets at night, on the lawns of cathedrals and
in parks" (ibid.).

There are theoretical and operational problems about the definition of the street homeless. How
can we distinguish the street homeless from the people who work on the streets and sleep at their houses
at night? How can we distinguish the street homeless from the squatter homeless? What is a shelter or a
house? Even though these definitional problems exist, we can insist that the street homeless are becoming
a peculiar social group in Metro Manila. How many street homeless are there in Metro Manila? We can
only make inferences. The Department of Social Welfare and Development estimates that there are
50,000 to 70,000 street children in Metro Manila (Maligalig 2004, 10). Most street children live with their
families on the streets.According to Manuela Loza (2006), a staff member of the Jose Fabella Center
(JFC), one of the public accommodation units for the street homeless managed by the Mandaluyong City
government, almost all children who are accommodated in their center have parents. Moreover, a short
technical report made by the JFC points out that 61.4 percent of the 2,799 people who were
accommodated in the first half of 2006 were street homeless who lived alone (JFC 2006). Based on these
data, we can infer roughly but surely that there are much more than 100,000 street homeless, including
street children, in Metro Manila.Administrative officers and researchers told me that it is impossible to
count the numbers
of street homeless because they always move and
have no permanent place where they sleep.
However, most sleep constantly in the same
general area because it is hard for them to look
for new safe places to sleep on a daily basis.
Therefore, it is possible to count their numbers at
least roughly, as we have done in Japan. It may
be the job of the local government to get an
accurate estimate. Certainly, it is not easy to
discern the street homeless from the people who
work on the streets but actually have their own
houses and from the squatter homeless. But we
can solve this problem by coming up with an
operational definition of the street homeless.
Who are the street homeless? As far as I have observed, the people who were on the streets at the
main points of Metro Manila and some of whom I talked with, the street homeless are composed of the
following people: people working on the streets who have been evicted from squatter areas, who recently
arrived from the provinces, ethnic minority groups of people who work as seasonal laborers, and street
children and their families. There is some overlap between these categories, which also include those who
are not actually street homeless. Keeping this in mind, a tentative definition of the street homeless may be
given as follows: the street homeless are people who do not have permanent and fixed houses, who do not
have relatives with whom they can live, and who live alone or in a family unit on the street. . The
accommodated people

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were composed of various street homeless such as wanderers,beggars, and victims of squatter eviction.
Males comprised almost two-thirds of those people. They were distributed over a broad age hierarchy
ranging from infants to those with advanced ages. Similarly, the civil status of the accommodated people
ranged from single to the widowed. The Sidewalk Operation Group of the Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority found some of them in the metropolitan central areas, while others were found in
the neighboring areas, and were persuaded to go to the center. Many street homeless were former
squatters who had been evicted from squatter areas,who rejected to go to relocation sites, and who came
back from the relocation sites. Finally, they supported themselves by working as vendors, scavengers, car
watchers, "barkers," beggars, and so on, and sometimes through illegal activities such as those of
snatchers, pickpockets, drug sellers, and prostitutes. The big three jobs of the street homeless are those of
the vendor,scavenger, and beggar, each of which can be divided into further subgroups.
Why have the numbers of the street homeless in Metro Manila increased recently? We can obtain
a clue from globalization theory. The emergence of the new homeless in industrialized countries has been
analyzed in many studies by using "globalization" as a key concept, such as in the analyses of the new
homeless in the United States (Koegel, Burman, and Baumohl1996) and of the nozyukusya (homeless) in
Japan (Aoki 2003). The concept of globalization has also been used in the analysis of the new marginality
in Mexico (Castells 1983) and of other developing countries' homeless people (Levinson 2004). It may be
said that globalization theory isone of the most influential theories that explains the relationship between
globalization and homelessness.How about the case of Metro Manila? The increase of the street homeless
in Metro Manila can be explained by globalization theory, at least partly.But we have two theoretical
problems to be solved before we apply it toMetro Manila. First, is Metro Manila a global city? What is a
global city?Second, what was the process by which Metro Manila was globalized?What Economic and
political conditions prescribed by the economic history of the Philippines were there behind this process?
These questions have to be answered. But it is not our purpose to answer these questions here. Keeping
This in mind, we ask why globalization has resulted in the increase of thestreet homeless in Metro Manila.
An answer may be found in a process that itself is composed of four sub processes, which function and
relate to each other as discussed below.Globalization has resulted in the expansion of the service
economy,which has increased the life chances of the street homeless. First, because of the increase in
business facilities, convenience stores, family restaurants, and the like in Metro Manila, life resources
(such as scrap) on which the street homeless survive have increased. The opportunity for the street
homeless to beg money has increased, too. This is the first pull factor that attracts poor people to the
streets. Second, the expansion of the service economy has increased job chances on the street such as
those of vendors, scavengers, barkers, and carriers. Moreover, it has brought various new occupations,
such as cleaner, sandwich man, car watcher, errand boy, and others, the poor could engage in with only a
small equity capital and without any special knowledge and skills. These livelihood conditions have
augmented the life chances of the street homeless, and form the second pull factor that draws the poor to
the streets. Globalization has brought about the informalization of work, the flexibilization of labor, and
the contractualization of employment in the Philippines (Sardaña 1998, 69-74). These trends have made
workers' employment status unstable and have cut back real wages. They have worsened workers'
livelihood conditions and strengthened the downward pressure on workers' status. This is the general
background in which poor people became homeless. It constitutes the first push factor that drives the poor
to the streets. This is particularly the case among those who do not have any safety net coming from
relatives or friends. Globalization has accelerated land redevelopment (Payot 2004, 11). The market for
real estate has expanded. Unused and abandoned lands have been redeveloped, and the gentrification of
the inner city has proceeded. Government policies, such as the privatization of public land, the
improvement of dangerous areas, and the beautification of streets, have accelerated these processes too.
As a result, the eviction of squatter settlements in the inner city

