D5 CONWORLD MIDTERM

Origins and History of Globalization

Five Perspectives Regarding the Origins of Globalization

a. Hardwire- According to Chanda (2007) it is because of our basic human need to make our lives better that made
globalization possible.
 Ancestors from Africa in the late Ice Age

Urges of People to a Better Life

(a.) Commerce
(b.) Religion
(c.) Politics
(d.) Warfare-

Aspects of Globalization
 Trade
 Missionary work
 Adventures
 Conquest

b. Cycles- Globalization, Neoliberalism, Corporate power, Political corruption and environmental degradation .
These forces are not mutually exclusive systems as they depend upon each other to maintain an endless,
perpetuating cycle that reinforces the distinction between the oppressor and the oppressed. (Al-Saleh,2015).

c. Epoch- also called “waves.” The difference of this view from the second view is that it does not treat epochs as
returning. The following are the sequential occurrence of the epochs:

1. Globalization of Religion
2. European colonial conquest (late 15th century)

-European countries began exploring and seeking to dominate the rest of the world

3. Intra-European wars (late 18th to early 19th century)

- Wars within and fight for power

4. Heyday of European Imperialism (mid-19 th century to 1918)

- Efforts to find a direct trade route to Asia during the age of Old Imperialism.
- Imperial belief “Glory, God, and Gold”
- Great Britain was the leading colonial power with colonies in India, South Africa and
Australia.

Social Darwinism (New Imperialism)- This is the concept of “survival of the fittest” (Spenser, 1820).

-Derived from Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species.

-Natural selection resulting to survival of the fittest.

- fostered imperialistic expansion

Superior technology and improved medical knowledge helped to foster imperialism.

5. Post-World War II period- Economic growth and cultural stability

- Private economy boomed as the government sector stopped buying munitions and hiring
soldiers. Factories that had once made bombs now made toasters.
6. Post- Cold War period
- United States and Soviet Union
 Cold War- referred to as the state of constant strife, suspicion and mistrust, and antagonism and
hostility maintained and perpetuated without a direct armed confrontation between the
adversaries.x

Implications of Cold War

(a) Gave rise to fear of psychosis which led to the mad race for the manufacture of more sophisticated
armament.
(b) Formation of various alliances
(c) Non-alignment policy
(d) Undermined the chances of attainment of one world.

d. Events- Specific events are also considered as a part of the fourth view in explaining the origins of globalization.
 Roman conquest centuries before Christ
 Rampage of Genghis Khan into Eastern Europe
 Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America
 Discovery of Cape of Good Hope by Vasco de Gama
 Circumnavigation of the globe by Ferdinand Magellan

e. Broader, More Recent Changes

1. The emergence of the United States as the global power (Post World War)
2. The emergence of multinational corporations (MNCs)
3. The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War