Ritzer, G Globalization the essentials chapter 2 PDF

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Ritzer, G.2011.Globalization. :The Essentials chapter 2 Globalization o Brought economic changes, now have an international division of labour o Marx predicted capitalism would have to include globalization at some point o Hypermobility of capitals (Footloose Capital) • Capital now can skip from place to place, where that capital is invested is where there is the biggest opportunity for more profit (companies will look at countries will access to RM, docile workers,) o Globalization and Tech • Time Space Compression, time is no longer a concept because you can get anywhere in the world and talk to anyone at any time (i.e. the internet, planes) o Political Change • The idea of free trade and global institutions that we didn’t have before (i.e. WTO) o Impact on culture and society • Mc-World, now increasingly there is a universal culture within countries, western world taking over developing countries • The idea of the American dream • Mobile workers and mobile work o Flows of people between countries temporary foreign workers, transnational caregivers o Can also talk about flow of workers inside of countries (i.e. moving to Alberta to work for the oil sans) o Neo-liberalism and the State • Modified form of liberalism, favoured form of capitalism, often characterized by free market trade, not a lot of government interference, idea that you let the market dictate and keep the government out of it • Think of neo liberalism as a policy model, the idea of privatization, idea of giving away from government spending, public ownership • Free market system , economic system that is based on supply and demand, with that is the idea of little government regulation • Idea that a buyer and seller would come together and voluntarily agree on a price or service • Because free market is based on supply and demand, leads to free competition o Neoliberalism: think of privatization, lower government spending on social safety nets, individualism, equal economic opportunity as long as you figure out how to do things yourself o Is the free market the same as capitalism o Capitalism is created based of the creation of wealth the ownership of capital and the means of productions o The free market is the exchange of wealth or goods and services o The purest form of capitalism is a free market or Lassiez-faire capitalism • Private individuals in the system and un restrained, can choose where they want t invest and when , can determine the price, idea that the market regulates itself based on demand o Most countries today practice a mixed capitalism system with government regulations over businesses and

o Precarious Work o Precarious work is on the rise in Canada because of the growing service industry and the shrinking manufacturing industry o Penalties include uncertain work schedules, fear of speaking out on workplace issues, problematic for childcare, uncertain pay, o Impacts on workers through health problems, both physical and mental, discrimination (i.e. towards women and POC), also issues of getting stuck in the cycle when you’re in them, lack of pension, can also impact family life (i.e. family life, stress from job, decrease in social and political activism) • If you have to work 3 shitty part times jobs just to pay to eat and have a roof over your head who has time to have emotional energy or pushback on those in power if you are tired and don’t have time o Overall precarious workers are vulnerable, both as people and structurally within the working institution, because within the institution you do not have the power to fight Globalization • Globalization typically refers to four interrelated changes: “Economic changes include internationalization of production, the harmonization of tastes and standards and the greatly increased mobility of capital and of transnational corporations. Ideological changes emphasize investment and trade liberation, deregulation and private enterprises. New information and communications technologies that shrink the globe signal a shift from goods to services. Finally, cultural change involves trends towards a universal world culture and the erosion of the nation-state.” - Gordon Laxer - Compressed space and time • Economic dimension of globalization - trade, production and finance: globally more integrated - International division of labour - Transnational decentralization of production - Hypermobility of capital - Flexibility: flows of information, main inputs and outputs • Altering how work is done 4 • Political dimension of globalization - Liberation odd the state regulated economies around world • Neoliberalism - Privatization of public enterprises - Deregulation of the economy - Liberalization of trade & industry - Strict control on organized labour - The reduction of public expenditures, especially social spending - The extension of international markets - The removal of controls on global financial flows - The downsizing of government - Increasing influence of TNCs (general motors, wal-mart, exxon-mobil, Mitsubishi, Siemens etc.)