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has taken place. People who were not given residential lots, who rejected to transfer to relocation sites,
and who returned from their relocation sites to Metro Manila have increased. Among them, people who
did not have any relatives to rely on to have stayed on the streets. The biggest part of the street homeless
is made up of former squatter residents. This makes up the second push factor that forces the poor to go to
the streets. Globalization has brought on the financial crises of the government, which has been forced to
cut down on expenditures. As a result, the government could not achieve the purpose of its policies for the
poor sufficiently.
Firstly, it could not improve the unemployment situation. The unemployment rate of Metro
Manila was 17.8 percent in 2000, 17.1 percent in 2003, and 17.2 percent in 2006 (NSCB 2007, 11-14).
This situation can be seen as exerting a strong pressure on the poor. Secondly, the government could not
enforce the housing policy for poor people sufficiently. Only a few of the squatter people who had been
evicted from squatter areas were given residential lots in relocation sites (Karaos and Payot 2006, 83).
Thirdly, there has not been any fully articulated policy on employment and welfare targeted at the street
homeless. There are no measures to assist the street homeless worthy of special mention, except
emergency aid for medical treatment and six small temporary accommodation units in Metro Manila. All
these policies have not been able to stop the poor from becoming street homeless. . The street homeless
are formed as a social stratum through processes in which push and pull
factors operate in tandem. The street homeless are the symbolic and representative product of
globalization. The emergence of the street homeless,from which we can draw many theoretical
implications, informs us that the labor and housing conditions among the people at the bottom of the
urban hierarchy are changing.

TERM PAPER 3

Instruction: Students will be challenged to write a critical paper (1,000 words minimum) that
addresses the contemporary condition of the Philippines by applying Appadurai’s concept of “scapes”
discussed above to answer the guide question. Please answer each question using the following
format- Arial 11, single-spaced. For those who will receive a printed version of this module
please answer the following in a short bond paper. Indicate the Term Paper #_ and write your
name ( Last Name, First Name , M.I) and your Course and Section .

 Guide Question: What is the connection between the proliferation of homelessness in urban
cities and urban cities itself despite being the nexus of global exchange in the country?

