Metaphors of Globalization

Solid & Liquid

Solidity refers to barriers that prevent or make
difficult the movement of things.
Solids can either be natural or manmade
Example of natural solids are landforms & bodies of
water. Man-made barriers include the Great Wall of
China & the Berlin Wall
An imaginary line such as the nine-dash line used by
BERLIN WALL
 An imaginary line such as the nine-dash line used by
by the People’s Republic of China in their claim to the
South China Sea is an example of modern man-made
solid.
Liquid , as state of matter, takes the shape of its
container which means liquids are not fixed, therefore,
refers to the increasing ease of movement of people,
things, information & places in the contemporary
world.
 Today’s liquid phenomena change quickly & their
aspects, spatial & temporal are in continuous
fluctuation.
This means that space & time are crucial elements
of globalization, in global finance, for instance changes
in the stock market are a matter of seconds.
Another characteristic of liquid phenomena is that
their movement is difficult to stop.
 For example, videos uploaded on YouTube or
Facebook are unstoppable once they become viral. The
so called internet sensations become famous not only
in their homeland but also to the entire world.
The forces (the liquid ones) made political
boundaries more permeable to the flow of people or
things ( Cartier, 2000).
This brings us to what Ritzer (2015, p.6) regarded as
the most important characteristic of liquid
 It tends to melt whatever stands in its path
(especially solids). The clearest example is the decline, if
not death of the nation-state.
Liquidity & solidity are in constant interaction,
liquidity is the one increasing & proliferating today.
Therefore, the metaphor that could best describe
globalization is liquidity.
Flows
Flows are the movement of people, things,
places & information brought by the growing
“porosity” of global limitations (Ritzer, 2015)
Think the different foreign cuisines being
patronized & consumed by the Filipinos. Aside from
the local dishes, many of us are fond of eating sushi,
ramen, hamburger, & French fries –food introduced
to us by foreign cultures. Clearly, foods are being
globalized.
 Another example of flows is global financial
crises. As (Lander,2008)put it: “ In global financial
system, national borders are porous. This means that a
financial crisis in a given country can bring
ramifications to other regions of the world.
An example of which is the spread of the effects of
American financial crisis in Europe 2008.
The following are other kinds of flows that can be
observed today: poor illegal migrants flooding many
parts of the world (Moses, 2006).
 The virtual flow of legal & illegal information such
as blogs child pornography,& immigrants recreating
ethnic enclaves in the host countries.
A concrete example is the FILIPINO communities
abroad & the CHINESE communities in the Philippines.
GLOBALIZATION THEORIES
Homogeneity refers to the increasing sameness in
the world as cultural inputs, economic factors, & political
orientations of societies expand to create common
practices, same economies & similar forms of
government.
 Example is the dominant religion in our country is
Christianity, w/c was brought to us by the Spaniards.
Another is Americanization, w/c was defined by
Kuisel(1993) as the import of non-American products,
images, technologies, practices & behaviour that are
closely associated with America/Americans
For instance blamed the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) FORITS “one-size-fits all” approach w/c
treats every country in the world as the same.
 Rich countries become advantageous in the world
economy at the expense of the poor country countries
w/c leads to increased inequality among nations.
The political realm also suffers homogenization if
one takes into account the emerging similar models of
governance in the world.
Barber (1995) said that “McWorld” is existing. It
means only one political orientation is growing in
today’s societies.
Top 10 Richest Countries 2018 Based on IMF by GDP
1. Qatar – $129,360
2. Macao – $125,170
3. Luxembourg – $112,710
4. Singapore – $93,680
5. Brunei Darussalam – $77,700
6. Ireland – $75,790
7. Norway – $72,190
8. Kuwait – $71,930
9. UAE – $69, 900
10. Hong Kong – $63, 350
The Poorest Countries in the World
1. Democratic Republic of Congo 2019 GDP per Capita
(projected): USD 475
2. Mozambique 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD
502
3. Uganda 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD 759
4. Tajikistan 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD 861
5. Yemen 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD 913
6. Haiti 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD 923
 Economic Forecasts from the World's Leading Economists

7. Ethiopia 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD 1122

8. Tanzania 2019 GDP per Capita (projected): USD 1159
9. Kyrgyzstan 2019 GDP per Capita (projected)
: USD 1266
10. Uzbekistan 2019 GDP per Capita (projected)
: USD 1350
Source: Economic Forecasts from the World's
Leading Economists
Economy of the Philippines
Statistics
38th nominal (2017) World Bank
GDP Rank 28th PPP (2017) World Bank
6.1% (2015), 6.9% (2016), 6.7%
GDP Growth
(2017e), 6.7% (2018f)
(nominal) US$3,429.55 (2018 est.)
GDP per Capita
(PPP) US$8,861.79 (2018)
agriculture: 7.4% industry: 34%
GDP by Sector
services: 58.6% (2018)
 The global flow of media is often characterized by
media imperialism. TV, music, books & movies are
perceived as imposed on developing countries by the
West (Cowen, 2002).
Media imperialism undermines the existence of
alternative global media originating from developing
countries, such as the Al Jazeera (Bielsa, 2008) & the
Bollywood (Larkin, 2003), as well as the influence of the
local & regional media.
 The Internet can be seen as arena for alternative
media. Cultural imperialism denies the agency of
viewers, but people around the world often interpret
the same medium(e.g. movie) in significantly different
ways. Global media are dominated by a small number
of large corporations.
As Mcchesney (1999) put it, this is being
“extended from old media to new media” such as
Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Google & Apple’s iTunes.
 As a result, in the long run the Internet could end
up being less diverse & competitive.
Independent Media Centre associated with the
alter-globalization movement, helps to counter the
trend.
It disseminates information to facilitate global
participation of activists. Hacktivists extend activism
to the Internet by hacking into the computer
programs to promote a particular cause. (Juris, 2005).
 Ritzer (2008) claimed that, in general, the
contemporary world is undergoing the process of
McDonaldization.
It is the process by which Western societies are
dominated by the principle of fast-food restaurants.
McDonaldization involves the global spread of rational
systems such as efficiency, calculability, predictability &
control
Ritzer (2008)pointed out that this process is
 Ritzer (2008)pointed out that this process is
“extended to other businesses, sectors, & geographic
areas”
Grobalization, in contrast to glocalization is a
process wherein nations, corporations etc. impose
themselves on geographic areas in order to gain
profits, power, & so on. (Ryan, 2007)
Theories of Globalization
1.Homogeneity 2. Heterogeneity
 Heterogeneity pertains to the creation of various
cultural practices, New economies, & political groups
because of the interaction of elements from different
societies in the world.
Heterogeneity refers to the differences because of
either lasting differences or of the hybrids or
combinations of cultures that can be produced thru the
different trans planetary processes.
A more specific concept is “glocalization” coined
 A more specific concept is “glocalization” coined
By Roland Robertson in 1992. To him, as global forces
interact with local factor or a specific geographic area,
the “glocal” is being produced.
The commondification of cultures & “glocal”
markets are examples of differentiation happening in
many economies around the world.
The same goes with political institutions. Barbers
(1995) also provided the alternate of “McWorld” – Jihad
 As Ritzer(2008) mentioned, it refers to the political
groups that are engaged in an “intensification of
nationalism & that leads to greater political
heterogeneity throughout the world.
 thank you very much
MA.VICTORIA ANDAL-CABIGAN,
Ed.D.