CHAPTER 1:

DEFINING
GLOBALIZA
GROUP 1
TION
 Learning
Objectives:
• In this chapter, different definitions of
globalization will be discussed.
• The task of conceptualizing it reveals a variety of
perspectives.
• To understand further the concept, different
2
metaphors will be used.
 • These metaphors will also allow an appreciation
of earlier epochs before globalization and the
present globalized world.
• The final lesson in this chapter will be devoted to
a general discussion of globalization theories.
• The following section will highlight the different
views scholars have toward globalization.
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 WHAT IS
GLOBALIZATION?
INTRODUCTI
ONMuch has changed since time immemorial. Human beings have
encountered many changes over the last century especially in their
social relationships and social structures. Of these changes, one
can say that globalization is a very important change, if not, the
"most important“ (Bauman, 2003). The reality and omnipresence
of globalization makes us see ourselves as part of what we refer to
as the "global age" (Albrow, 1996). The Internet, for example,
allows a person from the Philippines to know what is happening
to the rest of the world simply by browsing Google. The mass
media also allows for connections among people, communities,
and countries all over the globe.
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 So what is globalization? This question is probably
an easy one to answer. However, many scholars gave
and tried to formulate its definitions. This resulted in
different, sometimes contradicting views about the
concept. It cannot be contained within specific time
frame, all people, and all situations (Al Rhodan, 2006
). Aside from this, globalization encompasses a
multitude of processes that involves the economy,
political systems, and culture. Social structures,
therefore, are directly affected by globalization .
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 Over the years, globalization has gained many connotations
pertaining to progress, development, and integration. On the one
hand, some view globalization as a positive phenomenon. For
instance, Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson (2001) saw
globalization as "the process of world shrinkage, of distances
getting shorter, things moving closer. It pertains to the increasing
ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact,
to mutual benefit with somebody on the other side of the world"
(p. 9). On the other hand, some see it as occurring through and
with regression, colonialism, and destabilization. In the mid-1990
s, Martin Khor, the former president of Third World Network
(TWN) in Malaysia, once regarded globalization as colonization.
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 THE TASK OF
DEFINING
GLOBALIZATION
 In The Webster's Dictionary in 1961, many opinions about
globalization have flourished. The literature on the definitions of
globalization revealed that definitions could be classified as
either (1) broad and inclusive or (2) narrow and exclusive. The
one offered by Ohmae in 1992 stated, globalization means the
onset of the borderless world..." (p. 14). This is an example of a
broad and inclusive type of definition. If one uses such, it can
include a variety of issues that deal with overcoming traditional
boundaries. However, it does not shed light on the implications
of globalization due to its vagueness.
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 Narrow and exclusive definitions are better justified but can be
limiting, in the sense that their application adhere to only particular
definitions. Robert Cox's definition suits best in this type: "the
characteristics of the globalization trend include the internationalizing of
production, the new international division of labor, new migratory
movements from South to North, the new competitive environment that
accelerates these processes, and the internationalizing of the state...
making states into agencies of the globalizing world" (as cited in RAWOO
Netherlands Development Assistance Research Council, 2000, p. 14).
Other definitions of globalization are shown in chronological order in the
Appendix.Each could fail to either one of the two types of definitions.

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 No matter how one classifies a definition of globalization, the concept
is complex and multifaceted as the definitions deal with either economic,
political, or social dimensions. In fact, in a comprehensive study of 114
definitions by the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) in 2006, 67
of them refer to economic dimension. These definitions include political
and social dimensions as well. The sheer number and complexity of
definitions do not mean that there is a remarkable improvement in every
definition given by scholars. Kumar (2003)
took on a different argument about the issue. To him, the debate about
what can be done about globalization and what it is are similar. This is in
relation to what some academics have claimed about defining
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globalization it is a useless task.
 A more recent definition was given by Ritzer (2015), "globalization
is a trans planetary process or a set of processes involving increasing
liquidity and the growing multidirectional flows of people, objects,
places, and information as well as the structures they encounter and
create that are barriers to, or expedite, those flows..." (p. 2). Generally,
this definition assumes that globalization could bring either or both
integration and/or fragmentation. Although things flow easily in a global
world, hindrances or structural blocks are also present. These
blacks could slow down one's activity in another country or could even
limit the places a person can visit.

