C4: GLOBALISATION & GLOBAL INEQUALITY
What is Globalisation?
Understanding Globalisation
● Modernisation Theory
● World Systems Theory
○ Reading: “The Uses of Global Poverty: How Economic Inequality Benefits the West”
(Daina Stukuls Eglitis)
● World Society Theory
Is Globalisation a Good Thing?
Global Inequality
● Reading: “The Record of Microfinance: The Effectiveness/Ineffectiveness of Microfinance
Programs as a Means of Alleviating Poverty” (Jon Westover)
Key Terms
What is Globalisation?
● Globalisation: process of increasing interconnectedness of people, products, ideas, and places
● 3 elements:
○ Material/physical
■ Increase flow of movement (of goods, people, money) across national borders are
facilitated by shared global infrastructure
■ Normative similarities (e.g; trade tariff agreements, friendly relations) develop from
global infrastructure
○ Spatio-temporal
■ Places that felt very far away feel much closer via recent developments (e.g; planes,
skype etc)
■ Distant events are able to impact us (directly - e.g; Arab Spring OR indirectly - e.g;
seeing photos of tsunamis)
● Marshall McLuhan’s concept of the “global village”
○ Better international communication resulted in the formation of an
increasingly interconnected and unified global community
○ Able to interact and learn about distant places and people
○ This increase of shared interaction creates a greater global
responsibility for social betterment via increased awareness (e.g;
Kony 2012 video)
● Impact of distant wars and conflicts
○ Able to affect our everyday lives
○ Increase in airport security and gas prices
○ Gas prices increasing because of conflicts in Middle East
○ r/s illustrates globalised nature of world economics
● World’s oil supplies
○ Globalised commodity market
○ All of the oil goes into the global market and countries compete
○ Results in international conflicts outside a country’s control
○ Cognitive
■ Dissemination of ideas and culture throughout the world
■ Cultural models become increasingly similar across countries
■ Positive example: concept of human right
■ Negative example: eating disorders
● Commodity Chains: gather resources, transform them into commodities, and distribute them to
consumers
○ Natural part of globalisation
Understanding Globalisation
, Theories of Globalisation
● Modernisation Theory
● World Systems Theory
● World Society Theory
Modernisation Theory
● Modernisation Theory: countries are poor because they cling to traditional and inefficient attitudes,
technologies, and institutions
● Traditional sets of values and processes hinder a country’s development
● If countries get rid of these traditional and old ways, all societies can become modernised and
developed
● Encourages all countries to strive to modernise the same way Western Europe and North America did
○ Requires a process of series of steps (described by W.W. Rostow 1991)
■ Pre conditions Takeoff
● All societies start as traditional countries
● Traditional countries are static, rigid, little economic mobility and prioritises
stability over change
● Based on subsistence agriculture/hunting/gathering
● Increase demand for raw materials → pushed to develop more
productive, commercial agriculture and create cash crops (cash crops: crops
to be sold instead of consumed by the producers)
● Increase in social mobility and previous social equilibrium put into flux
■ Economic Takeoff
● Mass productivity results in society being able to produce goods for both
domestic consumption and export
● Markets are created
● Increase in individualism
■ Technological Maturity
● All sectors of society become involved in market production
● International trade rises
● Economics is diversified
● Reduction in absolute poverty
● Rise of individualism & increase sense of efficiency → social
movements demanding greater political rights (e.g; education, increase
rights of groups)
■ Mass Consumption
● Stimulated by mass production in technological maturity stage
● People feel the need to have new diversity of products available and
consume accordingly
● Consumers have more disposable income so spend more
● Canadian society resides in this stage
○ Monocropping: economically efficient and profitable method of repeatedly growing one
high-yield crop
● Problems w/ this theory:
○ Fails to recognise that rich nations colonised other countries and took their resources to
reach a position of global strength (countries that colonised got richer but colonised
countries got poorer)
○ Suggests that all countries have access to the same resources and opportunities to develop
○ Ethnocentric: judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own (not fair to judge that
Western mode of doing things is the best)
Modernisation Theory & Durkheim
● Argued that early societies were based on mechanical solidarity
What is Globalisation?
