Economy, Society, and Cultural Change societies.

If a society remains feudal, people the "education oriented

(handout 8) will always be tied to the land and its economic strata."According to a study
structures. People will tend to be traditional undertaken by the German
The Economy as Foundation of Social Life and the development of individualism will be Studentenwerk (Student Services
difficult as a result of the strong collective Association), these students also have
The Importance of Economic Structure orientation of the people. Once people are to cope with greater material
freed from the bondage of the land, once the problems...This is then reflected in the
Karl Marx, the father of scientific socialism, free peasants migrate to urban centers and fact that twice as many of them take
famously stated in his A Preface to o Critique begin to work in factories, they develop a longer than average to complete their
of Political Economy the most controversial different way of life, a different worldview. studies. All in all, the university
assertion in sociology: prospects for children from working-
The assertion of Karl Marx is also a truism in class families or normal white-collar or
In the social production of their life, another way. The cultural lifestyle of the poor civil service backgrounds are far worse
men enter into definite relations that will be much different from those of the middle than they are for children from the
are indispensable and independent of classes and the super-rich. Whereas the rich upper classes, despite the fact that
their will; these relations of production and the middle classes can afford to buy universities have gone through a
correspond to a definite stage of original products, the lower class will be drawn process of social opening (Hartmann
development of their material forces of more to popular culture and its affordable 2004, p. 91).
production. The sum total of these products. Hence, families from the upper
relations of production constitutes the classes enjoy watching golf, while the lower In the case of women, their status will also
economic structure of society—the real classes tend to watch popular sports like depend, not only on the cultural definition of
foundation, on which rises a legal and basketball. It does not mean, of course, that gender roles, but also on the economic
political superstructure and to which poor people are incapable of enjoying "high development of society. Marx, again, famously
correspond definite forms of social art" and stylish dresses, leisure, and music. If observed that the degree of development and
consciousness. The mode of production given the proper education and socialization, progress of a society is always measured by
of material life determines the social, the lower class can also learn how to the status of women.
political and intellectual life process in appreciate the "conspicuous consumption" of
general. It is not the consciousness of the rich. In the case of the Philippines, The Political Economy of Inequalities
men that determines their being, but, "lifestyles as indicative of class cultures may be
on the contrary, their social being that inferred from material possessions, the way The distribution of wealth in society will always
determines their consciousness. A people handle leisure and their exposure to be dependent on the economic structure of
Preface to Contribution to Critique of media and cultural preferences"(p. 153). For society. One of the major impacts of economy,
Political Economy Cynthia Bautista (2001),"Of material therefore, on society is on defining the status
(https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/crit possessions, the dwelling unit is among the and class of individuals within society. The
ique-pol-economy/preface-abs.htm, retrieved best indicators of social status in the claim of Marx and Engels that, "The history of
November 26, 2015). Philippines, since Filipinos tend to invest their all hitherto existing society is the history of
savings in the appearances of their houses."A class struggles;' provides the starting point for
Karl Marx is basically arguing that the recent study on the education of the elite class analysis. For Marx, class refers to
different kinds of social relations that are members of European societies in relation to relations among people who share the same
generated by the economic production of students from lower classes illustrates further class interests in relation to the means of
human beings of a particular society shape the the way class structure shapes the trajectory production. Class is dependent on the access
entire life, beliefs, and activities of that society. of scholastic achievement: to the ownership of the means of production.
In a feudal society, for instance, where Those who own and monopolize the means of
agriculture is the main pillar of production, A child from the so-called production in the classic Marxist analysis,
hierarchical social relations are produced owing "educationally remote strata" who, under capitalism, are called the bourgeoisie
to the inequality between the landlords and the despite all these obstacles, reaches a or the capitalists. Those who own nothing
landless peasants. Naturally, the political university is then confronted with the except to sell their labor power in the market
system under feudalism is either authoritarian extremely effective "unofficial" are the proletariat (from French proletariat,
or despotic. The same applies to slave-owning curricula and the behavior patterns of from Latin proletarius—a man whose only
wealth is his offspring). The proletariat and the System of Stratification as Source of a closed system in contrast with the class
bourgeoisie, however, are not just aggregates Inequalities system that is relatively open. Membership of
of individuals who share the same class castes is ascribed rather than achieved, and
interests. Classes are real or objective entities Some sociologists, however, extend the social in between castes is heavily constrained
that shape the way people think about definition of class to include not only access to and ritualized. Unlike in the class system, in
themselves and how they relate with others in the means of production like land, capital, and the caste system the positions of people are
the real world. Marx, however, argued that technologies but also to the prestige attached already determined at the moment they were
workers do not necessarily have consciousness to one's social position. Hence, some born. In his famous essay on “The Future
over their class interests. But they can possess sociologists, writing along the Weberian Results of British Rule in India”, Karl Marx
this class consciousness through collective tradition, use the term stratification. When characterized the Indian castes as "the most
struggle. When they become aware of their regularly recognized social differences (of decisive impediment to India's progress and
oppression, they organize themselves into wealth, color, religion, ethnicity or gender, for power." Marx correctly argued that the caste
unions. example) become ranked in some hierarchical system of India was based on the e hereditary
manner, sociologists talk about strata (Bruce division of labor, which was inseparably linked
There are three types of class according to and Yearly 2006, p. 290). with the unchanging technology base and
Marx: The bourgeoisie, which the Communist subsistence economy of the Indian village
Monifesto referred to as "owners of the means Max Weber defined class a category of community.
of social production and employers of wage individuals who (1)"have in common a specific
labor:' The proletariat or the working class, causal component of their life chances in so far Over one-sixth of
which are said to be "the class of modern as (2) this component is represented India's population,
wage-laborers who, having no means of exclusively by economic interests in the some 170 million
production of their own, are reduced to selling possession of goods and opportunities for people, live a
their labor-power in order to live."There are income, and (3) it is represented under the precarious existence,
also the petty bourgeoisie who are the class of conditions of the commodity or labor market' shunned by much of
educated individuals. The big landowners who He was close to Marx's view because he Indian society because
exploit the labor of the peasants. And the believed that ownership of property is crucial of their rank
peasant class that include landless farmers to the definition of class. But Weber's sociology as`untouchables' or
who are forced to offer their services to the big distinguished status from class as the two Dalits—literally
landowners. Finally, Marx also included principal bases of social stratification. Where meaning "broken"
the"dangerous class," otherwise known as the class referred to social differences based on people—at the bottom
lumpenproletariat, which is said to be economic divisions and inequalities, status of India's caste
composed of "the social scum, that passively designated the differentiation of groups in the system.
rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of "communal" sphere in terms of their social http://www.ncdhcorg.in/dalit-
old society."The lumpenproletariat sell their honor and social standing. For Weber and his rights-situation, retrieved
services to the bourgeoisie, who use them as followers, status groups are differentiated less November 12, 2014)
strike breakers, labor spies, and fighters on the basis of wealth but by the kind of
against the workers in times of revolution. shared lifestyle they have. It is well known that
Such are the actions which make them the Weber saw class as only one aspect of the Class System
"dangerous class:' Marx, however, often spoke distribution of power in society. So, while a
of the bourgeoisie, proletariat, and physician belongs to the middle class, being a As discussed earlier, under the class system,
landowners. According to Bertell Oilman, member of a professional group of physicians individuals are positioned according to their
Marx's criteria for distinguishing classes hinge also means having an elite status that gives a access to the means of production and
on the question of class conflict and interests. member social prestige. contribution to productive labor. People with
The proletariat and the bourgeoisie are the higher income tend to have children who also
great classes under capitalism because their Caste have higher income. Parents who can afford to
interests are directly opposed to each other send their children to better schools are
(http://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/class.php, retrieved Caste system as a system of social promoting the future advantage of their
November 12, 2014). stratification differs from class in its rigidity children. To talk about the class system is to
and in the basis of legitimation. It is also called talk about the ways in which individuals from a
definite family background can advance to a communities with clear boundaries. They in a bureaucracy on the basis of blood
relatively better economic position than their distinguish themselves from the "outsiders" by relations. In his book Distinction (1984),
parents. In most class system, education has the use of the derogatory terms of "us" versus Bourdieu refers to symbolic capital as "the
become the accepted means to advance one's "them." This is exemplified in the caste system acquisition of a reputation for competence and
social mobility. Among Filipino families, where high-class caste sets itself apart from an image of respectability and honourability..."
education is considered as the "ticket to the outcast. Whereas Karl Marx de fined class (p. 291). A celebrity has a higher symbolic
success." This is supported by the theory of in relation to the ownership of the means of capital than an ordinary individual. She can
education-based meritocracy proposed chiefly production or property, Weber framed class in utilize that symbolic capital to run for political
by American sociologists Daniel Bell in the terms of life chances in the market. In the office.
