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3 The Mythology about

Globalization

Marjorie F e r guson

From sound bites to learned texts, ‘globalization’ reverberates through the corridors
of politics, commerce, industry, scholarship, communication, environmentalism
and popular culture. In moving from prophecy to assumption about the world,
globalization is invoked to signify sweeping social, cultural and institutional
change, the end results of which are sometimes said to define our age. If for no
other reason than pervasiveness, this notion raises interesting but problematic
issues.
First, there is the problem of meaning. It is not clear whether the different
parties invoking globalization mean the same thing or even if they are address-
ing the same issue. Second, there is the problem of evidence. Despite its frequent
attribution, neither the indices, nor the extent, of its actual occurrence are always
clear. Third, there is the problem of evaluation. To whatever extent globalization
(however defined) actually is occurring (and to whom), its alleged positive ben-
efits or negative costs are difficult to assess. The deeper questions are: ‘cui bono?’
and ‘who is being globalized (or de-globalized), to what extent and by whom?’
This article attempts to come to grips with this problematic notion, first in a
more general way, and later, more specifically, through a collection of myths that
have gathered around it. Finally, it seeks to raise for discussion a larger concern:
the ideological overtones of the historical inevitability which has been asserted
by globalizationists.

The Problem of Meaning

Although proponents and critics may differ in their definitions, there is broad
consensus that globalization denotes both a journey and a destination: it signi-
fies an historical process of becoming, as well as an economic and cultural result;
that is, arrival at the globalized state.
The idea is not new. Ever since Magellan’s early sixteenth-century circumnav-
igation of the globe founded a material reality, this worldview has gathered
substance and force. Current interpreters tend to focus on the key domains of
economics, politics, culture and technology. Increased economic interdepen-
dence and worldwide corporate enterprise, decreased political sovereignty for

Source: EJC (1992), vol. 7: 69–73.