11(158-162)Note for Authors


TOWARDS A CRITIQUE OF GLOBALIZATION

Joseph I. Fernando

Assumption University of Thailand

Abstract

Globalization heralds a great epoch in human history. Yet,

despite certain advantages of globalization, its

disadvantages cannot be overlooked. It is necessary to

ask certain questions. Is globalization a form of

neocolonialism? What is its impact on the southern

hemisphere? Is it necessarily linked to violence, militarism

and eco-unfriendly technologies? And are these problems

essentially moral rather than merely economic and

ecological?

Globalization is a key word in contemporary discourse. Human-

kind has entered a new epoch. At the dawn of a new millennium we find

ourselves joining the conversation of humanity facilitated by stupendous

communications network. This is a new beginning and could be a great

leap forward for the global community.1 Socially, globalization can pro-

mote the unity and oneness of the human race through cooperation, inter-

dependence and sharing of knowledge, expertise, personnel and resources.

Economically, the world has become one huge market. Technologically,

globalization is accelerated by the use of machines so much so that man

today is homo technologicus. Despite the advantages of globalization,

some questions concerning it are very disturbing indeed. What is happen-

ing to the world in the name of globalization? Who benefits most from

globalization? Does globalization make the world a better place to live in?

Is globalization neo-colonialism?

The Colonial Legacy

44 Prajñâ Vihâra, Volume 8, Number 2, July-December, 2007, 44-53
    © 2000 by Assumption University Press



Colonialism dates back to the discovery of the new lands by the

maritime powers of Europe from the 15th century onwards. This was the

beginning of the exploitation of the non-Europeans and it is apparently a

nonstop process till today. What were the presuppositions for the justifi-

cation of colonialism? The Europeans treated the new lands they had dis-

covered as their property. What made them owners of the colonies? When

the Europeans encountered the non-European cultures, the former con-

sidered the latter inferior. What were the reasons for this inferiority? Per-

haps the Europeans suffered from the assumption that the non-European

cultures were inferior to that of Europe. Is this assumption baseless since

these cultures had their own antiquity? For example, the civilization of

India is older than that of Europe. The British archaeologist Gordon Childe

remarks that at the time of the Indus Valley Civilization known for its

palatial buildings and highly developed urban culture, the people in En-

gland were in the Stone Age. Probably the possession of gunboats and

technology boosted the European consciousness of superiority. Compared

to the Europeans, the natives had hardly any developed technology; so

the Europeans might have viewed the natives as inferior. This was an era

of the combination of racism, invasion, oppression and exploitation in the

colonies. Colonizing somebody else’s land amounts to robbery, lawless-

ness and gross violation of the principles of justice. The colonial powers

were Christian nations and one wonders whether or not Christianity was a

failure in Europe. Ironically, there were both European mercenaries and

missionaries in the colonies. The former plundered the people and the

latter preached the Gospel.

It is hard to comprehend how both plundering and evangelizing

could go together! Discovery of new lands, colonialism, industrialization,

and capitalism have strengthened Eurocentrism. It would seem Europe

was the centre of the world and the rest of the world existed for the sake

of Europe. The economy of Europe was fortified by exploiting the colo-

nies. The superior military technology of the Europeans silenced the na-

tives of the colonies.

Westcentrism

Joseph I. Fernando  45



          The 20th century witnessed freedom movements in the colonies in

Asia and Africa. The native people rose to affirm their right to self-

determination. It appeared as if the days of colonization were over. On

the contrary, Eurocentrism assumed greater proportions. The term West

means not only Europe but also includes America, Canada, Australia and

New Zealand, which the Europeans grabbed from the natives. Professor

Gary Dorrien rightly remarks, “The United States was founded on a

genocidal conquest…”2 Eurocentrism has evolved into what I call

Westcentrism, which means the West is the centre of the world and the

rest exists for the sake of the West. In my opinion, the West today has

enormous power and resources due to science and technology, and

exploitation of non-Western nations.