1960s. In this theory, education is supposed to market, one can increase one's life chances or
be the great status equalizer. Education economic opportunities by having more These forms of capital constitute the resources
provides much needed capital to climb the prestige or social honor. These prestige and of a person's habitus, which refers to the
economic ladder. Hence, many Filipino families honor are often not acquired by merits but personal psychological dispositions of a person
will sacrifice anything for their children to finish through birth to a status group. Being a that are shaped by these forms of capital and
a college degree. This practice is based on the member of a royal family, for instance, is not family background, while also modifying them
belief that our society is an "open" society that acquired but inherited. Yet, like Marx, Weber in the light of engagement with the social
allows the movement of individuals from a believed that it is property or the lack of world. Bourdieu defines the habitus as "an
lower class to a relatively higher class. property which are decisive in determining the acquired system of generative schemes
individual's chances in competing in the objectively adjusted to the particular conditions
When people are allowed and are capable of marketplace. in which it is constituted" (Bourdieu 1977, p.
moving from one stratum or class to another 95). A person can combine these forms of
class, it is called social mobility. According to In contemporary sociology, it is Pierre capital and transform or activate them to gain
Bruce and Yearley (2006), social mobility Bourdieu (1930-2002), a French sociologist, advantage in the social field.
"signifies the movement of people between who dealt extensively with class inequalities by
positions in a system of social stratification. In arguing that capital, in its classic Marxist A middle class student, for instance, can hire a
modern societies this means the movement of usage, does not refer only to economic assets tutor for his/her subjects. A middle class family
people between social classes is defined by but also includes cultural, symbolic, and social can only do this because it has economic
occupational scales. It may occur between capital. Cultural capital refers to the forms of resources. In this example, a middle class
generations (as when a girl born into a knowledge, educational credentials, and artistic family converts economic resources to cultural
working-class family achieves a middle-class taste that a person acquires from family and symbolic capital. In return, this conversion
occupation) or be the ups-and downs of an background, which give them higher status in will serve as an asset and resource for a
individual career" (p. 283). society. A physician has a higher cultural middle class student in achieving better
capital compared with an ordinary office clerk. scholastic performance in school. In the case of
Status and Class Parents provide their children with cultural students coming from the lower class, the
capital by transmitting the attitudes and cultural and symbolic capitals they acquire
In sociology, when the concept of class is knowledge needed to succeed in the current from college education are transformed into
discussed, it is o hen term "stratification' en educational system. Middle class families assets in applying for employment.
differentiated from Weber's notion of prefer to send their children to exclusive
stratification. According to Peter Saunders private schools so their children can acquire Economy and Globalization
(1990), has been borrowed by sociologists higher cultural capital. Social capital refers to
from the science of geology. Stratification, in resources based on group membership, Globalization Through Free Trade
geology refers to the accumulated strata of relationships, and networks of influence and Agreement
rock that form the earth's surface. In support. Bourdieu (1984) described social
sociology, while strata do not constitute capital as "the aggregate of the actual or Anthony Giddens, a British sociologist, the
communities, according to Max Weber, status potential resources which are linked to multiplication of risks in a new globalized
groups normally are communities. Status possession of a durable network of more or economy: "In the new global electronic
refers to life chances that are determined by less institutionalized relationships of mutual economy, fund managers, banks, corporations,
social honor or prestige. People who belong to acquaintance and recognition." In traditional as well as millions of individual investors, can
status groups usually form exclusive societies, for instance, individuals are recruited transfer vast amounts of capital from one side
of the world to another at the click of a mouse. commenced on 1 January 1995 under the However, many critics assail its negative
As they do so, they can destabilise what might Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General effects on poor countries. Colin Hines explains
have seemed rock-solid economies—as Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which the power of WTO:
happened in the events scan Asia" (2002, p. commenced in 1948. According to the WTO
30). Giddens is, o fcourse, referring to global website: The WTO's greatest power lies in its
financial crisis. Financial crisis has become dispute settlement body and its cross-
global because world economies are The World Trade Organization (WTO) is retaliation provisions, both of which
integrated. From an economic point of view, the only global international enable it to force nations to comply
globalization may be seen as "the process of organization dealing with the rules of with WTO rules. The increasing number
progressive growth of economic activities trade between nations. At its heart are of controversial rulings in which the
which transcends any definition, kind of the WTO agreements, negotiated and WTO dispute settlement body has
geographical border. According to this signed by the bulk of the world's upheld corporate interests over those
definition, globalization can be seen as the trading nations and ratified in their of people and the environment has
increasing movement of goods and services as parliaments. The goal is to help increased public opposition to the
well as human resources through trade and producers of goods and services, VVTO...Globalization is reducing the
investments among nations. Trade exporters, and importers conduct their power of governments to provide what
liberalization policy and international trade are business their populations require all over the
perceived as important ingredients of (https://www.wto.org/english/thewtoe/whatis_e/whatise world. TNCs and international capital
globalization" (Thai, Rahm, and Coggburn .htm, retrieved August 5, 2014). have become the de facto new world
2007, p. 2). government. Their increasing control
The WTO is supposed to promote free and fair over the global economy is
The original and continuing fundamental goal trade. Yet, it must also be pointed out that the underpinned by their free trade
of economic internationalization is free trade. "agreement establishing the WTO commits its orthodoxy (2000, 16).
The dream of economists after World War II member states to a variety of noble objectives:
was a system of multilateral trade through the improved standards of living, full employment, When Corporations Rule the World
International Trade Organization (ITO) to expanded production of and trade in goods and
reverse the protectionism of the Great services, sustainable development, and an Another globalizing force is that of
Depression. Today, this dream has come true enhanced share of developing countries in transnational corporations (TNCs), which
in the major agreements, such as the world trade."The Agreement further commits influence national government policies through
European Union (EU), North American Free its members to contribute to these objectives their ability to invest and reinvest capital,
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Asia-Pacific "by entering into reciprocal and mutually relocate factories, and influence other similar
Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of advantageous arrangements directed to the companies in either investing or boycotting a
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the substantial reduction of tariffs and other country. A TNC differs from a traditional
Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR). barriers to trade and to the elimination of multinational company (MNC) in that a TNC
Economic globalization today is facilitated by discriminatory treatment in international trade does not identify itself with one national home.
the interlocking of nation states through free relations" (Narllikar 2005). While traditional MNCs are national companies
market agreements by supra-national with foreign subsidiaries, TNCs spread out their
organizations such as the International . Many economists believe that trade operations in many countries through
Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, the World liberalization is favorable to democracy. A outsourcing and offshore investment. An
Trade Organization (WTO), NAFTA, Transpacific democracy that starts with a liberalized example of a TNC is Nestle that employs senior
Partnership (2005), and APEC. These economy is likely to strengthen democratic executives from many countries while
international and regional trade agreements rule. Liberalization accelerates growth and enforcing decisions from a global perspective
limit the scope of nation-state activities while increases competitiveness. Growth following rather than from one centralized headquarters.
facilitating free trade. economic liberalization may permit Surely, the "transnationality" of TNCs can be
redistribution required in democracy (Pelaez considered as roughly equivalent to
The WTO, in particular, is an organization that and Pelaez 2008, 71). globalization. As United Nations Conference on
supervises and liberalizes international trade. Trade and Development (UNCTAD) defines it,
It is one of the pillars of economic "Transnationality is a function of the extent to
globalization. The organization officially which a firm's activities are located abroad. It
refers to the geographic spread of firms and position of power. Their investment decisions foods cannot be afforded, and health
implies the existence of a home country and can be crucial to the economic well-being, not suffers. By consuming inappropriate
one or more host countries" (UNCTAD 2007, p. only of a nation, but of whole regions. To products, the poor have less money to
1). secure economic growth and political stability, buy basic necessities... (p. 7).
nation-states have to compete globally for
TNCs have been a driving force behind the investments. TNCs benefit from that TNCs are not only blamed for the poverty of
dramatic transformations in the global competition and, therefore, appear to shape developing countries. Many critics also point to
economy. They enabled the expansion of trade the global political agenda to their advantage. the environmental problems that arise from
and investment flows and have also promoted This enormous power of TNCs makes many the operations of TNCs in the developing
the creation of new economic linkages between scholars and even governments worried and countries such as mining, logging, and
developed and developing countries. In a world critical of TNCs' operations. The potential agriculture. The petrochemical company
increasingly marked by transnational economic power and extent TNCs influence are described Chevron is guilty of some of the worst
and cultural flows, TNCs assume an important by the UNCTAD (2007): environmental and human rights abuses in the
position as the producers and movers of goods world, according to International Labor Rights
and services. They are not merely economic The universe of TNCs is large, diverse Forum. For instance, from 1964 to 1992,
units but have become important cultural and and expanding. By the early 1990s, Texaco (which transferred operations to
occasionally political forces. Many economists there were an estimated 37,000 TNCs Chevron after being bought out in 2001)
argue that TNCs can be beneficial to in the world, with 170,000 foreign unleashed a toxic "Rainforest Chernobyl" in
developing countries because of technology affiliates. Of these, 33,500 were parent Ecuador by leaving over 600 unlined oil pits in
transfer and diffusion of knowledge and corporations based in developed pristine northern Amazon rainforest and
information. TNCs bring much needed capital countries. Today, there are an dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic production
to developing countries through direct foreign estimated 77,000 TNCs in the world, water into rivers used for bathing water
investments. These investments, in turn, with more than 770,000 foreign (http://www.laborrights.org/in-the-news/14-worst-corporate-
create jobs and employment for the host affiliates. These affiliates generated an evildoers, retrieved November 12, 2014). Politically, many
countries. One scholar cites the case of estimated $4.5 trillion in value added, anti-globalization activists protest the
McDonald's: employed some 62 million workers and powerlessness of developing countries to check
exported goods and services valued at the unbridled operations of TNCs. Coca-Cola
On January 31, 1990, the first more than $4 trillion (UNCTAD 2006, p. Company, perhaps the most widely recognized
McDonald's restaurant opened in the 3). corporate symbol on the planet, is another
Soviet Union and a worldwide company example. According to International Labor
record of 30,567 customers were As a result, John Medeley, a strong critic of Rights Forum, The company leads in the abuse
served. However, the important point TNCs, points out the difference between the of workers' rights, assassinations, water
for this book has nothing to do with the poor of developing countries and the TNCs: privatization, and worker discrimination.
