1.

2 GLOBALIZATION
o Defining Imperialism, Colonialism,
Development, Americanization, Neo-liberalism,
Neo-Marxian Theories.
 DEFINITIONS
• Imperialism
• Describes various methods employed by one country
to gain control of another country.
oSometimes through territorial conquest.
oBased on geographic set-up.
• To exercise control, especially political, economic, and
territorial over a country or many other countries.
 DEFINITIONS
• Colonialism
oInvolves settlers as well as much more formal mechanisms
of political control than those imperialism.
• Edward Said:
o“Imperialism means practice: the theory and attitudes of a
dominating metropolitan center ruling a distant territory”
o“Colonialism is a consequence of imperialism, it is
implanting of settlements on distant territories”
 DEFINITIONS
• Imperialism
oVladimir Lenin
oMore defined by economic control and exploitation.
• Colonialism
oMore defined by political control.
• Colonialists
oFirst Wave: Spain and Portugal
oSecond Wave: The Netherlands, England, France, Germany.
oLast Wave: United States and Japan
 DEFINITIONS
• Imperialism
oVladimir Lenin
oMore defined by economic control and exploitation.
• Colonialism
oMore defined by political control.
 DEFINITIONS
• First: Decolonization (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and
Tiffin, 1998: 63)
o“The process of revealing and dismantling colonialist
power in all its forms”
o“Includes dismantling the hidden aspects of those
institutional and cultural forces that had maintained the
colonialist power and that remain even after the political
independence is achieved”
oAchieved after WW2 (e.g. British Empire).
 DEFINITIONS
• Third: Post-Colonialism
(Bhambrah, 2007: 871-84)
oDevelopments that take place in
a former colony after the
colonizing power departs.
oEfforts to maintain the former
colonial roots, such as the group
of Commonwealth Nations.
 DEFINITIONS
• Development (McMichael, 2008: 21)
oA “project” primarily concerned with the economic
development of specific nation-states not regarded as
sufficiently developed.
oImport-substitution: Southern countries had to develop
their own industries instead of focusing on producing for
exports and relying on imports from other countries,
especially the North.
 DEFINITIONS
• How import-substitution works
oFDI: Northern countries benefited thru’ FDI in industries
in Southern countries, reaped great profits from these
investments.
oAids: In terms of food (e.g. US shipping its excess wheat
to developing countries). In effect, Southern countries
develop food dependency on Northern countries.
 DEFINITIONS
• Dependency theory (Cardoso and Faletto, 1979)
oEmphasizes the fact that the kinds of programs discussed
above led not so much to the development of nation-states
of the South, but more to a decline in their independence
to an increase in their dependence on the countries of the
North.
 DEFINITIONS
• Americanization (Richard Kuisel, 1993: 96)
o“The import by non-Americans of products, images,
technologies, practices and behavior that are closely
associated with America/Americans”.
oThe largest corporation in the world was no longer the
production-oriented General Motors, but rather the
consumption-oriented Wal-Mart (Soderquist, 2005)
 DEFINITIONS
• Neo-liberalism (David Harvey, 2005)
oLiberal commitment to individual liberty, a belief in the
free market and opposition to state intervention in it
oContemporary advocate: Milton Friedman (Economics
Professor at Chicago University.
oAgainst: John Maynard Keynes, FDR’s New Deal,
Marxism.
 DEFINITIONS
• Mechanics of Neo-liberalism
oShock Doctrine: A total overhaul of an economy required
a shock.
oExample: Chilean coup, WW2, EDSA PP1.
oInvolves privatization and deregulation.
oThe government is only a “regulator” (e.g. Money supply)
oFreemen but not equal men.
 DEFINITIONS
• Washington Consensus (Cavanagh and Broad.
2007: 1243)
oUnimpeded market forces are engines of growth.
oAbsent was any concern for equity, redistribution, social
issues, and environment.
 DEFINITIONS
• Basic idea of neo-liberalism (William Easterly,
2006: 35)
oAny form of collectivism and state planning destroys
freedom.
oIf there’s freedom, there’s economic success.
o“Permits the decentralized search for success that is the
hallmark of free-markets”
 EASTERLY’S IDEA OF NEOLIBERALISM
• Why economic freedom is related to economic success?
• Why central planning has been an economic failure?
• Answers:
oFIRST: Economic freedom permits a multitude of
attempts and the failures are weeded out. Central
planners can never have nearly as much knowledge as
myriad individuals seeking success and learning from
their failures.
 EASTERLY’S IDEA OF NEOLIBERALISM
• Answers:
oSECOND: Markets offer continuous feedback on what is
succeeding and failing. Central planners lack such feedback.
oTHIRD: Economic freedom leads to the ruthless reallocation of
resources to that which is succeeding. Central planners often have
vested interests that prevent such reallocation.
oFOURTH: Economic freedom permits large and rapid increases
in scale by financial markets and corporate organizations. Central
planners lack the flexibility to make large-scale changes rapidly.
 DEFINITIONS
• Neo-Liberal State (Harvey, 2006: 25)
oThe focus is on those who gain from capital accumulation
–the capitalists.
• Social Democratic State
oEmphasis on the well-being of all, especially through
maintaining something approximating full employment.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NEO-LIBERAL STATES
Democratic Political System: The freedom of
individual to amass great individual wealth (Norberg,
2003)
Low taxes and tax cuts: Believed to stimulate the
economy by encouraging people to earn more, invest
more, and spend more.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NEO-LIBERAL STATES
Tax cuts for business and industry: To invest more in
operations and infrastructures through the tax savings.
In turn, generating more income and profit.
Minimal welfare and safety net spending: To allow
government to cut taxes and spend more on
“productive” undertakings. Without safety net, more
poor will be “forced” to find work. More workers, more
productivity, more profits, better standards of living.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NEO-LIBERAL STATES
• In short, the neo-liberal state has limited government.
• Theory: No government or government agency can do
things as well as the market.
• Proof: Failure of the Soviet Union, Mao’s Great Leap
Forward.
• A less expensive government, one that collects less taxes.
In turn, put more money in the hands of the public.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NEO-LIBERAL STATES
• The neo-liberal state is very interested in:
oPrivatization;
oFree movement of capital;
oReduce barriers of free movement of capital;
oFee competition.
 CRITICISMS OF NEO-LIBERALISM
• Trickle-down Economics is
a failure.
• Reagan and Thatcher.
 CRITICISMS OF NEO-LIBERALISM
• Produced financial crises in various countries.
• Dismal economic record since it distributed wealth
(from the poor to rich) rather than generating new
wealth.
• Contributed to the degradation of the environment.
• The “shock” doctrine is a failure since there is more
inequality and corruption.
 CRITICISMS OF NEO-LIBERALISM
• Structural adjustment is a failure
oIn order to receive aid from supranatural organizations,
receiving nations had to restructure their economies and
societies in line with neo-liberal theory.
oExamples: World bank, the International Monetary Fund,
EU GSP+ Grant.