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Was globalization supposed to "align the values?" I'm not sure this is really true. The closest argument I've heard in this regard is that globalization will ge

Was globalization supposed to "align the values?" I'm not sure this is really true. The closest argument I've heard in this regard is that globalization will generally make people more capitalistic, and more liberal. (in the "small l" sense) I'm not sure that's any reason to think that this would make people adopt the same values. I also have ZERO reason to think that to the degree that things are splintering, globalism has anything to do with it. I'd lay that blame on social media. It's social media and the internet which present a different reality for me than for my next-door neighbor, and social which feeds me the most interesting (ie, extreme) views on just about any topic I could hope to research.

coffeebeqn 2y ago
Globalization is at its root manufacturing resources in the place its most efficient/cheapest. I don’t know that it’s “supposed” to do anything else - maybe some of the foolish end of history thinkers thought that but I don’t see how that premise would lead to anything other than what it says on the tin
- vundercind 2y ago
  It was (I think it’s finally starting to wane now that reality is becoming impossible to ignore) regarded as nigh-fact by the neoliberal consensus that has driven Washington since the early ‘80s. Like they’d just dismiss anyone who questioned it as clearly an idiot.
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 2y ago
  Globalization is just a step on the path of capitalizing and commodifying humanity. The wholesale subjugation of most people to toil m so the fruits of their labor can be accumulated by people whose only claim to these spoils is from circumstance, charitably speaking, is an indictment of the very people responsible for this status quo.
unglaublich 2y ago
It’s true in the commercial sense: we all wear Nikes, AirPods, drink CocaCola and buy Ford.
- RugnirViking 2y ago
  even as of western Europe, the response to that list of four brands would be yes, no, yes, no. Apple doesnt have as big a hold here, and ford is much smaller of a car brand. CocaCola is big here.
jhbadger 2y ago
The argument was that capitalistic success was thought to be linked to having an open democratic society, perhaps because of the great economic success West Germany and Japan had in the postwar decades after becoming democracies. But China and Russia have shown that you can have relative economic success without openness or democracy.
- jampekka 2y ago
  E.g. South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan also grew their economies rapidly, although they were more or less right-wing dictatorships.
jampekka 2y ago
I'd say increasing economic inequality is the main driver. With inequality, the actual, not just presented, reality is different. Income inequality correlates with polarization of values, and it's been on the rise for a long time. And wealth inequality is a lot worse. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8608558/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8608558/
MyFedora 2y ago
No, globalization wasn't supposed to align social values, and the article itself clarifies this point. While some thought globalization might lead to a convergence of social values based on liberal ideals of personal rights and freedoms, this assumption was overly simplistic. The idea that globalization would lead to a universal adoption of Western values seems almost laughable. It's as if they had never engaged with cultures like China, where Western ideals can feel as alien as their own do to us. Concepts like democracy, with its emphasis on individual choice, don't necessarily resonate in societies where centralized leadership is seen as more effective. Likewise, the Western emphasis on individualism contrasts with cultures that prioritize community and collective responsibility. It's not that these values are inherently wrong; they're just different. There's no inherent reason for cultures to adopt Western values. If anything, the spread of Western ideals across the globe has often been the result of colonialism, where Western nations imposed their ideologies on other societies, claiming them to be superior.

coffeebeqn 2y ago

Globalization is at its root manufacturing resources in the place its most efficient/cheapest. I don’t know that it’s “supposed” to do anything else - maybe some of the foolish end of history thinkers thought that but I don’t see how that premise would lead to anything other than what it says on the tin

vundercind 2y ago
It was (I think it’s finally starting to wane now that reality is becoming impossible to ignore) regarded as nigh-fact by the neoliberal consensus that has driven Washington since the early ‘80s. Like they’d just dismiss anyone who questioned it as clearly an idiot.
Red_Leaves_Flyy 2y ago
Globalization is just a step on the path of capitalizing and commodifying humanity. The wholesale subjugation of most people to toil m so the fruits of their labor can be accumulated by people whose only claim to these spoils is from circumstance, charitably speaking, is an indictment of the very people responsible for this status quo.

unglaublich 2y ago

It’s true in the commercial sense: we all wear Nikes, AirPods, drink CocaCola and buy Ford.

RugnirViking 2y ago
even as of western Europe, the response to that list of four brands would be yes, no, yes, no. Apple doesnt have as big a hold here, and ford is much smaller of a car brand. CocaCola is big here.

jhbadger 2y ago

The argument was that capitalistic success was thought to be linked to having an open democratic society, perhaps because of the great economic success West Germany and Japan had in the postwar decades after becoming democracies. But China and Russia have shown that you can have relative economic success without openness or democracy.

jampekka 2y ago
E.g. South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan also grew their economies rapidly, although they were more or less right-wing dictatorships.

jampekka 2y ago

I'd say increasing economic inequality is the main driver. With inequality, the actual, not just presented, reality is different. Income inequality correlates with polarization of values, and it's been on the rise for a long time. And wealth inequality is a lot worse. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8608558/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8608558/

MyFedora 2y ago

No, globalization wasn't supposed to align social values, and the article itself clarifies this point. While some thought globalization might lead to a convergence of social values based on liberal ideals of personal rights and freedoms, this assumption was overly simplistic. The idea that globalization would lead to a universal adoption of Western values seems almost laughable. It's as if they had never engaged with cultures like China, where Western ideals can feel as alien as their own do to us. Concepts like democracy, with its emphasis on individual choice, don't necessarily resonate in societies where centralized leadership is seen as more effective. Likewise, the Western emphasis on individualism contrasts with cultures that prioritize community and collective responsibility. It's not that these values are inherently wrong; they're just different. There's no inherent reason for cultures to adopt Western values. If anything, the spread of Western ideals across the globe has often been the result of colonialism, where Western nations imposed their ideologies on other societies, claiming them to be superior.