fact that you can now buy a Big Mac in "The starkest contrast between the poor and Between 1989 and 2002, eight union leaders
Russia. The point is that a private TNC the TNCs is that the poor have little power. from Coca-Cola bottling plants in Colombia
from an industrialized nation can move And while the corporations have gained from were killed after protesting the company's
into an LDC and make a profit while the changes in the global economy, the poor labor practices. Hundreds of other Coca-Cola
helping to organize very disorganized have lost, often from those same changes" workers who have joined or considered joining
and unproductive economic sectors (Madelley 2009, p. 7). Medeley further adds, the Colombian union SINALTRAINAL have been
(e.g. agriculture, electricity, kidnapped, tortured, and detained by
transportation, food service) of society. TNCs have successfully persuaded paramilitaries who are hired to intimidate
The infrastructure built by the TNC can people in developing countries to adopt workers to prevent them from unionizing"
(and probably will) have a positive products such as Coca-Cola, Seven-Up, (http://www.laborrights.org/in-the-news/14- worst-corporate-
ripple effect across many other sectors Pepsi, Kentucky Fried Chicken, beef evildoers, retrieved November 12, 2014).
of the nation (Hanson 2008, P. 12 ) burgers, cigarettes and so on as part of
their way of life. Such goods cost a In the West, governments insist on high
Although TNCs are subject to regulation by the sizeable proportion of the poor's environmental standards and TNC operations
nation-states, their transnational reach earnings, with the result that are carefully scrutinized. In developing
appears to endow them with a superior traditional and usually more nutritious countries, however, legal requirements are
often lower and TNCs can get away with more. philanthropic programs targeting communities body of economic theory (Plehwe, Walpen, and
Critics point out the ease with which or employees. Other times it refers to Neunhoffer, 2006). As a theory, neoliberalism
multinationals can avoid national regulation commitments to promote the welfare of has its origin in the economic theory that
through their mobility and flexibility of suppliers. It also refers to a variety of activities emerged from the Mount Pelerin Society, the
structure and organization. The power of TNCs designed to enhance environmental name of a small village close to Lake Geneva,
grows stronger with acquisitions and mergers. stewardship (sustainability). More generally, it under the leadership of the Swiss businessman
refers to the vague intention to better society Albert Hunold and Friedrich August von Hayek.
According to Barron's Business Guide (2007), (corporate citizenship)" (Ludescher and Neoliberalism was an attempt to challenge the
to merge corporations means to "financially Mahsud 2010, p. 123). An advocate of growing power and influence of the state over
combine two companies so that only one of the corporate social responsibility states, the market. Neoliberal reformers argued that
companies survives as a legal entity" (p. 424). the smaller the government, the freer is the
In acquisition, one company takes over But today a business can no longer be market. The market is the place where private
controlling the interest in another company (p. seen as a creator of wealth solely for individuals transact business freely. Basic to
10). Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of its owners. Rather, business has neoliberal economic theory is the claim of the
a smaller firm by a larger one. Consolidation broader responsibilities that extend superiority of the market mechanism and
occurs when two or more corporations are beyond its owners and shareholders to competition-driven processes of capitalist
combined into a new corporation (p. 135). The include employees, customers, development over state-driven pathways of
biggest acquisition so far is America Online suppliers and host communities. This social and economic organization, the
acquiring Time Warner valued at 5186.2 billion view is distinct from business limitation of government to the protection of
in 2000. However, they eventually demerged philanthropy in that it is based on a individual rights, especially property rights,
in 2009. Recently, Microsoft Corporation sense of responsibility, not generosity privatization of state enterprises, and the
acquired Nokia to the tune of 57.3 billion. This (Pegg 2003, p. 8). liberalization of formerly strictly regulated and
acquisition will have enormous impact on government administered markets (Plehwe and
mobile technology, personal computers, World Capitalist System, Neoliberalism, Walpen 2006, 27).
program development, and consumer and Inequality
preferences. Today, with the globalization under full swing,
Economic globalization through world trade social scientists are divided between those who
In the past, many economists believe that it is implies a division of labor between societies. argue that globalization promotes economic
not the moral responsibility of TNCs to act From world system analysis, popularized d by growth and those who argue that globalization
fairly and to operate based on sustainable Immanuel Wallerstein, the core or advanced is increasing the gap between the rich and
development. According to Milton Friedman industrial countries do capital-intensive, de, poor both in developed and developing nations.
(1962, p. 133), one of the most popular high value-adding production while peripheral Those scholars who criticize neoliberalism
proponents of neoliberal economics, the idea societies or less developed countries do labor- make a distinction between globalization as a
that corporations have any responsibilities intensive, low value-adding production. As a universal process of shrinking the globe into
beyond maximizing profits for their result, the peripheral countries provided ample small village, and globalism as an ideological
shareholders represents "a fundamental but cheap raw materials and labor for version of neoliberal globalization. Critics of
misconception of the character and nature of a industrialized countries. According to Malcolm neoliberal globalization or globalism, the
free economy." The sole responsibility of Waters, this international division of labor ideology, tend to emphasize the growing
business leaders is to generate and maximize widened the gap between poor and rich t ac inequalities in both national and global scale.
profits within the prevailing legal framework. was countries. roi 20:1, bOyn1a9n75income s
Today, however, owing to the pressure from 4p0e:ri and basis the rich: poor ratio was According to the journal The Economist,
anti-globalization movements, ecology about 2:1 in 1800, by 1945 by 1990 it was "Growth really does help the poor: in fact it
movements, and even governments, many 64:1 (1995, 2001, p. 44). raises their incomes by about as much as it
TNCs are now moving towards corporate raises the incomes of everybody else...In
social responsibility (CSR) and developing Many critics of globalization argue that the short, globalization raises incomes, and the
an ethical standard for their worldwide persistent inequality that the world confronts is poor participate fully" (The Economist, 27 May
operations. CSR "refers to any activity that largely a product of neoliberalism and the 2000: 94).
promotes the welfare of a ny stakeholder of a policies implemented under it. Neoliberalism is
business corporation. Sometimes CSR refers to a plural set of ideas rather than as a singular
Some neo-classical economists even think that household wealth, a total greater than the stand by when food is thrown away while
inequality is good. In an interview in wealth of the world's poorest 95%, those people are starving? This is a case of
Wirtschaftswoche, the Austro-Hungarian adults worth under $150,145 (http://ineq inequality. Today everything comes under the
economist Friedrich von Hayek, one of the uality.org/global-inequality/ttsthash.biW6myyo.dput retrieved laws of competition and the survival of the
founders of neoliberalism, made it clear that he November 12, 2014). fittest, where the powerful feed upon the
advocated inequality unreservedly: "Inequality powerless. As a consequence, masses of
is not regrettable, but highly pleasing...Those To get a graphic picture of this global people find themselves excluded and
who attack the rich forget that most of them inequality, think of this description by Oxfam, marginalized: without work, without
created jobs in the course of becoming rich an international non-governmental possibilities, without any means of escape.
and so they have helped more people than if organization: "The world's wealthiest people Human beings are themselves considered
they had given money to the poor (von Hayek aren't known for travelling by bus, but if they consumer goods to be used and then
1996, p. 16). fancied a change of scene then the richest 85 discarded. We have created a-throw away-
people on the globe—who between them culture which is now spreading. It is no longer
For Joseph Stiglitz, however, a former control as much wealth as the poorest half of simply about exploitation and oppression, but
employee of the World Bank and Nobel the global population put together—could something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do
Laureate, in his recent book The Chances of squeeze onto a single double-decker." Oxfam with what it means to be a part of the society
Globalisation (Stiglitz 2006), in contrast to the further reveals that "The wealth of the 1% in which we live; those excluded are no longer
euphoric promises of the theoreticians of richest people in the world amounts to $110tn society's underside or its fringes or its
globalization through free trade, the respective (£ 60.88tn), or 65 times as much as the disenfranchised—they are no longer even a
deregulation. and opening of markets have poorest half of the world" part of it. The excluded are not the "exploited"
not led to prosperity for all. On the contrary, i (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/ jan/20/oxfam-85- but the outcast, the leftovers."
today it clear that globalization has led to a richest-people-half-of-the-world, retrieved November 12, 2014).