The Medieval Age in Europe, also known as the Age of Faith,

gave way to the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the Age of Reason and

later the Age of Science. With advancement in science and technology,

the world was increasingly desacralized, the gods had fled and what is

now left is stark matter. Even man is a kind of living matter. The West has

tasted a comfortable life made possible largely by exploitation and the

Western lifestyle has to be maintained at any cost, no matter what hap-

pens to the rest of the world. Ironically, Europe embraced the very beliefs

of Marxism, which it attempted to repudiate. In a desacralized and secu-

lar world, man is primarily an economic being, a consumer. Religion as the

opium of the people deserves elimination. Hence, the death of God and of

Christianity. It is also time for the death of ethics. All we have is stark

matter and naked power, derived from unlimited wealth.

Wittgenstein wrote in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: “The

world is the totality of facts, not of things.”3 But today the world is a

totality of marketable commodities. Planet earth itself as commodity is for

sale. The world can be fragmented and sold on installments. The world is

no longer the home of man but a huge bundle of resources for marketing.

Everything in the world has a use-value for man and this use-value must

be converted into money. The world is a generator of money. Money is

deified and man reified. Money determines the power of individuals.

Samuel P. Huntington in his Clash of Civilization and the

Remaking of World Order writes: “Western nations, as one author

summarized it:

46  Prajñâ Vihâra



Own and operate the international banking system

Control all hard currencies

Are the world’s principal customer

Provide the majority of the world’s finished goods

Dominate international capital markets

Exert considerable moral leadership within many societies

Are capable of massive military intervention

Control the sea-lanes

Conduct most advanced technical research and development

Control leadership edge technical education

Dominate access to space

Dominate aerospace industry

Dominate international communications

Dominate the high-tech weapons industry.”4

Irrespective of another theory that the power of the West is in the

decline, it is obvious the West continues to wield enormous power.

Worldview of Globalization

I infer some presuppositions of globalization from the praxis of

globalization. Globalization views the universe as a totality of material be-

ings, which constitute nature and the environment. All of them just exist.

There is no ultimate reason why they should exist. These beings depend

on and use each other. In this sense they are relational. This relation is one

of use and interdependence. Man is different from other beings in the

sense he can have a greater use and enjoyment of these beings. All beings

including man are resources. Think of the Human Resource Department

of any organization which reduces man to one of the resources like elec-

tricity, water, timber and so on. All beings as resources are for consump-

tion. The teleology of being is both proximate and remote. Consumption

is the proximate teleology of beings. The possession of consumable goods

and capital endows man with power. This power derived from wealth

makes man feel good. The greater the power one has over others, the

greater the sense of well-being. The remote teleology of beings is power

Joseph I. Fernando  47



realized in man. One is reminded of Nietzsche’s will to power. The phi-

losophy of globalization originating from the West is materialistic and ego-

centric (not ecocentric). It views the world solely in terms of exploitation

and use. The world as container of resources is the object of insatiable

greed and endless power, which inflate the ego.

The Impact of Globalization

In my opinion, the greatest threat to the world comes from the

West. The rest of the world has been suffering since the days of colonial-

ism, Industrial Revolution, capitalism, Communism and more so today

due to neocolonialism or globalization. Colonialism had inflicted untold

suffering on the natives of the colonies – it robbed them of their freedom,

self-respect, resources and so on and left them with poverty, slavery, de-

humanization and a host of other problems. The industries in the West

sucked the raw materials out of the colonies. The West converted the

colonies as market for the goods made out of the raw materials from the

colonies themselves.

The insatiable appetite of Western capitalism devours people and

nature. Man and nature are raw materials for manufacturing commodities.

Man himself is a commodity selling his labour power in the labour market.

Marx was one of the first thinkers to perceive the disastrous consequences

of capitalism on man and nature. He ventured to suggest Communism as

an alternative to capitalism. Communism as a product of the West meant

to be emancipatory; unfortunately it ended up enslaving people. With the

implementation of Communism the world was divided into two camps of

the cold war era. Colonialism, capitalism, Communism and cold war have

been the creation of the West.

Industrialization, science and technology ushered in the era of mod-

ernization. The rest of the world believed that modernization was the best

thing that could happen. The rest of the world aped the Western model of

modernization while mostly forsaking time-honoured, native wisdom. The

consequence is a long list of woes: disappearance of native manufacture,

exodus to the cities, desertion of the rural areas, cut-throat competition

greed, consumerism, destruction of nature, disintegration of the family,

48  Prajñâ Vihâra



artificial life-style, deforestation, junk food, pollution, poisoning of water,

air, soil and food, arms race, terrorism, suicide bombs, fundamentalism

and numerous conflicts ultimately leading to the possible decimation of

both man and nature.

