Earth, Inc.
“Advocates like to describe economic globalization as a long-term, inevitable process, the result of economic and technological forces that have simply evolved over centuries to their present form.”[1]
Accepting that national borders are merely a quaint reminder of an order long passed, what are the factors shaping the world we see today and imagine tomorrow? Who are the players on the battlefield? The new world order is, as we have established, based on economy. If economy is the basis of social systems, then obviously control of the economy is power. If the goal is to possess as much power as possible, than it follows that a global economy is the highest ideal. This is a concept central to what we know of as globalization.
Globalization is many things; first, given the current state of technology, distance and traditional borders are irrelevant. Using direct and instantaneous communication, information from any point on the globe is knowable by anyone else, anywhere else. Direct communication is in itself neutral. However, how one uses a tool is not neutral. No matter how you spin it, globalization is the movement towards a global economy. For many, globalization has led to the fostering of a sort of international culture, especially between those who use the Internet as a medium. Those who would attempt to shape the definition of globalization as noble goal might call it a “neoculture,” a way to transcend petty differences of the past. I, however, would term it a “monoculture,” with all the connotations that plague the word in its agricultural usage.
[1] John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander, ed., Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2004), 32.
Regarding the monoculture of the Internet, I agree completely. It’s actually somewhat staggering. At first, you’d expect the diversity of the net to be overwhelming, but the result is more of an echo chamber.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that Internet connectivity is largely relegated to the privileged social class. This is especially so when it comes to high-bandwidth stuff like Youtube. People like to celebrate the Baghdad blogger, but the vast majority of those plugged-in are privileged, tech-savvy white people; the technocracy.
The mindset of consumption pervades as well; the web browser is designed to be primarily a passive interface to what could otherwise be a powerful connective fiber. The so-called social networks and media sites are focused entirely on superficial communication. Real connection, as earlier people may have had around a glowing fire, is absent. Eventually, we forget about that need entirely, as we fulfill the implanted need to consume.
And our culture is our most valuable export.
The other voices are there, but they are quieter, and more reclusive. They are the fringe voices in the “real” world, and so they are the fringe of the network. The fortunate thing is that this medium allows them to communicate despite geographical impediments. As you say, a tool is neutral, and the user reaps what he sows.
If you want to look at the question, Who profits from all this global trade? The answer is simple: banks. Throughout modern history, banks have been trying to profit from every financial interaction between people. They fund both sides of wars, and profit from the rebuilding costs of the victors. Governments have given them the ability to *create* money, simply by granting loans… See the “money as debt” video for more.
Banks are the biggest beneficiary of the monster we are trained to praise: exponential growth. Also, as the various Plunge Protection Teams have recently demonstrated, the governments of the world will bend over backwards to ensure that the banks are not allowed to fall. Recession is the opposite of growth, and it is therefore bad. The next logical step, to prevent future crises, will be to nationalize the banking systems of the various countries. In order to protect “us” from future market turmoil, the governments of the world will somberly take under their purview every facet of wealth creation.
Regarding growth, I submit this excellent presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-QA2rkpBSY
“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” — Albert Bartlett