large number of losers, especially in the South, 54. In this context, some people continue to
i but also in industrialized countries, with only Something to Think About! defend trickle-down theories which assume
some rich people having been able to benefit. that economic growth, encouraged by a free
Pope Francis strongly market, will inevitably succeed in bringing
But one can always check the facts. The best condemned unregulated market about greater justice and inclusiveness in the
estimates for wealth's concentration at the in his encyclical Joy of the world. This opinion, which has never been
global level come from Forbes magazine. Gospel. In this encylical the Pope confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and
Forbes annually tallies the fortunes of the stated that inequality is the root naive trust in the goodness of those wielding
world’s billionaires. The world's 1,210 current of global problems. economic power and in the sacralized workings
billionaires, Forbes reported in March 2011, of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile,
hold a Combined wealth that equals over half the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a
the total wealth of the 3.01 billion adults lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain
around the world who, according to Credit Read the following excerpt from Apostolic enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a
Suisse, hold under $10,000 in net worth (http:// Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the globalization of indifference has developed.
ineclualitY.org/global-inequality/listhash.biW6myyo.dpuf, retrieved Gospel) of Pope Francis. Why do you think the Almost without being aware of it, we end up
November 12, 2014). Catholic Church should be mindful of global being incapable of feeling compassion at the
inequality and poverty? outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's
In 2006, scholars with the United Nations pain, and feeling a need to help them, as
University's World Institute for Development 53. Just as the commandment "Thou shalt not though all this were someone else's
Economics Research published the first paper kill" sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the responsibility and not our own. The culture of
to tally, for the entire world, all the major value of human life, today we also have to say prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the
elements of household wealth, everything from "thou shalt not" to an economy of exclusion market offers us something new to purchase.
financial assets and debts to land, homes, and and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack
other tangible property. This research, based it be that it is not a news item when an elderly of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail
on year 2000 data, found that the richest 1% homeless person dies of exposure, but it is to move us.
of world adults, individuals worth at least news when the stock market loses two points?
$514,512, owned 39.9% of the world's This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to
In the case of the Philippines, the collective problems that face Philippine economy as it 25 Betty Ang $670 Million - Food
wealth of the 50 richest people in the swims into the tide; of globalization. And if 26 Dean Lao $625 Million 55 chemicals
Philippines reached $74 billion in 2014, up these fundamental problems remain
12% from $65.8 billion in 2013. Mall magnate unresolved, the problem o achieving economic 27 Manuel Zamora $620 Million 74 Mining
Henry Sy remains to be the wealthiest Filipino, equality and inclusive growth will be an elusive 28 Carlos Chan $550 Million 73 Foods
according to Forbes magazine's The Philippines dream. 29 Jorge Araneta $510 Million - Real
50 Richest List for 2014. Some may find this Estate
conclusion revolting, but the $74 billion Complete List: 50 Richest Filipinos in 2014 30 Mariano Tan, Jr. $445 Million 52 Pharmaceu
combined net worth of the 50 wealthiest in the ticals
Philippines is already equivalent to a ORIGIN 31 Edgar Sia $390 Million 37 Fast food
NET AG
staggering 26% or one-fourth of the country's RANK NAME OF
WORTH E 32 Ramon Ang $380 Million 60 Diversified
WEALTH
Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
1 Henry Sy & family $12.7 89 diversified 33 Michael Romero $375 Million 41 Ports
Billion
Is this a consequence of economic 2 Lucio Tan & family $6.1 Billion 80 diversified 34 Concepcion family $320 Million - food
globalization? One observer points out, 35 Philip Ang $315 Million 73 Mining
3 Enrique Razon, Jr. $5.2 Billion 54 ports
"Globalization, then, continues to be a powerful
political talisman in the Philippines and is used 4 Andrew Tan $5.1 Billion 62 diversified 36 Frederick Dy $310 Million 59 Banking
to justify a set a specific economic 5 John Gokongwei, Jr. $4.9 Billion 87 diversified 37 Luis Virata $300 Million 60 Mining
development policies. In particular, the drive to
6 David Consunji $3.9 Billion 92 constructio 38 Alfredo Ramos & $260 Million 70 Diversified
attract export-oriented foreign direct family
n
investment has been at the forefront of 7 George Ty & family $3.7 Billion 81 banking 39 Wilfred Steven $255 Million 52 Milk
national economic strategy" (Kelly 2000, p. Uytengsu, Jr. &
160). Of course, the Philippines is not 8 Family Aboitiz $3.6 Billion - Diversified family
untouched by globalization ever since 40 Tomas Alcantara $250 Million 68 Diversified
9 Jaime Zobel de $3.4 Billion 80 Diversified
colonizers set foot on the islands. In fact, Ayala & family 41 Jose Antonio $240 Million 67 Real estate
Filipinos were already trading with merchants 10 Tony Tan Caktiong & $2 Billion 61 fast food
family 42 Bienvenido Tantoco, $235 Million 93 Retailing
from different parts of Asia. Sr. & family
11 Robert Coyiuto, Jr. $1.8 Billion 61 power
43 Jacinto Ng $230 Million - Diversified
Today, however, the Philippines has been 12 Lucio and Susan Co $1.7 Billion 59 Retailing
44 Gilberto Duavit & $200 Million 79 Media
integrated into the circuit of global capitalism. 13 Emilio Yap $1.5 Billion 88 Banking family
And this has set the stage for impending 45 Menardo Jimenez $195 Million 82 Media
economic policies that dovetail with globalizing 14 Manuel Villar $1.5 Billion 64 Real estate
trends. i As one scholar points out, "In 46 Eric Recto $190 Million 51 Diversified
15 Inigo & Mercedes $1.2 Billion 58 Diversified
practical terms this priority has several Zobel 47 Walter Brown $183 Million 75 Mining
corollaries. i Firstly, it implies (and has resulted 16 Alfredo Yao $1 Billion 70 Diversified
48 Felipe Gozon $182 Million 74 Media
in) a reduction in the importance of agriculture 17 Andrew Gotianun $955 Million 86 real estate
in national development strategies. Rather 49 P.J. Lhuillier $180 Million - pawn
18 Vivian Que Azcona $935 Million - Retailing shops
than giving priority to developing infrastructure & family 50 Juliette Romualdez $170 Million - Banking
such as irrigation systems or farm-to market 19 Eduardo Cojuangco $870 Million 79 Food &
roads, it has instead been given to the needs drinks
of foreign investors in the manufacturing and 20 Beatrice Campos & $825 Million - Pharma There is a consensus among social scientists
service sectors. This has been particularly family today that even when inequality is not rising, a
evident in the productive agricultural areas in 21 Ricardo Po family $770 Million - canned high initial level of inequality can stifle
food
the national core region, where nationally prospects for pro-poor growth. In an economy
22 Oscar Lopez & $700 Million 84 Media
important rice growing areas have been family where inequality is low and does not
converted to urban and industrial uses" (Kelly 23 Alfonso Yuchengco $685 Million 91 Diversified subsequently rise, one can expect that the
2000, p. 160). The continuing land problems & family poor will tend to obtain a higher share of the
coupled with the inaccessibility of education, 24 Roberto Ongpin $680 Million 77 Diversified gains from growth than in an economy in
especially higher education, are the biggest which inequality is high. According to the
review of studies by Martin Ravallion, "loin finite planet. We must limit growth to ensure Moreover, the global nature of environmental
balance, the existing evidence using cross- the well-being of the future, but one cannot degradation can largely be linked to the rise of
country growth regressions appears to offer ethically tell poor people they must continue to the fossil fuel economy and to the decreasing
more support for the view that inequality is suffer deprivation to ensure that the future distance of time and space in the relations
harmful to growth than the opposite view, does not suffer. If the pie must cease to grow, between different parts of the globe (Daly
which was the prevailing view in development then we are ethically obliged to redistribute it" 1996).These phenomena are intrinsically linked
economics for decades (Ravallion 2004). (p. 441). to the rise of modern capitalism. Also, the
extension of consumption and the increased
Economic Globalization and the Take the EPA or economic partnership demand leading to more efficient production
Environment agreement between S. Africa and European methods and the advances in technology and
Union, as a case in point. In 2007, the EPA scientific knowledge contribute to strain on the
Classical theories of development or the rise in resulted in the massive use of water from the environment. Consumerism worldwide led to
Gross National Product (GNP). But as Mark lake to grow cut flowers. The UK alone the extension of trade and consumption
Hanson (2008) rihly points out, “ In this age of imported 18,000 tons of flowers from Kenya in resources especially by the rich countries the
globalization, a distinction between growth and 2013, up from about 10,000 tons in 2000. The (Kutting 2004)
development must be made. Growth signifies flower growers draw water out of the lake on
more of something, while development an average of approximately 20,000 cubic The Rise of Ukay-Ukay or Wag-Wagon
signifies betterment of something. For meters a day. Lake Naivasha shrank last year Market
example, it is quite possible to have growth to about 75% of its 1982 size. At this rate, in
though more schools, books, and teachers but another 50 years, it will shrink to a muddy pool The rise of consumerism is also felt in
still have the same old bad education. Or, of dead water. The papyrus swamps that were developing countries. Second-hand clothing
more factories, machines and jobs, but still the breeding grounds for fish have gone, even markets are popular in these countries.