- The enhanced role of international organizations • Making the rules of global economy (neoliberal interests) • Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) • Technological dimension of globalization • Cultural dimension of globalization • Ecological dimension of globalization Neo-Liberalism and the State - As Canada industrialized: • Government subsidy • Active encouragement of immigration (cheap labour) • Greater rights to workers - Post WWII • Keynesian economy policies (welfare state) • Active economic role of the state (regulate the labour market, keep the unemployment rate down) - Since the 1980s • Conservative political doctrines based on free market economies • Less state regulation • Higher unemployment rates • Dilution of labour rights • Privatization Canada and Free Trade - Since the 1980s: free trade agreements • 1989: FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with U.S • 1994: NAFTA (north American free trade agreement) with U.S and Mexico - Free Trade • Factory closures and job losses • From 2004-2008, more than 1 in 7 manufacturing jobs (322,000) disappeared in Canada Rethinking Industrialization - “logical of industrialism” thesis - A deterministic and linear argument about the immensity and inevitability of industrial technology - Contends that industrialism is such a powerful force that any country, whatever its original characteristics, will eventually come to remember other industrialized countries • “Convergence” in national outcomes? - Globalization is not a standardized process, but rather is playing out quite differently at national, regional and community levels - Recognize social, cultural, historical and political context in which nations industrialize • eg. Colonial legacies of many countries–Canada • E.g “asian tigers” (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea) - In a short time these economies underwent rapid industrialization (only 11 years) - “east Asia miracle”: spectacular growth rates and greater reductions in income inequality than other developing nations; rising output and productivity in agriculture at the same time that a

manufacturing export sector was developing; steep declines in birth rates so that population growth was constrained; heavy investment in human resources thorough expansion and improvement of educational systems, and a bureaucratic state run by a career civil service • e.g “capitalism” in communist China - China is seen as a huge market to conquer - China is a leading recipient of foreign direct investment by multinational corporations, with more than half of its trade now controlled by foreign firms • e.g. India’s booming high-tech economy - Despite high levels of poverty and illiteracy, India has invested heavily in computer engineering and science Great Transformation Revisited - Interactive service work and emotional labour • Caring work–activities necessary for the sustenance of human life (serving meals, paid childcare, cleaning homes etc.) - Mobile workers and mobile work Interactive Service Work and Emotional Labour - Emotional labour: the management of one’s emotions to conform with employer-defined rules • To the extent that emotional control (often a private thing) becomes a requirement of the job • Managing emotions at work - Service and hospitality (e.g airline stewardess, waitresses, bartenders etc.) • “surface acting” versus “deep acting” - surface= simply projecting required emotions; such as a smile - deep= actively changing what they are feeling • Emotional dissonance: self-estrangement at work? - Workers developing a sense of distress or self-estrangement due to the emotional demands of their job - What role do customers play in controlling worker behaviour? • Triangle of power comprised of customer, employer and employee is said to control worker behaviour Mobile Workers and Mobile Work - Mobile bodies: flows of people between countries • E.g transnational caregivers, temporary foreign workers (TFWs) - Migrate temporarily to work • Flows of people within countries - Growing “employment-related mobility” within Canada • E.g Alberta’s oil sands - Mobile Technologies • Mobile technologies are also altering how work is done - telecommuting– working from home - virtual teams–workers are spread out across different cities, regions, or countries • geographically dispersed teams 7 Contemporary Theories and Trends

- Ulrich Beck: The Risk Society (1992) • Argued that recent decades have seen a transition from a “modern society” to a “risk society” where individuals increasingly navigate more complex and risky work and life trajectories • Beck sees two interrelated processes: shift from relationship between capital and labour that dramatically alters labour markets and economies & greater reflexivity and individualization - Shift towards flexible labour markets; part-time, temporary jobs; less pay; less security Individualization of risk • Global competition for work • Heightened skill/credential requirements • Erosion of social safety nets - The “individualization” of risk • The result is to dramatically erode the quality of work, brining it in line with poorer countries...