Monica Butler ---- Final post

Monica Butler - 5/7/12 - Final Post

This week the article by Roy was a different take on assessing globalization in the modern world. It was less informative and factual but posed many of the same questions we have been asking all semester in the context of India. I think what is most significant was this struggle between new and old. This is something that applies to the many developing nations across the world entering the world’s globalization transformation. It is a complex because there is no answer between the two; neither is good and neither is bad. The problem in India is the extremely strong inequalities among the caste system that are worsened through this conflict of new and old. Roy references this as a tiny convoy going to the “top of the world” with the modern and the other, much larger, convoy heading further and further into darkness and poverty.  This larger convoy is that 50% of the population that is illiterate in a country that is pulling into the lead of the Information Revolution and the 5 million people living in Delhi slums. She poses questions that ask what this type of globalization means for countries like India. Will it further the economic gap or close it? She asks if the current globalization is just a mask for a “mutant variety of colonialism” that mirrors the history of India in the past? India is trying to develop and become a bigger player in the global scheme, however, Roy points out that if they are not careful they will continue to be a pawn in the game of economic globalization. It is like she describes about pollution “This is our in-house version of first world bullying in the global warming debate, i.e., we pollute, you pay.” 

Among her many questions about a solution to the issues surrounding economic globalization she sees political accountability and major collaborative world dissent as the solutions. However, she discusses the hardships that language instills in the missions of people like her. Labeling her work as activism. She argues that she is simply taking a point or giving an opinion. By doing so she alienates herself in the writing world. Activists are labeled as crude and bias. However, she explains that she is solely taking and point and trying to effect change through what she knows best, writing. I think the most important thing to take away from this is that we don’t need to be an activist to get involved. We are all involved because we are human beings living and cohabitating this world together. “Activists” should not be taking the lead but we should be acting on these issues in a collective manner. 

I think that this article is a great way to end the semester because it addresses many questions that we bring up every class. The article seemingly reads like one of our class discussions, poses questions and provides evidence to provoke thought. On the topic of globalization we have learned that there is no solution to its problems and it is not something that is going away. Each week we have tackled a different negative result of globalization along with the positives that come with these effects. However everyday we leave with unanswered questions. With a topic that is so difficult to answer it is important have insightful conversations and to evoke questions to think about. I think Roy’s points about solving the issues of globalization are relevant to every topic we have discussed. In order to solve such major problems they need to be tackled collectively among everyone across the globe. We cannot be so privileged as Westerners and push our issues off into other nations, however, we need to solve our problems both domestically and help others through the benefits that have come with globalization, like technology, trade, and communication. 

I think what was one of the most significant things from this course was the range of topics that discussed. The issues that were discussed allowed us to understand the ways globalization effect every culture in literally almost every aspect. Often times the effects of globalization are lessened by its economic significance or its technological relevance. However the way we react to economic and technological globalization have had a significantly strong effect on the social context of every culture across the world. I think the that the importance of this class was based in how globalization in its smallest forms can effect the everyday lives of people across the world. From their basic psyches to their interactions with others to their religions.