generate no improvement in the quality of life. as the laboring population in the flower farms Second-hand clothing or known local y as
On the other hand, development signifies is increasing. People are facing severe 'ukay. "k' (flea market of used imported
qualitatively better schools, books and problems of food and water insecurity (Tandon clothes) symbolizes the relative positions of
teachers; or better factories, machines, air 2009, p. 110). the developed and developing world in the
quality and jobs that collectively improve the global political economy. The developing
caliber of life" (p.10). The productivist An important factor in understanding the countries Supply raw materials and cheap
paradigm, or the belief in endless growth, necessary linkage between the rich and poor labor for assembly; the developed countries
simply advocated for continuous growth and countries in relation to global environmental consume at low prices and then dispose of the
rejected any notion of limits to the problems is the fact that most of the necessary garments to buy more products at cheap prices
environment and resources. If ever there were materials and resources for industrialization of in the latest fashion. The disposed garments
problems with the environment, they were the West at the turn of the 20th century came are then used either by the lowest income
treated merely as technical problem that can at the expense of other countries. After World groups in developed nations or back in
be solved through technological advancement War II, the United States and Japan were able developing countries where the second-hand
or "technological fix”. In this view, the to keep their forests well managed and their clothing market undermines local industries
problem of vehicular pollution can easily be watersheds forested partly because they could that would be a step on the way out of the
solved through technology of producing low- rely on wood imported from Southeast Asia dependent position of developing countries in
emission engines and fuels. and elsewhere. Similarly, wealthy countries the world economy Kitting 2004, p. 98).
have been able to reduce their waste by
Today, however, many economists and diverting it: releasing it downstream, sending Cottons are extensively used in clothing and
environmentalists especially Barry Commoner it downwind, dumping it in the ocean, or garment manufacturing. The intensification of
and Herman Daly challenge the “productivist” exporting it. Even now, the United States agricultural production methods has resulted in
parandigm. Herman Daly (2004) , a proponent exports huge quantities of used electronics, a worldwide increase in pesticide use. There
of ecological economics, while whose components can be hazardous when are several adverse effects of pesticides on
acknowledging the peril of growth on the they are recycled or discarded (Goldoftas humans and on the environment. Excessive
economy, also suggests redistribution of 2006, p. 210). use of pesticide leads to poisoning and adverse
wealth. He argues, “Finally, we know that the health conditions. The chemical residues also
economic system cannot grow forever on a damage the environment and natural
ecosystem. Local pesticide residues affect air addressing climate change:"The state will be on how the rest of society understands and
and water quality. About 11% of global an all-important actor, since so many powers imagines itself (Couldry 2000, 54). McGuire
pesticide sales and 24% of insecticides can be remain in its hands, whether one talks of (1986) noted several of the most commonly
attributed to cotton production (Myers and domestic or of international policy. There is no mentioned intended media effects: (a) the
Stolton 1999). The World Bank cites price way of forcing states to sign up to international effects of advertising on purchasing, (b) the
factors and lack of local knowledge or the agreements; and even if they choose to do so, effects of political campaigns on voting, (c) the
misinformation of farmers as the main factors implementing whatever is agreed will largely effects of public service announcements (PSAs)
leading to excessive or inappropriate pesticide be the responsibility of each individual state:' on personal behavior and social improvement,
use (Farah 1994). (d) the effects of propaganda on ideology, and
Summary (e) the effects of media ritual on social control.
Economic Globalization and Managing Risk These media effects work together to shape
in Everyday Life The economic structure is the pillar of social the behavior and thinking of people.
reproduction. Social relations that arise from
The globalization of economy through trade economic production largely shape the way One of the most important influences of the
and new technologies provided the people of people behave and think. Consequently, access mass media is on the socialization of children.
our planet immense benefits and new exciting to resources determines an individual's position By providing "role models" and stereotypes,
possibilities. Yet the consequences of economic within a stratified society. In turn, stratification children often adopt these models and
globalization seems to be a "runaway world" can be based on class, status, and power. This stereotypes as they engage with their families
(Giddens, 2002). Today, people, around the stratification system leads to inequalities. and friends. During Halloween, children wear
world are confronted with what Giddens calls Today, with the growth of globalization through the costumes of their favorite horror movie
as manufactured risks, which are man-made free trade agreements and the spread of characters such as vampire, Dracula,
risks, having arisen as a result of new transnational corporations, scholars argue werewolves, and zombies. According to the
technologies developed through advances in whether globalization promotes inclusive American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) website,
scientific knowledge. As a result of growth or exacerbates the existing inequalities children between the ages of 2 and 18 spend
advancement in scientific knowledge and the worldwide. Economic globalization as is forcing an average of three hours each day watching
rise of a reflexive society"—a society where people to be aware of the social risks that television. A three-year National Television
people constantly monitor their lifestyles— accompany global such environmental Study, reported by the AAP, found that
people are he more conscious of the impact of problems and climate change. children's shows had the most violence of all
globalization on their economic life. As Giddens television programming. Statistics read that
argues, “Globalisation isn't only about what is The Mass Media and Society (handout 9) some cartoons average 20 acts of violence in
'out there; remote and far away from the one hour, and that by the age of 18, children
individual. It is an 'in here' phenomenon too, Violence, Consumerism, and Mass Media will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and
influencing intimate and personal aspects of 200,000 acts of violence on television. Young
our lives (p. 32). Yet this growing Most people think that the mass media people are especially in jeopardy of the
consciousness of the growing especially television has a pervasive effect on negative effects of television violence because
interconnectedness of the world through society, especially on children. Today, it is not “many younger children cannot discriminate
economic channels, does not necessarily an exaggeration to say that younger between what they see and what is real"
translate to people coming together to solve generations are shaped more by the mass
global economic problems like 'climate change” media more than their genes. This is especially Recent reviews of the media violence research
true when one considers the pervasive have concluded that there are three primary
Anthony Giddens, coined the term "Gidddens presence of Internet-mediated technology in effects of viewing violent television
paradox" to explain this phenomenon: "since the lives of young people. In effect, people programming on children. First, ample
the dangers posed by global warming aren't have often blamed the mass media for shaping evidence supports the contention that children
tangible, immediate or visible in the course of the violent behavior of children. Violent can and do learn aggressive behaviors and
day-to-day life, however awesome they behaviors are also commonly associated with attitudes from viewing violence on television.
appear, many will sit on their hands and do watching movies and television. For example, heavy viewers of television
nothing of a concrete nature about them.” violence are more likely to see violence as a
Faced with this paradox, Giddens suggests that The media process does not merely interact reasonable means for settling disputes.
the states will have an important role to play in with the rest of society; it has a major impact Second, those who view relatively high levels
of televised violence develop an increased and of Lanuza, it is shown that young Filipinos associated with alcoholic drinks and beverages.
exaggerated fear of becoming a victim of prefer to go to malls than in parks and Young women are usually seen as obsessed
violence. Finally, viewers of television violence museums. The situation may even be worse with their skin and hair. Mass media,
have shown a tendency to become today. Today's youth are fond of going to therefore, is powerful in shaping not only the
desensitized to violence. shopping malls rather than hanging at historic attitude and perception of people about women
places and public parks. Moreover, many but also more importantly the minds of young
Among Filipino children, the picture is different. young Filipinos prefer to play online games girls.
According to the New Generations 2012 survey than engage in traditional physical sports and
of Cartoon Network, led by Duncan Morris, Vice games. Among the major findings of the Studies would also show that constant
President for Research and Market survey, Internet Access and Use by Filipino exposure to sexually explicit materials tends to
Development for Turner International Asia Schoolchildren, conducted by the Asian affect family values. Compared to the control
Pacific Ltd., "Filipino children are clear about Institute of Journalism and Communication group, the exposure group reported more
what they want and don't want" Morris says, (AIJC), commissioned by UNICEF in 2009, is tolerance for pre- and extramarital sexual
Filipino children have firm preferences on what that online gaming is another favorite pastime activity, less endorsement of marriage as an
gadgets they like to use, what TV shows they of the Filipino youth with almost 8 of 10 institution, were reported to want fewer
like to watch, and what activities they want to schoolchildren connected to the net playing children, and were more likely to believe that
do. In terms of access to gadgets, the online games. there were health risks in sexual repression.