The problems of globalization are essentially moral rather than

economic or ecological. Globalization is the product of the predatory West-

ern civilization, which is spiritually and morally bankrupt. Globalization

coming from the West is a threat to the Asia Pacific region. Asia has been

home to great civilizations and religions from time immemorial. Today Asia

faces the inevitable challenge of globalization as it did in the case of mod-

ernization. Our forests are disappearing and together with them varieties

of fauna and flora and the displaced communities. The rivers, mountains,

valleys and coasts plead for mercy. The globe is under attack in the name

of globalization.

Globalization enhances the concentration of wealth in a few hands

and the pauperization of the masses at an alarming rate. Not only will

there be desertification of the land but also of the lives of millions of people

in the poor nations. Globalization as it is today is unacceptable. John P.

Hubert, Jr. writes, “…once Christian Western Culture has devolved into a

virulent form of neo-pagan secularism. It is marked by moral relativism

combined with utilitarianism, materialism including largely unregulated free-

market capitalism, wild inequitable consumption of precious resources

and the goods of production and a dangerous version of rabid personal

“freedom” in which truth itself is sacrificed at the “altar” of the autono-

mous self, which pursues various “preferences” in the name of “human

rights.”5 Globalization is part of this neo-pagan secularism. Since the days

of colonialism, European civilization has come to stay as a predatory civi-

lization. Therefore, is globalization, which is neocolonialism predatory?

Many Westerners seem to assume that they have more rights to a

comfortable life than the non-Westerners. Their assumption is linked to

their belief in racism and violence, which go along with globalization. For

the Westerners, racial discrimination seems to be necessary so that the

non-Westerners can be kept out of mainstream economic opportunities.

Violence too is necessary since the days of colonialism to subjugate the

non-Westerners. Violence continues to perpetuate itself through armament

technology, arms race, military attacks and invasions. The trinity of racism,

Joseph I. Fernando  49



militarism and materialism are built into globalization. For the U.S.,

globalization is part of its empire-building exercise. Hence, uneven trade

agreements.

Alternatives to Globalization

Globalization as it is today is unacceptable for the following rea-

sons:

1. It is unjust. The corporations exploit the world.

2. It is destructive. It destroys the natural resources all over the

world, particularly in the developing nations.

3. It increases global poverty.

4. It threatens world peace.

5. It leads to dehumanization.

Therefore, it is imperative to seek alternatives to globalization.

The good news is that “…millions of people … are already hard at work

constructing the building blocks of a post-corporate–post-capitalist

civilization. They are demonstrating alternatives far more attractive and

viable than socialism or the failed economic models of the former Soviet

Union. The most promising alternatives center on applying the familiar

principles of democratic governance and market economics to create

societies that function in service to life and treat money as a facilitator, not

the purpose, of our economic lives.

“The determined pioneers are creating new political parties and

movements, strengthening their communities, deepening their spiritual prac-

tice, discovering the joyous liberation of voluntary simplicity, building net-

works of locally rooted businesses, certifying socially and environmentally

responsible products, restoring forests and watersheds, promoting public

transportation and defining urban growth boundaries, serving as peace-

makers between hostile groups, advancing organic agriculture, practicing

holistic health, directing their investments to socially responsible businesses,

organizing recycling campaigns, and demanding that trade agreements

protect the rights of people and the environment.

