Thinking About Globalization

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Thinking About Globalization

• Michael Goheen
• Trinity Western University
• Langley, B.C.

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New World Order

• 20th Century Bipolar (US, USSR)
• Fall of Communism
• New world order
• One world order economic globalization and
  modernization
• Bipolar north/south east/west
• Chaos
• Clash of civilizations

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Major Forces of Global Power

• West economic globalization and modernization
• Islam
• China and economic power
• Third world church and Pentecostalism

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Why is it important to understand?

• The reality of our world is not the end of
  grand narratives, but the increasing dominance of
  the narrative of economic globalization. . . .
  This is the new imperialism . . . (Richard
  Bauckham)
• Economic globalization is the greatest
  challenge that the Christian mission faces (Rene
  Padilla).

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Importance of Understanding Globalization

• This moment, at the turn of the millennium,
  appears to me to be one of the most critical
  points in human history. Powerful, untruthful,
  hypnotic ideologies corrupted societies and
  destroyed millions of people throughout the
  twentieth century. Yet none of them had the
  instruments of communication available to it to
  infiltrate the human mind the way the present
  ideology of limitless economic and technological
  expansion can do. (Goudzwaard)

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• The golden age does not lie behind us, but ahead
  of us (Saint-Simon, 1780-1825).

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• Paradise images
• . . . whatever was the beginning of this world,
  the end will be glorious and paradisiacal, beyond
  what our imaginations can now conceive. . .
  nature . . . will be more at our command men
  will make their situation in this world
  abundantly more easy and comfortable (Joseph
  Priestly 1733-1804).

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• Paradise images
• Material prosperity
• Humanly speaking, the greatest happiness
  possible for us consists in the greatest possible
  abundance of objects suitable for our enjoyment
  and in the greatest liberty to profit by them
  (Mercier de la Rivière, 1767).
• Human happiness, according to Adam Smith and
  his followers, depends on large measure on the
  possession and use of material prosperity
  (Myint, contemporary economist).

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• Paradise images
• Material prosperity
• Reached by reason
• The essential articles of the religion of the
  Enlightenment may be stated thus . . . (3) man
  is capable, guided solely by the light of reason
  and experience, of perfecting the good life on
  earth . . . (Becker).

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• Paradise images
• Material prosperity
• Reached by reason
• Discerning natural laws
• Translated into technology
• Where can the perfectibility of man stop,
  armed with geometry and the mechanical arts
  technology and chemistry? (Sébastien Mercier,
  1770).

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• Paradise images
• Material prosperity
• Reached by reason
• Discerning natural laws
• Translated into technology
• Society reorganized according to reason
• . . . a new social machinery could alter
  human nature and create a heaven upon earth
  (Bury).

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Enlightenment Vision Seeds of Economic
Globalization

• Progress
• Paradise images
• Material prosperity
• Reached by reason
• Discerning natural laws
• Translated into technology
• Society reorganized according to reason
• Exaggerated place of economics

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Classical Economics

• Leading role
• Mechanistic economic laws
• Smiths invisible hand
• Self-interested individuals? acting according
  to self-interest? harmony of conflicting
  interests? material prosperity? trickle down to
  prosper poor
• The rich are led by an invisible hand to make
  nearly the same distribution of the necessaries
  of life, which would have been made had the earth
  been divided into equal portions among all its
  inhabitants and thus, without intending it,
  without knowing it, advance the interest of
  society (Adam Smith).

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Classical Economics

• Leading role
• Mechanistic economic laws
• Smiths invisible hand
• Two gambles (leaps of faith)
• Happiness gamble If we have more goods produced
  by labour we will be happy.
• Market gamble If we let the market be free for
  the economic self-interest of individuals then it
  will guide us to a better future for all.

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Religious Choices of Enlightenment Vision

• End of human life Material prosperity
• Relationship of human beings to nature
• Mechanistic understanding of law

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Vision Implemented in Industrial Revolution

• Science-based technology
• Division and mechanization of labour
• Tremendous economic growth
• Evolutionary worldview deepened commitment to
  autonomous market

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Growth of Consumer Culture

• Early growth of consumer culture in 20th century
• Changes in capitalism in late 20th century
• Less salting influence of gospel increasing
  selfishness and covetousness
• Wealth of today vs. need of Smiths day
• Economic totalitarianism
• Technologically manipulated needs vs. existing
  needs
• Global market

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Economic Globalization What is it?

• Companies expanding reach to global market
• Stimulated by relaxed trade barriers and
  developments in information technology
• Facilitated by multi- and trans-national
  corporations and global capital
• Late expression and global expansion of modern
  religious metanarrative

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Late Modern Story

• Globalization is a form or method of
  modernization on a global scale.
• Possibly never before has modernity received
  higher expression than in todays process of
  globalization.
• . . . the word modern is not neutral it
  cannot be divorced from a specific view of life,
  humanity, the world, and ultimate meaning.
• - Bob Goudzwaard

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Economic Globalization

• What is it?
• Trusting global market
• Unjustly created market

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Unjust global market

• Asymmetric globalization (Stiglitz)
• Market is created
• Financial sector
• Creation of currency
• Third world debt
• Third world inclusion and exclusion from global
  market

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Economic Globalization

• What is it?
• Trusting global market
• Unjustly created market
• Growing poverty and ecological damage
• Three comments about global market ideology

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Three Comments on Global Market Ideology

• Free market is good but twisted by natural law
  theory
• Market is one part of social fabric but twisted
  by totalitarian influence
• Market is creational but twisted by messianic
  expectations
• Free trade has never worked because it has
  never been tried. (Stiglitz)

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Our Calling?

• Understand!
• Dynamics and facts about globalization
• Potential solutions (e.g., Goudzwaard)
• Bible as true story
• Our part in missional encounter
• Lifestyles of restraint and generosity
• Suffering, spirituality, and community