Internet, and related technology, Filipino Taken together these results suggest a view
children are ahead of their peers in more Mass Media and Gender Stereotypes that sexually explicit media content fosters
developed countries in Asia-Pacific. Read more on exposure to deviance and may undermine
http:// businessinquirer.net/61337/children-influence-buying- Another pervasive influence of mass media is societal values. Many feminist scholars support
patterns-poll-says4ixzz3HVPcfN00 (retrieved October 8, 2014). the acquisition of stereotypes. Stereotypes this view. They believe that the portrayal of
are images that can be adopted about specific women in mass media tend to support
Mass Media and Youth Culture types of individuals, groups or certain ways of stereotypes against women. These stereotypes
doing things. These thoughts or beliefs. may or include the myth that women want to be
In the review of literature done by Lanuza may not accurately reflect reality. Stereotypes raped, that men are naturally aggressive, and
(2003), regarding the mediatization of the enable each member of society to deal that women are passive objects that can be
Filipino youth, he observes that "mass media properly about certain individuals and provide manipulated by men. Constant exposure to
exhibits ambivalent character in relation to the them with the right script on how to act sexually explicit materials also reinforce the
formation of youth culture:' So, "while it properly in a certain social situation. However, idea among men that violence against women
carries modernizing currents, yet at the same stereotypes can also be a product of is morally acceptable.
time, it also promotes traditional Filipino prejudices. Prejudices are prejudgments, or
values. Hence studies on youth and values opinions that people have before knowing the It must be borne in mind, however, that while
promoted by television would show the full circumstances about a person or an event. mass media may influence the viewers in
propagation of traditional Filipino values such In social sciences, prejudice is often used to forming their stereotypes and prejudices about
as respect for elders, family solidarity, and refer to negative or unfavorable judgments certain individuals or groups, nevertheless, it
reverence for authorities:' Furthermore, toward people or a person because of social must also be noted that mass media's
Lanuza shows that "mass media today, largely class, gender, age, disability, religion, influence is mediated by other factors such as
through advertising, operates as the major sexuality, race and ethnicity, nationality, or the family, religion, and peer group. People
harbinger of late modern culture:' Citing other personal characteristics. Mass media is a who watch violent films with the proper
several studies, he points out that the powerful tool in disseminating gender guidance of adults in the family may not
following images are associated with female stereotypes especially about women. Movies necessarily develop and embrace prejudices
Gen X youth: aggressive, expressive, and television shows, for instance, usually against women or people with different skin
unconventional, and liberated. Males are portray women as mothers or housewives colors or religions. But people whose friends
depicted as optimistic, independent, rather than as professionals. They are often also watch violent films that glorify domestic
adventurous, and wild. seen as caregivers and taking care of violence against women may find themselves
household chores. Meanwhile, men are often embracing these stereotypes. A school that
Mass media also impact on the way young depicted as professionals and leaders. In does not promote religious pluralism and
people spend their leisure. In the same review advertising sexy and young women are often tolerance may inadvertently reinforce the
prejudices in mass media about certain conservative, progressive or transformative firms to collect detailed information on their
religious groups that are not part of the institution. audiences, and thus to fine-tune program
mainstream society. In short, the effects of features and ads to individual characteristics as
mass media are not unproblematic and But mass media generally has the function of well as to sell by click during programs. Along
straightforward. Researchers also point to the maintaining the status quo by controlling the with reducing privacy, this should intensify
intervening factors and variables that either information that goes to the audience. This commercialization” (Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky,
facilitate or depreciate the effects on mass media influence on the audience is well p. XVIII). The wars of US against terrorist states,
stereotype-formation among young viewers. elaborated in the Chomsky and Herman for instance, are often described as forms of
model of propaganda. They summarize this pre-emptive wars in behalf of justice and
Mass Media and Knowledge Production theory by saying: liberty, while the terrorist states and groups
are called enemies of peace-loving nations.
Media as a Tool for Propaganda It is our view that, among their other The US media tend to downplay the violence
functions, the media serve, and and genocide that the US government
Aside from reinforcing existing social propagandize on behalf of the powerful perpetrates against other countries.
stereotypes and prejudices, mass media is also societal interests that control and finance
a powerful tool in disseminating certain them. The representatives of these In the case of the Philippine press, Rosalinda
political ideas. In some countries, the mass interests have important agendas and Pineda-Ofreneo (1986), observed, “No press in
media is strictly regulated by the government. principles that they want to advance, and the world is exempt from bias. This includes
they are well positioned to shape and
Authoritarian states usually use the mass the Philippine press. In fact, many local critics
constrain media policy. This is normally
media for its project of nation-building. Hence, have complained of canned or managed news
not accomplished by crude intervention,
it constantly watches over oppositions and but by the selection of right-thinking
which necessarily reflect the bias of these
protests in alternative platforms of mass personnel and by the editors' and sources. One factor behind this is the rise of
media. Mass media can also be used to working journalists internalization of public relations men who act not only as image
strengthen national interests. As President priorities and definitions of builders but also as outright censors. In the
Suharto declared in a speech on National Press newsworthiness that conform to the latter capacity, they limit the freedom of
Day in 1989: institution's policy. access to information to a great extent. Local
publishers, editors, columnists, reporters and
As an integral part of our developing Herman and Chomsky (1998) argue that mass all other people who have a say in the running
society, nation and state, the press has media do not simply provide objective of a newspaper can also serve as sources of
an important role to assist in managing information and images. These information and bias because they likewise have particular
this nation in all its complexity through images are already pre-selected, edited, and interests and viewpoints to advance" (P. 236).
the dissemination of news, opinions, screened out before they are presented and
ideas, grievances and hopes to the consumed by the audience. What is Mass Media and the "Society of Spectacle"
masses... It is in this respect that the
newsworthy and what is not how long should a
press has a role to play in helping build
news or a segment in a TV series should be. Mass media do not only maintain the status
and preserve our unity and cohesion as a
how news is to be presented are already quo by disseminating propaganda, they can
nation (quoted in McCargo 2003. p. 31.)
products of deliberation among the reporters, also make and unmake the career of
producers, and directors. And while new politicians. In an age of society as
By performing this function, the media act as
technologies are introduced. Chomsky and spectacle, a term coined by Guy Debord
an agent of stability, charged with the task of
Herman point out that they are created simply (1931-1994), a French artist and social critic,
helping preserve social and political order. This spectacle or media images dominate politics in
to meet corporate needs. They further argue
function is commonly associated with the term modern societies. It is not surprising,
that "those Of recent years have permitted
development Journalism. Mass media can therefore, that presidency in the Philippines is
media firms to shrink staff even as they
also be used to inform people about corruption staged and presented to the public in
achieve greater outputs. and they have made
and can be a catalyst for social change as in melodramatic terms, using media spectacle to
possible global distribution systems that
the case of toppling Marcos regime during the sell the policies, person, and image of the
reduce the number of media entities. The
Edsa People Power I in 1986. In this sense, president to a vast and diverse public. The
audience “interaction” facilitated by advancing
mass media can perform three functions: as media are complicit in the generation of
interactive capabilities mainly help audience
members to shop, but they also allow media spectacle politics, redefining politics as battle
for image, display, and story in the forms of Quezon City; former (former masterfully executed: 'the image millions saw
entertainment and drama. Politicians get Vice Mayor of Quezon Representative of was that of a nervous, haggard, sweating
City) Quezon City)
elected because they represent the poor and  Imelda Papin (former
Nixon versus a relaxed, robust, confident
the oppressed in their movies such as Joseph Vice-Governor of Kennedy. What the two candidates said no
Erap Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla. But Camarines Sur, Bicol) longer mattered' (p. 16).
Estrada was also responsible for the downfall  Isko Moreno (Vice
of many celebrity-politicians as in the case of Mayor of Manila) Mediatization of Social Life
 Jinggoy Estrada
corrupt politicians.
(Senator)
The intrusion of media experts in politics and
List of Actor-Politicians in the Philippines electoral campaigns are perfect examples of
 Aga Muhlach  Joey Marquez (former
In the 1920s, Walter Lippmann described the mediatization of politics. Mediatization refers
(successful Mayor of Paranaque) to the pervasive effects of mass media on how
Congressional  Joseph Estrada (13th emergence of a new professional class of
"publicists" and "press agents" standing people see and interpret social events. It is not
candidate 4th district President of the 2nd
Camarines Sur) Republic; incumbent between US politicians and the media. They an exaggeration to say that mass media
 Aiko Melendez Mayor of Manila) are now called public relations consultants. influences people more than their genes. The
(former Councilor of  Lito Lapid (Senator)
They play a big role in shaping the image of reason being that mass media permeates and
Quezon City)  Lou Veloso (former mediates all forms of social life, not just
 Alfred Vargas Councilor for the 6th the politicians through mass media campaigns
and lobbying. The 1960 Presidential election politics. The mass media, through the influence
(incumbent Councilor District of Manila)
for the 2nd District of  Lucy Torres-Gomez won by John Kennedy is a dramatic example of of large advertising companies, generate
Quezon City) (incumbent PR management by mass media. Kennedy's images called "spectacle" by the French
 Angelica Jones Representative 4th team turned around the social stigma of sociologist, Guy Debord. These images or
(incumbent Board District of Leyte) "spectacles," in turn, form a life of their own
Member 3rd district of  Manny Pacquiao Kennedy as a Catholic by showing voters that a
no-vote is a form of religious intolerance. Bill that pre-defines and determines the way
Laguna) (incumbent
 Anjo Yllana (former Representative Clinton's Democrat media-team adopted and people look at the world and interact with
Vice Mayor of Sarangani District) masterfully deployed this knowledge to use a other people. In other words, only through
Paranaque)  Nora Aunor range of media and popular cultural forms to media images that people have access to the
 Bong Revilla Jr. (unsuccessful world and reality at large. One does not only
(Senator) Gubernatorial successfully reach "ordinary people!' Secondly,
political leaders now require different attributes buy a product. One buys the lifestyle
 Cesar Montano candidate for
(unsuccessful Camarines Sur) to be selected as candidates—they need to be associated with the product. One associates a
Senatorial candidate)  Ramon Revilla, Sr. credible (convincing) television performers, be product with a celebrity endorser. When one,
 Cita Astals (former (Senator) visually appealing to voters, and be able to for instance, sees the logo or Apple or iPhone
Councilor of Manila)  Richard Gomez one immediately equates it with "luxury" and
 Dan Fernandez (unsuccessful speak in sound bites.