50  Prajñâ Vihâra



“They are present in every country. They come from every race,

class, religion, and ethnic group. They include landless and illiterate peas-

ants but also corporate executives; they include union members, share-

holders, ranchers, teachers, housewives, small-business owners, farmers,

local government officials, inner-city kids, loggers, wealthy intellectuals,

and reformed gang leaders. The majority are women. Fed up with the

failures of elitist leadership and distant bureaucracies, they are demon-

strating the powerful potential of truly democratic forms of leadership in

which people take direct responsibility for the health and well-being of

themselves, their families, their communities, and the planet.”6

Technology today is at the service of globalization and militariza-

tion. Globalization is not possible without technology and violence. The

search for alternatives to globalization includes a humane perspective of

technology and a nonviolent world order. I would like to draw inspiration

from Heidegger with regard to technology. Heidegger views technology

as a disclosure of Being. A close look at his treatment of technology re-

veals that he calls for an authentic understanding of man’s place in the

world, especially of man’s relation to nature. For Heidegger, technologi-

cal devices have arisen because our understanding of Being changes. He

calls the essence of technology das Gestell i.e. the ‘disclosive frame-

work’.  This ‘disclosive framework’ or enframing lets the world be under-

stood primarily in terms of how it can be arranged, transformed and uti-

lized for realizing some human goal. Thus the Rhine River is no longer the

home of the Rhine maidens, nor as something of intrinsic value, but as

something to produce hydroelectric power. River, forests, landscapes and

animals are destroyed and rearranged to suit some human project. Man

sees the forest no longer as a display of the magic and beauty of life, but as

raw material.

Heidegger cautions that if man treats nature as standing-reserve

and goes on extracting from it as much as he wants as orderer of the

standing-reserve, there is the danger he himself will become the standing-

reserve. With the loss of transcendence, man himself may be treated as

the most important raw material. One day we may have factories to pro-

duce human beings. The will to power is never satisfied and craves for

more and more. As a result, the demand on the standing-reserve becomes

unlimited. What Heigegger fears is not the deadly technological devices

Joseph I. Fernando  51



like the nuclear weapons but the loss of being human. If man ceases to be

man, what will happen to the world? On the one hand, we already face

the consequences of man considering himself the lord of being. On the

other, there is the possibility of an extreme situation wherein man becomes

a standing-reserve, a very useful raw material. Is it possible for man to

rediscover his relationship to nature? Should we give up technology and

go back to the arcadian, idyllic simplicity of the past? We cannot eliminate

technology. Overcoming technology requires collective, ethical action. Man

is primordially homo ethicus before becoming homo technologicus.

Man’s relation to nature and human beings is ethical. Technological issues

are basically moral issues which elicit an ethics of technology.7

A peaceful world order requires the renunciation of violence. What

is needed is globalization of peace. Disarmament is an imperative not only

for the survival of the planet, but also for peace and prosperity. Nonvio-

lent solutions have to replace the military ones. As intelligent beings, men

and women the world over are capable of ushering in an era of peace,

liberty and prosperity to all. It is high time for the world community to

reflect seriously on how to make disarmament a reality. Globalization of

peace presupposes globalization of disarmament. The gods that had fled

have to come back so that as Heidegger would put it, the fourfold of earth

and sky, mortals and divinities can be gathered.

Instead of messing up the world any more and thrusting

globalization on it, the West must apologize and repent for its colonial

exploitation. Apology and repentance must be accompanied by restitution.

The principle of restitution demands that the West provide the former

colonies with internationally supervised economic aid. As Martin Luther

King, Jr. put it, a great nation is a compassionate nation. When justice and

compassion are combined, one can expect miracles to happen. The United

Nations as a world body must be reformed, strengthened, and made more

democratic; this would be part of genuine globalization. Member nations

are bound to respect the decision of the U.N. Disregarding the decision of

the U.N. would spell disaster to the world. A typical example is the invasion

of Iraq by the U.S.  So, whither globalization?

Endnotes

52  Prajñâ Vihâra



1 Joseph I. Fernando. “Globalization with a Human Face” In John P. Hogan

(ed.) Cultural Identity, Pluralism and Globalization, Washington D.C: The Coun-

cil for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2005.
2 http://www.kzoo4peace.org/DorrienApr9.html.
3 Ludwig Wittgenstein. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus 1.1.
4 Samuel P. Huntington. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of

World Order. New York: Simon &Schuster, 1997, p.82.
5 http:www.catholic.org/printerfriendly.php?id=2993&section=

featured+tod…20-02-2006.
6 David C. Korten. The Post-Corporate World. San Francisco: Berret-

Kochler Publishers, Inc. 1999, pp.2-3.
7 Joseph I. Fernando. “Heidegger and Technology”. Prajna Vihara (Janu-

ary – June 2003).

Joseph I. Fernando  53