Globalisation

Class 12 Political Science

Globalisation as a concept fundamentally deals with flows. These flows could be of various kinds - ideas moving from one part of the world to another, capital shunted between two or more places, commodities being traded across borders, and people moving in search of better livelihoods to different parts of the world.

The crucial element is the ‘worldwide interconnectedness’ that is created and sustained as a consequence of these constant flows.

Globalisation is a multi- dimensional concept. It has political, economic and cultural manifestations, and these must be adequately distinguished. It is wrong to assume that globalisation has purely economic dimensions, just as it would also be mistaken to assume that it is a purely cultural phenomenon. The impact of globalisation is vastly uneven — it affects some societies more than others and some parts of some societies more than others — and it is important to avoid drawing general conclusions about the impact of globalisation without paying sufficient attention to specific contexts.

Causes of Globalisation

While globalisation is not caused by any single factor, technology remains a critical element. There is no doubt that the invention of the telegraph, the telephone, and the microchip in more recent times has revolutionised communication between different parts of the world. When printing initially came into being it laid the basis for the creation of nationalism. So also today we should expect that technology will affect the way we think of our personal but also our collective lives.

The ability of ideas, capital, commodities and people to move more easily from one part of the world to another has been made possible largely by technological advances. The pace of these flows may vary. For instance, the movement of capital and commodities will most likely be quicker and wider than the movement of peoples across different parts of the world.

Political Consequences

At the most simple level, globalisation results in an erosion of state capacity, that is, the ability of government to do what they do. All over the world, the old ‘welfare state’ is now giving way to a more minimalist state that performs certain core functions such as the maintenance of law and order and the security of its citizens. However, it withdraws from many of its earlier welfare functions directed at economic and social well-being. In place of the welfare state, it is the market that becomes the prime determinant of economic and social priorities. The entry and the increased role of multinational companies all over the world leads to a reduction in the capacity of governments to take decisions on their own.

At the same time, globalisation does not always reduce state capacity. The primacy of the state continues to be the unchallenged basis of political community. The old jealousies and rivalries between countries have not ceased to matter in world politics. The state continues to discharge its essential functions (law and order, national security) and consciously withdraws from certain domains from which it wishes to. States continue to be important.

Indeed, in some respects state capacity has received a boost as a consequence of globalisation, with enhanced technologies available at the disposal of the state to collect information about its citizens. With this information, the state is better able to rule, not less able. Thus, states become more powerful than they were earlier as an outcome of the new technology.

Economic Consequences

What is often called economic globalisation usually involves greater economic flows among different countries of the world. Some of this is voluntary and some forced by international institutions and powerful countries.

Globalisation has involved greater trade in commodities across the globe; the restrictions imposed by different countries on allowing the imports of other countries have been reduced. Similarly, the restrictions on movement of capital across countries have also been reduced. In operational terms, it means that investors in the rich countries can invest their money in countries other than their own, including developing countries, where they might get better returns.

Globalisation has also led to the flow of ideas across national boundaries. The spread of internet and computer related services is an example of that. But globalisation has not led to the same degree of increase in the movement of people across the globe. Developed countries have carefully guarded their borders with visa policies to ensure that citizens of other countries cannot take away the jobs of their own citizens.

Cultural Consequences

Globalisation affects us in our home, in what we eat, drink, wear and indeed in what we think. It shapes what we think are our preferences. The cultural effect of globalisation leads to the fear that this process poses a threat to cultures in the world. It does so, because globalisation leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation. The rise of a uniform culture is not the emergence of a global culture. What we have in the name of a global culture is the imposition of Western culture on the rest of the world. This phenomenon is known as the soft power of US hegemony.

At the same time, it would be a mistake to assume that cultural consequences of globalisation are only negative. Cultures are not static things. All cultures accept outside influences all the time. Some external influences are negative because they reduce our choices. But sometimes external influences simply enlarge our choices, and sometimes they modify our culture without overwhelming the traditional.

While cultural homogenisation is an aspect of globalisation, the same process also generates precisely the opposite effect. It leads to each culture becoming more different and distinctive. This phenomenon is called cultural heterogenisation. This is not to deny that there remain differences in power when cultures interact but instead more fundamentally to suggest that cultural exchange is rarely one way.

India and Globalisation

During the colonial period, as a consequence of Britain’s imperial ambitions, India became an exporter of primary goods and raw materials and a consumer of finished goods. After independence, because of this experience with the British, we decided to make things ourselves rather than relying on others. We also decided not to allow others to export to us so that our own producers could learn to make things. This ‘protectionism’ generated its own problems. While some advances were made in certain arenas, critical sectors such as health, housing and primary education did not receive the attention they deserved. India had a fairly sluggish rate of economic growth.

In 1991, responding to a financial crisis and to the desire for higher rates of economic growth, India embarked on a programme of economic reforms that has sought increasingly to de-regulate various sectors including trade and foreign investment. While it may be too early to say how good this has been for India, the ultimate test is not high growth rates as making sure that the benefits of growth are shared so that everyone is better off.