LESSON

1 WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?

I. INTRODUCTION
As our society, where we belong, continues to change, we too will continuously
interact from quite different backgrounds. The manner on how we respond to these
changes can have a serious impact on us. But how are we going to resolve this issue?
Are we affected in a similar way?
This lesson will give you an overview of what globalization is and how it works at
multiple, intersecting levels. Further, you will know how it affects people differently.

II. OBJECTIVES
 Define globalization.
 Differentiate globalization from globalism.
 Narrate a personal experience of globalization.

III. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Read this story and take note all the important details.

A Story: Gio, Latif, and the Laksa

When Gio was a second-year international affairs student in a university in Cebu City, he
obtained funding to join the school team participating in an international Model UN competition
in Sydney, Australia. At the height of the competition, Gio made plenty of new friends and became
particularly close to Latif from the Malaysian team. The two first started talking when Latif asked
Gio where he was from. Upon discovering that Gio was from the Philippines, Latif lit up and
declared that he was a big fan of Filipino actors Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa. Gio was
pleasantly surprised to learn that Latif had seen every episode of the ABS-CBN telenovela Pangako
sa Yo ("The Promise"). The show had aired on Malaysian TVa few years back, and its two stars
had developed a modest following.

Ashamed that he did not know as much about Malaysia as Latif knew about the Philippines,
Gio asked Latif what his country was like. Latif, he discovered, was from a Muslim university in
Kuala Lumpur. Gio asked him what he liked best about living in “KL,” and Latif immediately
mentioned the food. Latif explained that in Kuala Lumpur, one can find Chinese, Indian, and
Malay cuisines. He told Gio that this assortment of foodways was the result of how the British
reorganized Malaysian society during the colonial times. The British did little to change the way
of life of the Malays who were the original residents, but brought in Chinese laborers to work in
the rubber plantations and tin mines, and Indians to help manage the bureaucracy and serve as
the initial professional core of a potential middle class. One of the ways that these ethnic groups
were identified was through their foodways.
 According to Latif, Malaysia eventually became famous for these cuisines which can be
found in the various “hawker centers” across the nation’s cities and towns. These food stands are
located in outdoor food parks where locals and tourists taste the best of Malaysia, from nasi lemak
to laksa.

Gio interrupted Latif and asked, “What is laksa?” He felt more ashamed at his lack of
knowledge. "Ahh...let me show you what it is and how it is prepared!" replied Latif.

The next day, Latif took Gio to a Malaysian restaurant a few blocks away from the
university. Gio was surprised to discover that Malaysian food was readily available in Sydney.
Having noticed this, Latif explained to his Filipino friend that, over the years, as more and more
Malaysian students moved to Sydney to study, Malaysian restaurants followed suit. Soon after,
they were catering not only to these students, but to Australia-born “Sydnesider” as well, whose
culinary tastes were becoming more and more diverse.

Gio finally had his first taste of laksa  a rice noodle soup in a spicy coconut curry sauce.
He found the flavors intense since, like most Filipinos, he was not used to spicy food. However,
in deference to his friend, he persisted and eventually found himself enjoying the hot dish.

After the meal, Gio and Latif went to a nearby café and ordered "flat whites”  an
espresso drink similar to latte, which is usually served in cafés in Australia and New Zealand. Both
knew what flat whites were since there were Australian-inspired cafés in both Kuala Lumpur and
Cebu.

The new friends promised to stay in touch after the competition, and added each other
on Facebook and Instagram. Over the next two years, they exchanged e-mails and posts,
congratulated each other for their achievements, and commented on and liked each other's
photos. Latif sent his mother’s recipe to Gio and the latter began cooking Malaysian food in his
home.

A few years after graduation, Gio moved to Singapore, joining many other overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) in the city-state. The culture was new to him, but one thing was familiar:
the food served in Singapore was no different from the Malaysian food he had discovered through
Latif. He would later learn from Singaporean colleagues that the island country was once part of
the British colony of Malay and the postwar independent Federation of Malaysia. Singapore,
however, separated from the Federation in August 1965 and became a nation-state. Today, they
may be two distinct countries in this part of the world, but Singapore and Malaysia still share the
same cuisine.

After he settled down in his apartment, Gio sought out and found a favorite laksa stall in
Newton Hawker Center. He would spend his weekends there with friends eating laksa and other
dishes.

One Saturday, while Gio was checking his Facebook feed along the very busy Orchard
Road  Singapore’s main commercial road  he noticed that Latif had just posted something 5
minutes earlier. It was a picture from Orchard Road. Surprised but also excited, Gio sent Latif a
private message. Latif replied immediately saying that he too had moved to Singapore and was,
at that moment, standing in front a department store just a few blocks away from where Gio was.
The two friends met up, and after a long hug and quick questions as to what each was up to,
they ducked into a café and renewed their international friendship… by ordering a pair of flat
whites.
Answer the following questions.
1. What are the hints of globalization in the story?