UNIT 2: Demography and Migration

Introduction
Demography has the empirical, statistical, and mathematical size, composition, and spatial distribution of
human populations and changes over time through fertility, mortality, nuptiality (marriage), migration,
and even social mobility. Looking at the populations and discuss the relationship between economic
welfare and populations. This final unit will discuss the various impacts of globalization on human
populations. How migration is a part of globalization and its

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The Contemporary World

impact on both the sending and receiving countries. And discuss the effects of global migration on the
economic well-being of states.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand what is demography and identify the relationship between population and
economic welfare
2. Identify the effects of overpopulation and why control population
3. Understand what is migration and why people migrate
4. Discuss the effects of global migration on the economic and individual well-being

Sections of the Unit:

1. What is Demography
2. Overpopulation and Economy
a. Women and Reproductive Rights
b. Food sovereignty and Food security
c. Population Growth and Food Security
3. What is Migration
4. Benefits and detriments of Migration

Global Demography What

is Demography
The study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the
changing structure of human populations. It deals with fertility, mortality, marriage, migration, and social
mobility. All of this is connected to social, economic, culture, and any other field. For example, let us
look at how children view in different field:
 In religious, they see children as a gift, a symbol of successful union
 In culture, they see children as the successor to the next generation, a kinship
network.
 In economic, they see children as critical investments

Let us focus on economics, answering the question will the child be an economic asset or a burden to the
family? Looking at the rural and urban communities.
Rural Urban
Farmers want more children to have an extra hand Educated or professional families desire just one
to help on crop cultivation or in their small family or two children because they are tied with their
business jobs and no time to devote having a
kid or to parenting
Rural families view multiple children and large Urban families may not have the same kinship
kinship as critical investments. Children can take network because couples live on their own, or
over the agricultural work and their they already move out of their
houses become the retirement house of their farmlands.

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The Contemporary World

parents, who will proceed to take care of their

children

These differing versions of family life determine the economic and social policies that countries craft
regarding their respective populations. Countries in the less developed regions of the world that rely on
agriculture tend to maintain high levels of population growth. And urban populations grow not because
families are having more children but because of migration. People seeking jobs in more modern sectors
of society. They tend to move in urban communities where industries and business are at peak.
International Migration also plays a part in changing populations. Countries welcome immigrants as they
offset the debilitating effects of an aging population for example in Canada and Japan, but they are also
perceived as threats to the job market they compete against citizens.
Overpopulation

As Thomas Malthus argued that although population grows geometrically (from 2 to 4 to 8 to 16 and so
forth), the food supply increases only arithmetically (from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and so on). This meant, he
claimed, that if births go unchecked, the population will outstrip its food supply. And Paul R. Ehrlich and
his wife wrote The Population Bomb, which argued that overpopulation will bring food shortage and
mass starvation. They proposed to promote a global population control in order to reduce the growth rate
to zero. The following are some remedies in overpopulation:
● Chemical castration
● Monetary incentives
● Institution-building
 Ex. Department of Population and Environment
● Policy-oriented
 Taxing on additional child and luxury taxes on child-related products
 Family Planning
As population growth rate increased after World War II, by limiting the population, vital resources could
be used for economic progress and be the basis for the government on population control programs
worldwide. For example, the one child policy in China. And in the Philippines, the Republic Act No.
10354 on Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health.
Economy and Population
Betsy Hartmann criticized the use of population control to prevent crisis, he accused governments of
using population control as a substitute for social justice and much needed reforms such land distribution,
employment creation, provision of mass education and health care, and emancipation. Population growth
aided economic development by spurring technological and institutional innovation and increasing the
supply of human ingenuity. And noted that these megacities have become and continue to be centers of
economic growth and activity, but also clusters in which income disparities along with transportation,
housing, air pollution, and waste management are major problems.
If the working age increases, for example, the median age of females is 29.4 years and 30.9 years in males
it means it has a young working population, there are more workers than per dependent. Demographers
called it a window of opportunity, opportunity to the government to develop and boost the economy, but
the period is limited.
Women and Reproductive Rights

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● Women must have control over their bodies