Understanding Globalisation
● Modernisation Theory
● World Systems Theory
○ Reading: “The Uses of Global Poverty: How Economic Inequality Benefits the West”
(Daina Stukuls Eglitis)
● World Society Theory
Is Globalisation a Good Thing?
Global Inequality
● Reading: “The Record of Microfinance: The Effectiveness/Ineffectiveness of Microfinance
Programs as a Means of Alleviating Poverty” (Jon Westover)
Key Terms
What is Globalisation?
● Globalisation: process of increasing interconnectedness of people, products, ideas, and places
● 3 elements:
○ Material/physical
■ Increase flow of movement (of goods, people, money) across national borders are
facilitated by shared global infrastructure
■ Normative similarities (e.g; trade tariff agreements, friendly relations) develop from
global infrastructure
○ Spatio-temporal
■ Places that felt very far away feel much closer via recent developments (e.g; planes,
skype etc)
■ Distant events are able to impact us (directly - e.g; Arab Spring OR indirectly - e.g;
seeing photos of tsunamis)
● Marshall McLuhan’s concept of the “global village”
○ Better international communication resulted in the formation of an
increasingly interconnected and unified global community
○ Able to interact and learn about distant places and people
○ This increase of shared interaction creates a greater global
responsibility for social betterment via increased awareness (e.g;
Kony 2012 video)
● Impact of distant wars and conflicts
○ Able to affect our everyday lives
○ Increase in airport security and gas prices
○ Gas prices increasing because of conflicts in Middle East
○ r/s illustrates globalised nature of world economics
● World’s oil supplies
○ Globalised commodity market
○ All of the oil goes into the global market and countries compete
○ Results in international conflicts outside a country’s control
○ Cognitive
■ Dissemination of ideas and culture throughout the world
■ Cultural models become increasingly similar across countries
■ Positive example: concept of human right
■ Negative example: eating disorders
● Commodity Chains: gather resources, transform them into commodities, and distribute them to
consumers
○ Natural part of globalisation
Understanding Globalisation
, Theories of Globalisation
● Modernisation Theory
● World Systems Theory
● World Society Theory
Modernisation Theory
● Modernisation Theory: countries are poor because they cling to traditional and inefficient attitudes,
technologies, and institutions
● Traditional sets of values and processes hinder a country’s development
● If countries get rid of these traditional and old ways, all societies can become modernised and
developed
● Encourages all countries to strive to modernise the same way Western Europe and North America did
○ Requires a process of series of steps (described by W.W. Rostow 1991)
■ Pre conditions Takeoff
● All societies start as traditional countries
● Traditional countries are static, rigid, little economic mobility and prioritises
stability over change
● Based on subsistence agriculture/hunting/gathering
● Increase demand for raw materials → pushed to develop more
productive, commercial agriculture and create cash crops (cash crops: crops
to be sold instead of consumed by the producers)
● Increase in social mobility and previous social equilibrium put into flux
■ Economic Takeoff
● Mass productivity results in society being able to produce goods for both
domestic consumption and export
● Markets are created
● Increase in individualism
■ Technological Maturity
● All sectors of society become involved in market production
● International trade rises
● Economics is diversified
● Reduction in absolute poverty
● Rise of individualism & increase sense of efficiency → social
movements demanding greater political rights (e.g; education, increase
rights of groups)
■ Mass Consumption
● Stimulated by mass production in technological maturity stage
● People feel the need to have new diversity of products available and
consume accordingly
● Consumers have more disposable income so spend more
● Canadian society resides in this stage
○ Monocropping: economically efficient and profitable method of repeatedly growing one
high-yield crop
● Problems w/ this theory:
○ Fails to recognise that rich nations colonised other countries and took their resources to
reach a position of global strength (countries that colonised got richer but colonised
countries got poorer)
○ Suggests that all countries have access to the same resources and opportunities to develop
○ Ethnocentric: judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own (not fair to judge that
Western mode of doing things is the best)
Modernisation Theory & Durkheim
● Argued that early societies were based on mechanical solidarity