2. What is the impact of globalization to the life of Gio and Latif? Is it beneficial or
detrimental? Explain your answer.
 Gio and Latif's story is fictional but very plausible since it is, in fact, based on the real-
life experience of one of the authors. It was through such friendships that one was able to able
to appreciate the meaning and impact of globalization.

We begin our definition of globalization with this narrative to illustrate how concrete the
phenomenon is. The story shows how globalization operates at multiple, intersecting levels. The
spread of Filipino TV into Malaysia suggests how popular culture has proliferated and criss-crossed
all over Asia.

The Model UN activity that Gio and Latif participated in is an international competition
about international politics. Gio met Latif (a Malaysian involved in the model UN) in Sydney, a
global city that derives its wealth and influence from the global capital that flows through it.
Sydney is also a metropolis of families of international immigrants or foreigners working in the
industries that also sell their products abroad. After the two had gone back to their home
countries, Gio and Latif kept in touch through Facebook, a global social networking site that
provides instantaneous communication across countries and continents. They preserved their
friendship online and then rekindled this face-to-face in Singapore, another hub for global
commerce, with 40 percent of the population being classified as "foreign talents."

Our discussion should begin with this intuitive sense that something is happening, and it
is not affecting everyone in the same way. Gio's story is a very privileged way of experiencing
global flows, but for other people, the shrinking of the world may not be as exciting and edifying.
For example, government that decide to welcome the foreign investments on the belief that they
provide jobs and capital for the country offer public lands as factory or industrial sites. In the
process, poor people living in these lands, also called "urban poor communities," are being evicted
by the government. The irony is that these people forcibly removed from their "slums'" are also
the labor force sought by foreign companies. They had to be kicked out of their homes, and then
told that they could take an hour or two of bus travel from their relocated communities back to
the "old home" minimum-wage work.

Because different people encounter globalization in a variety of ways, it is deemed useful

to ask simple questions like: Is globalization good or bad? Is it beneficial or detrimental?" The
discussion begins with these two premises. First, globalization is complex phenomenon that
occurs at multiple levels. Second, it is an uneven process that affects people differently.

According to Manfred Steger, globalization is the “expansion and

intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and across
world-space”. Expansion refers to “both creation of new social networks and
multiplication of existing connections that cut across boundaries.” Social media (Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, etc.), for example, establish new global connections between people.
Intensification refers to the expansion, stretching, and acceleration of these networks. For
example, the world becomes more financially integrated. The intensified trading network between
countries and cities may expand and stretch to cover more and more countries and cities.
 The illustration shows how the
expansion and intensification
happen between countries in
terms of food industry.

The images are from

https://www.pinterest.ph/p
in/732749801864749018/,
https://www.pinterest.ph/p
in/732749801864748307/,
https://www.pinterest.ph/p
in/732749801864748329/,
https://www.pinterest.ph/p
in/732749801864748782/,

Steger notes that “globalization processes do not occur merely at an objective material
level but they also involve the subjective plane of human consciousness.” In other words, people
begin to feel that the world has become a smaller place and distance has collapsed from
thousands of miles to just a click away. One can now send a message to a friend in another
country and get a reply instantly. Cable TV and internet has uncovered news around the globe.
So one has the greater sense of what’s happening in the other parts of the world.
Steger suggests that his definition of globalization must be differentiated with an ideology
he calls globalism. Globalism is the widespread belief among powerful people that the global
integration of economic market is beneficial for everyone . Meaning, globalism spreads freedom
and democracy across the world through media and policy circles.
All this talk of large, interconnecting processes may be confusing. Some scholars
discussed “multiple globalizations” instead of just one process. Anthropologist Arjun Appadurai
discussed globalization in terms of five specific “scapes” or flows that occurs on multiple and
intersecting dimensions of integration.
1. Ethnoscape refers to the global movement of people. Examples are labor migrants,
refugees, and leisure travelers.
2. Mediascape is about the flow culture and media across borders. It includes how
information, entertainment, and education content travel fast form one location to
another.
3. Technoscape refers to the circulation of mechanical good and software. It focuses on
how technology can radically affect day-to-day life of people.
4. Financescape refers to the flow of money across political borders.
5. Ideoscape refers to the flow of ideas. An example could be an individual posting her
personal views on Facebook for public consumption.
Appadurai’s argument is simple: there are multiple globalizations.
Answer the following.

1. Let us test how creative you are. Define globalization by thinking of a word, phrase,
or sentence that start with each letter of the term. Write your answer below:
G-

L-

O-

B-

A-

L-

I-

Z-

A-

T-

I-

O-

N-

2. Compare and contrast globalization and globalism using the venn diagram.

GLOBALIZATION GLOBALISM
3. How have you experienced globalization?