● The more educated a woman is, the better are her prospects of improving her economic position.
● The health of the mother and child comes first.
● Feminist perspective
 Against any form of population control because they are compulsory by nature
 Unequal distribution of wealth, universal health care, education, and gender equality As the
United Nations Population Fund latest transformative goals,
✔ Zero Maternal Mortality
✔ Zero unmeet need for modern family planning, and
✔ Zero Gender-based violence and other harmful practices
Food sovereignty and Food security
● Food sovereignty
 The right of peoples, communities, and countries to determine their own production system
related to agricultural labor, fishing, food and land, and associated policies which are
ecologically, socially, economically, and culturally appropriate to their unique
circumstances
● Food security
 Providing food that is available at all times, that all persons have the means to access to it,
that it is nutritionally adequate in terms of quantity, quality and variety, and that it is
acceptable within the given culture
Population Growth and Food Security
✔ The Food and Agriculture Organization warns that in order for countries to mitigate the impact of
population growth, food production must increase by 70 percent.
✔ Increase investment in agriculture
✔ Long-term policies aimed at fighting poverty
✔ Invest in research and development
✔ Move towards a global trading system that is fair and competitive, and that contributes to a
dependable market for food.
What is Migration
The movement of people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently or
temporarily in a new location. There are two types of migrations:
 Internal migration refers to people moving from one area to another within one
country. (See figure 2 example here in the Philippines)
 International migration refers to people crossing borders of one country to another.

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It can further break down into five groups:

● Immigrants or those who move permanently to another country
● Workers who stay in another country for fixed period, for example, OFWs
● Illegal immigrants
● Petitioned migrants
● Refugees (asylum-seekers)
Migration Statistics
247 million people are currently living outside of the countries of their birth, 90% of them moved for
economic reasons and the 10% were refugees and asylum-seekers. The top three regions of origin are
Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. As per country basis, India, Mexico, and China are
leading, and Philippines only ranking 6th in the world. 50 % of global migrants have moved from the
developing countries to developed countries and contribute from 40 to 80 percent of their labor force. The
majority of migrants remain in the cities and they contribute enormously to raising the productivity of
their host countries. See table 1.

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The Contemporary World

Table 1. Migrants contribution to destination country in dollar and as % of national GDP, 2015

Country Contribution Percentage of GDP

United States $ 2 trillion 11 percent
Germany $ 550 billion 17 percent
United Kingdom $ 390 billion 14 percent

Australia $ 330 billion 25 percent

Canada $ 320 billion 21 percent

The migrant influx has led to a debate in destination countries over the issue of whether migrants are
assets or liabilities to national development. Anti-immigrant groups and nationalist argue that
governments must control legal immigration and put a stop to illegal entry of foreigners. Many of these
anti-immigrant groups are gaining influence through political leaders who share the same beliefs as US
President Donald Trump. Also, a 2011 Harvard Business School survey on the impact of immigration
concluded that the likelihood and magnitude of adverse labor market effects for native from immigration
are substantially weaker than often perceived. The fiscal impact of immigration on social welfare is
“small”. And as the International Monetary Fund predicted, the flow of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq
would grow Europe’s GDP.
Benefits and detriments for the sending countries
Benefits Detriments

● Remittances do not rebalance growth.

● Brain Drain means loss of professionals
● Remittances make significant contributions because they choose to migrate.
to the development of small and medium- ● Human trafficking
term industries that help generate jobs Million men, women, & children became
victims of forced labor.
● Change the economic and social standing of ● Integration
migrants Creation of networks that exacerbate
differences and discrimination, it can be good or
bad depend on the country where you migrate.
● Xenophobia

Governments are aware of this long-term handicap but have no choice but to continue promoting migrant
work as part of state policy because the remittances’ impact on GDP. Migration is also uneven, as the
broader globalization process, some migrants experience their movement as a liberating process. A highly
educated professional may find moving to another country financially rewarding but to others, it is
sacrifice that can experience or can be victim of sec trafficking or forced labor that may view the process
of migration as dislocating and disempowering. Like globalization is dual, there is positive and negative
effect, migration also produces different and

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The Contemporary World

often contradictory responses. Global interdependence will ensure global migration will continue to be
one of the major issues in the contemporary world.
ASSESSMENT 6

Instruction: In this section of the module, your general knowledge and understanding of the subject so
far will be tested. Please answer the following question in 500 words.
1. Under what circumstances is rapid population growth beneficial to societies? Or not? Explain your
answer.
2. What do you think are the reasons why migrants are mostly beneficial for receiving countries?

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