durability. The symbol of McDonald's is
(former Senatorial candidate)
Representative 1st  Roderick Paulate They must also be able to follow scripts equated with American way of life—burgers,
District of Laguna) (incumbent Councilor designed by spin-doctors. Hence, aspirant fries, and fast foods. McDonald's is
 Daniel Fernando 2nd District of Quezon leaders with televisual charisma, backed by undoubtedly a corporation of tremendous
(incumbent Vice- City) magnitude, with outlets in over 30,000 sites in
Governor of Bulacan)  Rogelio de la Rosa good spin-doctors or PR consultants, can land
a neophyte into public office (Louw 2005, p. 121 countries, serving over 35 million
 Edu Manzano (former (former Senator)
Vice-Mayor of Makati  Rudy Fernandez 150). Maltese (1994), a scholar writing about customers a day, and earning profits of over
City) (unsuccessful Mayoral politics and PR, explains the failure of Nixon in $2 billion annually. McDonald's is, thus, a
 Fernando Poe, Jr. candidate for Quezon his fight against Kennedy: cultural ambassador for Americanization and
(unsuccessful City) global capitalism, promoting the commodity
Presidential  Sonny Parsons
Although Nixon had been a 1950s' pioneer in spectacle and its consumer culture throughout
candidate) (former Councilor of
 George Estregan, Jr. Marikina City) using television, he ironically lost this crucial the world. McDonald's does not only represent
(incumbent Governor  Tito Sotto (Senator) debate because he failed to pay attention to the American way of life. Some sociologists
of Laguna; former  Vilma Santos his TV appearance—he would not wear even contend that its process, business
Mayor of Pagsanjan, (incumbent and first outsourcing, and standardization have become
Laguna) female Governor of
makeup; his shirt was too large; his suit the
wrong color; and he slouched. Kennedy's the rule for making things efficient. This is
 Herbert Bautista Batangas
(incumbent Mayor of  Dennis Roldan appearance, on the other hand, was called McDonaldization. The term was
popularized by American sociologist, George access to information rather than on machines term popularized by Roland Robertson, or
Ritzer. and human labor. People who live in the process whereby global commodities media
information societies do not just use new images are transformed to meet local
Starbucks is equated with middle class technologies and the new social media. culture.
corporate lifestyle. Hence, media is powerful in Instead, their lives are immersed in the culture
shaping consumers' preferences and lifestyle. of these new technologies. The exponential Cyberdemocracy and Globalization of
By buying one product over and against explosion in webs of communication and Media
another product, a consumer is voting for that information technologies (CITs) has shifted our
spectacle or commodity. Hence many primary relationship from face-to-face relations The scope and power of Mass media today is
sociologists today believe that we live in a to "interface" with technological "terminals" of further extended by the development of ICT.
"society of brands and logos" (Klein). The communication. More and more people cannot Computer mediated communicationass was
French sociologist Jean Baudrillard even live without immersing their lives in these initiated in science laboratories in the 1960s
argued, quite extremely, that today, with the technologies. Consequently, the CITs promoted by the US military in the late 1960s
proliferation of mass media images, people accelerate globalization by connecting people and early 1970s, and developed further in
cannot distinguish anymore between the real and places across borders and spaces. These conjunction with key US research universities
and the copy of the real or the simulacrum. new technologies that create virtual through the efforts of a small cadre of
One cannot, for instance, distinguish, from communities, spaces, and identities have programmers. This development took forms
mere looking alone, a real woman from a changed dramatically the landscape of human such as ARPANET, BITNET, and USENET in the
transgender, or an authentic branded shirt or life—the invention of new crimes in the 1970s and 1980s, and exploded throughout
gadget from a fake one. The power of worldwide net, democratic access to and the world via the Internet in the 1990s. Today,
technology today to produce millions of copies sharing of art works, music, books, and ICTs include emails, networks, mobile phones,
of songs, images, videos, books, and articles articles, the posting of one's pictures (selfies), Internet, worldwide web, chat rooms, e-
through torrents, mp3, and other electronic self-made music videos, and even scandals. commerce. peer-to-peer sharing (P2P) such as
formats seems to erase the distinction between Bullying, traditionally found in the school Napster and torrent sites, and other virtual
the "original" and the" copies:' setting, has also become virtual and pervasive services.
on the Internet.
The Rise of Knowledge Society To have an idea of the global reach of these
It is accepted by most social scientists that we One consequence of this is quite close to the new technologies, one only has to look at the
now live in a fast-changing "runaway world" arguments put forward by Herman and mobile phones subscription worldwide. The
where the economic, social, cultural, and McChesney that broadcasting is more and number of mobile-cellular subscriptions
political foundations of societies are being more dominated by 'co-financed and co- worldwide is approaching the number of people
redefined on a continual basis (Giddens 2000), produced products...made on a global on earth. Mobile-cellular subscriptions was
and communication media are a central feature assembly line and...aimed at the world estimated to reach almost 7 billion in 2014,
of this globalization process. To the extent that markets' and 'these mega-corporations are corresponding to a penetration rate of about
globalization is constituted in and through shaping a global space of image flows' (Morley 96%. More than half of these (3.6 billion
networks and the resulting circulation of and Robbins 1995, p. 32). This has led some subscriptions) will be in the Asia-Pacific region.
symbols rather than things, then the rapid and sociologists to argue that there is now an In developing countries, mobile-cellular
endless flow of media products are emblematic emerging global culture that is based on mass penetration was estimated at 90% by 2014,
of the process of globalization. Also, media communication. But this compared with 121% in developed countries.
information and communication technology transnationalization of media is not universal it More interesting is the fact that almost 3 billion
(ICT) is what we might term the mechanism or may seem. Most news and their sources flow people-40% of the world's population—are
medium through which economic from the first world countries that dominate using the Internet. And close to one out of
interdependence and integration operate. the production of global news. three people in the developing countries are
online. By the end of 2014, the number of
The new age of Internet-based mass media But it must also be acknowledge that even Internet users globally will have reached
ushers in the so-called information societ or when western flows to the developing almost 3 billion. Two-thirds of the world's
knowledge society. Unlike in the traditional or countries, these information and images are Internet users are from the developing world.
modern societies, the people in "information also transformed to suit local needs and Meanwhile, Internet user penetration has
societies" rely more and more on the use and culture. This is called glocalization, to the reached 40% globally, 78% in developed
countries and 32% in developing countries. in full-blown social movements and countries account for over three-fourths of the
2014 growth rates in developed countries institution building. These social world's Internet users. In virtually all
remain at a relatively low, at 3.3% compared movements must never sacrifice selves countries, Internet users tend to be young,
with 8.7% in developing countries (see to larger goals, whether in the name of urban, male, and relatively well educated and
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ a nation, a personality cult, or abstract wealthy. In short, the diffusion of technology
ICTFactsFigures2014-e.pdf, retrieved September 10, 2014). ions such as Democracy, Freedom, or both within and between countries has been
the State, requiring attention to the extremely uneven. Globally, there are 4 billion
The promise of the Internet is that it will give a politics of the personal, the family, people not yet using the Internet and more
voice back to the people, one that has been body, sexuality, marginal groups, than 90% of them are from the developing
taken away by private media and children, animals and nature (p. 132). world.
entertainment. True enough, the internet has
broadened the democratic spaces for people to Ben Agger's recommendation is very true! Manuel Castells defines the digital divide as
engage in politics. The famous Philippine After all, the Arab Spring, the EDSA People "inequality of access to the Internet' (Castells
people Power II that toppled and ousted Power, and similar social movements did not 2001, p. 248). Access to the Internet is,
President Ejercito Estrada was initiated by text only happen on Facebook and other social moreover, "a requisite for overcoming
messages networking sites. They were successful inequality in a society in which dominant
(http://publicculture.org/articles/view/15/3/the because people went out on the streets. functions and social groups are increasingly
-cell-phone-and-the-crowd-messianic-politics- organized around the Internet" (Castells 2001,
in-the-contemporary-philippines, retrieved Cyberdemocracy or Digital Divide? p. 248). Digital divide is easily understood if
September 10, 2014). The Arab Spring was connected to the concept of social inclusion. As
also carried out not only on the streets but was According to Jodi Dean (2009, p. 22), "the Christian Fuchs (2008) argues, "Digital divides
facilitated by social media networks such as expansion and intensification of communication are an expression of the logic of competition
Facebook and twitter. It is because of the and entertainment networks yield not because they give benefits to those who
power of these social media networks that democracy but something else entirely: participate in the Internet and deprive others
prompted some governments to regulate their communicative capitalism." Communicative of those benefits; it is a phenomenon of
use. Saudi Arabia and China (as rapidly capitalism allows for the proliferation of exclusion" (p. 213). One scholar that links
developing countries) are well documented for divergent opinions and political positions in digital divide with social inclusion defines it
their attempts to control computer ownership cyberspace. Such free-for-all exchange of as, the extent that individuals, families, and
and Internet content. Both countries have opinions and ideas do not add to clarification of communities are able to fully participate in
invested massive sums of to prevent their political issues but simply add to the confusion society and control their own destinies, taking
citizens from accessing websites money in of diverging opinions. The age of Internet does into account a variety of factors related to
developing firewall technology from outside not merely pose a threat to intelligent process economic resources, employment, health,
their borders and to censor content. of discussing diverse and opposing opinions, it education, housing, recreation, culture, and
also creates new inequalities and exacerbates civic engagement" (Warschauer 2003, p. 8).