If so, why are we going to spend time studying this concept? How
can we appreciate these definitions? How can these help us understand
1 2 globalization?
 First, the perspective of the person who defines globalization shapes its
definition. The overview of definitions Implies that globalization is many things to
many different people. In 1996, Arjun Appadurai said, "globalization is a 'world of
things that have different speeds, axes, points of origin and termination, and varied
relationships to institutional structures in different regions, nations, or societies'" (as
cited in Chowdhury, 2006, p. 137). In a more recent study, Al-Rhodan (2006) wrote
that definitions suggest the perspective of the author on the origins
and the geopolitical implications of globalization. It is a starting point that will guide
the rest of any discussions. In effect, one's definition and perspective could determine
concrete steps in addressing the issues of globalization. For example, if one sees
globalization as positive, the person can say that it is a unifying force.
On the other hand, if it is deemed as creating greater inequalities among nations,
globalization is negatively treated.
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 Second, to paraphrase the sociologist Cesare Poppi :
Globalization is the debate and the debate is globalization. One
became part and parcel of the other. As Poppi (1997) wrote: "The
literature stemming from the debate on globalization has grown in
the last decade beyond any individual's capability of extracting a
workable definition of the concept. In a sense, the meaning of the
concept is self-evident, in another, it is vague and obscure as its
reaches are wide and constantly shifting. Perhaps, more than any
other concept, globalization is the debate about it" (as cited in
Kumar, 2003, p. 95).
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 Third, globalization is a reality. It is changing as human
society develops. It has happened before and is still happening
today. We should expect it to continue ore difficult to predict.
to happen in the future. The future of globalization is what we
could expect in the coming years is what has happened over
the past 50 years and that is the fluidity and complexity of
globalization as a concept, which made more debates,
discussions, and definitions than agreements on it.

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 Overall, globalization is a concept that is not easy to define because in
reality, globalization has a shifting nature. It is complex, multifaceted, and
car be influenced by the people who define it. Moreover, the issues and
concern involving globalization have a wide range from the individual to
society, from small communities to nations and states, and from the
benefits we can gain from it to the costs it could carry. In his article, "The
Globalization of Nothing," Ritzer (2003) said, "attitudes toward
globalization depend, among other things, on whether one gains or loses
from it" (p. 190). Nevertheless, the task of defining globalization should
stimulate more discussions about it. More importantly, the fact that we
experience globalization should give one the interest of engaging in
the study of it.
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METAPHORS OF
GLOBALIZATION
 In order for us to better understand the concept of
globalization, we will utilize metaphors. Metaphors make use
of one term to help us better understand another term. in our
case, the states of matter-solid and liquid-will be used.
In addition, other related concepts that are included in the
definition such as structures and flows will be elaborated.

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 Solid and Liquid
The epochs that preceded today's globalization paved way for people,
things, information, and places to harden over time. Consequently, they have
limited mobility (Ritzer, 2015). The social relationships and objects remained
where they were created. Solidity also refers to barriers that prevent or make
difficult the movement of things. Furthermore, solids can either be natural or
man-made. Examples of natural solids are landforms and bodies of water.
Man-made barriers include the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall. An
imaginary line such as the nine-dash line used by the People's Republic of
China in their claim to the South China Sea is an example of modern man-
made solid. This creates limited access of Filipino fishers to the South China
Sea. Obviously, these examples still exist. However, they have the tendency to
melt. This should not be taken literally, like an iceberg melting. Instead, this
process involves how we can describe what is happening in today's global
19 world. It is becoming increasingly liquid.
 Liquid, as a state of matter, takes the shape of its container. Moreover, liquids
are not fixed, Liquidity, therefore, refers to the increasing ease of movement of
people, things, information, and places in the contemporary world. Zygmunt
Bauman's ideas were the ones that have much to say about the characteristic of
liquidity. First, today's liquid phenomena change quickly and their aspects, spatial
and temporal, are in continuous fluctuation. This means that space and time are
crucial elements of globalization. In global finance, for instance, changes in the
stock market are a matter of seconds. Another characteristic of liquid phenomena
is that their movement is difficult to stop. For example, videos uploaded on
YouTube or Facebook are unstoppable once they become viral. The so-called
Internet sensations become famous not only in their homeland but also to the
entire world. Finally, the forces (the liquid ones) made political boundaries more
permeable to the flow of people and things (Cartier, 2001). This brings us to what
Ritzer (2015, p. 6) regarded as the most important characteristic of liquid: it "tends
to melt whatever stands in its path (especially solids)." The clearest example is the
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decline, if not death, of the nation-state.
 Liquidity and solidity are in constant interaction.
However, liquidity is the one increasing and proliferating
today. Therefore, the metaphor that could best describe
globalization is liquidity. Liquids do flow and this idea of
flow ( Appadural, 1996; Rey and Ritzer, 2010) will be the
focus of the next discussion. Also, it should be expected that
this concept will appear in the succeeding lessons. The
literature on globalization makes use of the concept of
flows.
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 Flows
The previous section described the melting process of solid phenomena
followed by the increase in liquidity. It is only logical to discuss the flows of
liquid phenomena. Flows are the movement of people, things, places, and
information brought by the growing "porosity" of global limitations (Ritzer, 2015
). Think of the different foreign cuisines being patronized and consumed by the
Filipinos. Aside from local dishes, many of us are fond of eating sushi, ramen,
hamburger, and French fries-foods introduced to us by foreign cultures. Clearly,
foods are being globalized. Another example of flows is global financial crises.
As Landler (2008, p. C1) put it: "In global financial system, national borders are
porous." This means that a financial crisis in a given country can bring
ramifications to other regions of the world. An example of which is the spread of
the effects of American financial crisis on Europe in 2008.
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 The following are other kinds of flows that can be
observed today: poor illegal migrants flooding many parts
of the world (Moses, 2006), the virtual flow of legal and
Illegal information such as blogs and child pornography,
respectively, and immigrants recreating ethnic enclaves in
host countries. A concrete example is the Filipino
communities abroad and the Chinese communities in the
Philippines.

