Democratizing Globalization
Michael Weinman
Political Science
“Globalization” is not new, but its problematic entwinement with capitalism and democracy is. The past 250 years introduced ever more rapid flows of capital and goods (money and things) across the globe, outpacing any attempts at regulation and control by political powers anchored in the system of nation-states. There is an irresistible tension here: governance is still largely performed at the level of national governments, while commerce conducted almost exclusively by firms that are in no way grounded in or related to national contexts. As these firms focus ever more on emerging markets they seek efficiencies, cutting costs by sourcing labor and materials as cheaply as possible, leading to their de-territorialization. At the same time, those firms are still chartered, regulated and taxed by nation-states, anchoring them legally at least, in units of political organization their economic activity does not correlate with any longer.
Can these processes of economic integration continue to accelerate without generating a groundswell of nationalist, isolationist, and/or nativist resentment? Are market economics ultimately incompatible with the democratic self-determination of nations? These tensions are especially great in democratic contexts, and in this course, we will attempt to understand how globalization can be more democratic and how democracies can better cope with the fact of globalization. Our readings throughout the semester will be drawn from history, social theory, anthropology, political economy, and religious studies, as well as from business. The course aims both to teach you something about the political and economic, social and cultural, dimensions of globalization today and to help you become more intellectually agile, more able to move quickly between disciplines, formats, and genres.
Catalog Information: HON-H 237 LAW AND SOCIETY