But one must be careful about celebrating the pre-existing ones.
role of the "new media" in politics. The Jan Van Dijk and Kenneth Hacker (2008) argue
suggestion of Ben Agger (2004) is a well- Inequalities created by the access and use of that there are four forms of barriers to access:
thought out assessment of the role of new ICTs is called digital divide. The "digital (1) the lack or-mental access, “which refers to
media on political life: divide" became one of the political and a lack of elementary digital experience; (2) the
academic "hot-topics" of the 1990s after a lack of-Material access, “which means a lack of
My provisional answer is that Internet- series of influential surveys and studies in the possession of computers and network
based politics, both consciousness- US and Europe highlighted a sustained connections; (3) the lack of "skills access,"
raising and networking, can begin a empirical picture of inequalities in the use of which is a lack of digital skills; and (4) the lack
valid political process, which is information and ICTs—in particular, the of "usage access-signifies the lack of
conducted within the more traditional computer and Internet (Sewyn and Facer meaningful usage opportunities.
coordinates of the public sphere, but 2010, p. 1).
that e-politics cannot substitute for The digital divide is, therefore, a symptom of a
more public and permanent political The digital divide is now recognized as an much larger and more complex problem —the
projects, which, if successful, emerge international issue. High income OECD problem of persistent poverty and inequality.
In an information society, productivity and and planned activiites. In times of disasters, The study, from ad agency We Are Social and
economic growth become more and more such weather information can spell the using data from Global Webindex, indicates
dependent on the access and use of latest salvation of millions of lives. Not having that Internet users in the Philippines are the
information technology and computer mediated personal accounts in social media networks most intensive in the whole of the Asia Pacific
communications. News and public information such as Twitter and Facebook would exclude (APAC) region. Filipino Internet users are
are readily accessible in the Internet. For one from the constant exchanges among and spending 6.2 hours per day on Internet
example, the AccuWeather application is an between peer and friends as well as the about through laptop or desktop computers 2.8 hours
American media company that provides for- what is happening among one's friends. through mobile devices. The . Philippines also
profit weather forecasting services worldwide. tops in social media use, with each of its 34
It provides daily and hourly. updates on The penetration of Internet in a country is million Internet users spending 4 hours a day
weather condition worldwide. Another good heavily dependent on telecommunications engaged in some sort of digital social media.
example is Flipboard. It is a social-network infrastructure. In 1992, the Philippines had one
collection of news from various sources in of the lowest levels of telephone penetration in Politically, access to Internet is necessary for
magazine format. As a mobile application, it is Asia: slightly more than 1 per 100 inhabitants. the democratization and participation of
localized in more than 20 languages. The By 1995, there were about 60 telephone citizens in modern societies and the globalized
software collects content from social media and companies, but most were operating only in world. Social media and ICTS provide easy
other websites, presents it in magazine format, urban areas and the long distance traffic was access for people to organize social
and allows users to "flip" through their social- controlled by a single company, the Philippine movements within and outside the net. In fact,
networking feeds and feeds from websites that Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). In according to Manuel Castells, Internet is like
have partnered with company. Such 1995, a new telecommunications policy act the electricity of the 20th century. Poorer
application allows people to access weather was passed which, although still favoring the countries are most likely to be the ones that
information, latest news any where using dominant carrier, acted to both deregulate have the lowest levels of the new technologies.
mobile technology. These application allow telecommunications and increase coverage in Once again, Southeast Asia is a case in point.
people to plan ahead of their trips in relation to more rural areas. One result was an increase in Some of the countries in this region, where
weather, plan about activities, and even book the number of phone lines to almost 4 per 100 some of the richest and poorest nations in the
hotels and airplane tickets. inhabitants by the end of 1999. March world can be found, are world leaders in the
29,1994,1:15 a.m. Benjie Tan, who was development of digital technology, whilst
In terms of information, many people rely on working for ComNet, a company that supplied others are amongst the most ICT-deprived in
Wikipedia. it is a free-access, free content Cisco routers to the Philnet project, established the world. The digital divide existing in these
Internet encyclopaedia, supported and hosted the Philippine's first connection to the Internet countries and across regions is not a simple
by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. at a PLOT network center in Makati City. question of access but basic literacy about the
According to recent statistics from The Global use and applications of these technologies
Facebook and Twitter are also popular Web Index, the Philippines has the fastest (O'Hara and Stevens 2006, p. 145). As
platforms for young people to create their web growing Internet population in the world, Thoman and Jolls (2005) rightly argue:
of friends. Without access to these experiencing 531% growth in the last five
applications, and even if one is computer years. The Philippines does not have the No longer is it enough to be able to read
literate the use of these technologies, one is biggest number of Internet users. It has only the printed word; children, youth, and
effectively barred from maximizing the about 37 million Internet users, which pales in adults, too, need the ability to both
utilization of provided by these social media. comparison to China's 618 million Internet critically interpret the powerful images of
Wikipedia, for instance, is a direct substitute users—the biggest Internet population in the a multimedia culture and express
for serious research and hard bound world to date. But growth in the Philippines has themselves in multiple media forms (p.
encyclopaedias. Wiki is a powerful resource outperformed the growth of all the other 4).
and tool to do one's research. Yet, without regions. Back in 2000, the Philippines had an
access to this important online encyclopaedic Internet penetration rate of a mere 2%. But The advent of ICTs is also ironic considering
knowledge base, one is deprived of the ease to just between 2012 and 2013, Comscore saw a that it is supposed to provide free access and
do online research. In the same manner, 22% increase in the country's Internet equal opportunities for all, yet it also creates
without access to Accuweather, one is deprived penetration new oligopolies and corporate monopolies.
of the much needed information about future Apple, via iTunes, controls an estimated 87%
weather conditions necessary for one's travel market share in digital music downloads and
70% of the media-player market. Amazon sells United Nations, in fact, declared in 2011 that
between 70% and 80% of both physical books disconnecting people from the Internet is a
and e-books online, and eBay and Facebook, violation of human rights. This is covered by
along with a handful of other giants, enjoy existing civil and political rights. Of course,
considerable monopolistic power as well. In access to Internet is not yet recognized as a
2012, four of the ten largest US corporations in right.
terms of market valuation, including number
one and number three, were Internet giants Another challenge for government and
Apple, Microsoft, Google, and AT&T. When educational sectors is to create" a critical
Fortune magazine compiled its list of the top media literacy" that can educate young
12 entrepreneurs of the past generation, the netizens of the power as well as the sinister
founders of Internet giants Apple, Microsoft, effects of new ICTs. People must be able to
Amazon, and Google occupied four of the top maximize the use of information easily
five slots. And while the ICTs are supposed to retrieved through the net while being critical of
be user-friendly, some corporations do not its use, including the ethical considerations in
follow this goal. Apple's various devices were engaging with such technologies.
"Hollywood friendly” Apple is a perfect
example of a perfectly regulated software. The Summary
genius of the iPhone, for example, is that it is a
"tethered" device, for which all the control is The mass media has the most pervasive
with Apple. By 2008, Bill Gates conceded that influence on people today, especially among
Apple's closed system had proven to be the young people who belong to Generation Y or
best approach to security. So, it is not also the "selfie generation: Social scientists and
totally true that ICTs allow democratic access scholars have debated among themselves as to
to technologies (McChesney 2013). the extent of influence of mass media on the
people, especially the young ones. Most of
The challenge is how to regulate these these effects and influence are felt in gender
monopolies so as to protect the welfare and roles, political life, and individual behaviors.
rights of the netizens. The government also Mass media today is rapidly changing due to
has to provide affordable access to ICTs globalization and the advent of Web 2.0
through infrastructure and active upgrading of technologies. The growth of emails, chats,
its basic services to the people. A survey of teleconferences, and other social networking
27,973 adults in 26 countries, including 14,306 sites is changing the landscape of human
Internet users, conducted for the BBC World communications and even redefining intimate
Service between 30 November 2009 and 7 relationships.
February 2010 found that almost four in five
Internet users and non-users around the world
felt that access to the Internet was a
fundamental right. Fifty percent strongly
agreed, 29% somewhat agreed, 9% somewhat
disagreed, 696 strongly disagreed, and 6%
gave no opinion (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/
pdfs/08_03_10_BBC_internet_poll.pdf, retrieved September 10,
2014).

While it is debatable whether access to

Internet is a basic human right or not, as
countries globalize, every government has to
address the problem of digital divide. The