The concept of globalization , which aroused the curiosity of the masses in the 90s, has been at the center of political discourse, journalists, commentators and activists, but it is difficult to establish how many have been able to fully grasp the meaning of this trendy term that has now entered the common lexicon.
What is globalization?
First, we must clarify that the term describes a set of processes interconnected by broad, rapid, and profound transformations of the current reality and the consequences arising from the global interdependence of transformations in the economic, cultural, social, technological, and institutional frameworks of politics. This condition presents, as we will see, many ambivalent and contradictory aspects.
The economic dimension
At the origin of globalization processes, however, the economic dimension dominates, with the acceleration and growth of trade thanks to " space-time compression ," as defined by David Harvey . In short, spatial distance, thanks to new technologies , no longer represents a barrier to communication: individual social actors and groups, even those located at extreme distances, can interact, giving rise to global consequences. Therefore, we are witnessing a reversal of the balance of power between economics and politics: the globalization of financial markets establishes its supremacy over the political forces of nation states.
The most important stock markets are able to move huge amounts of money in a short time. amount of money and thus to impose its laws on the entire planet and in all aspects of life, “even if only because they can take material resources away from society (capital, taxes, jobs)”. well-being of a nation, therefore, is no longer based on a comparison between the social parties within individual countries, but rather depends on their competitive capacity and their weight on the international scene.
The cultural dimension
Globalization also plays a significant role on the cultural level . In this case, it presents contradictory tendencies that are still the subject of heated sociological debate. Culture changes: it expands and extends, and while on the one hand this triggers processes of cultural homogenization with the Western capitalist model , on the other, as Robertson noted with his definition of " glocal , " many different realities persist, tending to safeguard their own identity and cultural specificity. Overall, the process of remixing of populations and ethnic groups must also be considered: thousands of people moving between continents and causing intercultural exchanges but also, indirectly, conflicts.
Fragmentation and multiplication of values
The global-local dialectic, however, represents the most general aspect of the effects globalization has on modern culture. Added to this is the weakening of a univocal and comprehensive explanation of reality, parallel to the collapse of collective ideologies, which leads to a fragmentation , disintegration, and multiplication of values . This condition offers individuals a significant increase in the possibilities of choosing their own relational spheres and orientations, which, however, determines a substantial asymmetry between expectations and the actual possibilities of realizing them.
Uncertainties and anomie
A greater freedom that is paid for with what is called by Durkheim "anomie" defined by the same "a condition in which the values, norms, and social bonds that allow the individual to adequately interpret the reality around him and to give meaning and direction to his life are absent or lacking”. Thus it arises in the subjects of the global society a sense of temporariness and uncertainty that pervades every aspect of life and also describes Zygmunt Bauman referring to the modern “liquid company" Each individual, thus emptied of his own identity, participates in society no longer as a producer but as a subject of the consumer system, and through it seeks self-fulfilment.
How have social relationships changed?
In the global revolution, social relationships are also undergoing major transformations . The development of communications and new means of communication, as mentioned, mean that relationships are detached from the physical space in which they actually occur. This separation leads to a decline , a fraying of face-to-face interactions, of real social relationships, as well as the rooting of human activity in local contexts and public engagement in favor of indirect, impersonal relationships. Anthony Giddens coined the term " disembedding" to identify these relationships that occur in conditions of distance and contemporaneity and to underline how social space is no longer defined by the spatial and temporal boundaries within which one moves. For the author, " interaction is restructured in indefinite space-time arcs ."
Two sides of the same coin
These transformations have led to several considerations: on the one hand the new communication techniques as stated McLuhan They create new possibilities and ways of closeness, of an egalitarian nature and indifferent to social hierarchies, as well as forms of involvement that lead to what he defined as "global villageOn the other hand, however, in this reconfiguration of relationships in the face of new complexities we find a character of uncertainty, fragility and precariousness found in current social relationships.
Valerio Adolini