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GLOBALIZATION
THEORIES
 We have established the many definitions of and issues in
defining globalization and the metaphors that we can use to
understand easily the concept. We have also looked into its
origins and history. This section will give you a glimpse of
the important theories on globalization. We will analyze
globalization culturally, economically, and politically in this
book as reflected in the succeeding chapters. In the
meantime, it would be helpful to assert that the theories see
globalization as a process that increases either homogeneity
or heterogeneity.
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 Homogeneity refers to the increasing sameness in the world as
cultural inputs, economic factors, and political orientations of
societies expand to create common practices, same economies, and
similar forms of government. Homogeneity in culture is often
linked to cultural imperialism. This means, given culture influences
other cultures. For example, the dominant religion in our country is
Christianity, which was brought to us by the Spaniards. Another
example is Americanization, which was defined by Kuisel (1993)
as "the import by non Americans of products, images, technologies,
practices, and behavior that are closely associated with
America/Americans" (p. 96).
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 In terms of the economy, there is recognition of the spread of
neoliberalism, capitalism, and the market economy in the world
(Antonio, 2007). Global economic crises are also products of
homogeneity in economic globalization. Stiglitz (2002), for instance,
blamed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its "one-size-fits ail"
approach which treats every country in the world as the same. In the
end, rich countries become advantageous in the world economy at the
expense of poor countries, which leads to increased inequality among
nations. The political realm also suffers homogenization if one takes
into account the emerging similar models of governance in the world.
Barber (1995) said that "McWorld" is existing. It means only one
political orientation is growing in today's societies.
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 The global flow of media is often characterized as media
imperialism. TV, music, books, and movies are perceived as imposed
on developing countries by the West (Cowen, 2002). Media
imperialism undermines the existence of alternative global media
originating from developing countries, such as the Al Jazeera (Bielsa,
2008) and the Bollywood (Larkin, 2003), as well as the influence of
the local and regional media. The Internet can be seen as an arena for
alternative media. Cultural imperialism denies the agency of viewers,
but people around the world often interpret the same medium (e.g., a
movie) in significantly different ways, Global media are dominated by
a small number of large corporations.
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 As McChesney (1999) put it, this is being "extended from old media
to new media" (p. 11), such as Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Google,
and Apple's iTunes. As a result, in the long run, the Internet could end up
being less diverse and competitive. Independent Media Center,
associated with the alter-globalization movement, helps to counter this
trend. It disseminates Information to facilitate global participation of
activists. Hacktivists extend activism to the Internet by hacking into
computer programs to promote a particular cause (Juris, 2005).

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 Ritzer (2008) claimed that, in general, the contemporary world is
undergoing the process of McDonaldization. It is the process by which
Western societies are dominated by the principles of fast food
restaurants. McDonaldization involves the global spread of rational
systems, such as efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.
Ritzer (2008) pointed out that this process is "extended to other
businesses, sectors, and geographic areas" (p. 169). Globalization, in
contrast to glocalization, is a process wherein nations, corporations, etc.
impose themselves on geographic areas in order to gain profits, power,
and so on (Ryan, 2007). Ritzer (2007) also espoused the idea that
globalization can also be seen as a flow of "nothing" as opposed to
"something," involving the spread of non-places, non-things, non-people,
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and non-services.
 On the other hand, heterogeneity pertains to the creation of various cultural
practices, new economies, and political groups because of the interaction
of elements from different societies in the world. Heterogeneity refers to the
differences because of either lasting differences or of the hybrids or combinations
of cultures that can be produced through the different trans planetary processes.
Contrary to cultural imperialism, heterogeneity in culture is associated with
cultural hybridization. A more specific concept is "glocalization" coined by
Roland Robertson in 1992. To him, as global forces interact with local factors or
a specific geographic area, the "glocal" is being produced. Economic issues are
not exempted from heterogeneity. The commodification of cultures and "glocal"
markets are examples of differentiation happening in many economies around
the world. The same goes with political institutions. Barber (1995) also provided
the alternate of "McWorld"-the "Jihad." As Ritzer (2008) mentioned, it refers
to the political groups that are engaged in an "intensification of nationalism and
31 that leads to greater political heterogeneity throughout the world" (p. 576).
 Although homogeneity and heterogeneity give us idea
about the effects of globalization, the picture is not yet
complete. The theories about globalization will be clarified
as we look closer at each of them in the succeeding
chapters.

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THANK YOU