The Globalization of Economy and Society
Professor R.F.M. Lubbers
General Introduction
The spectacular collapse of communism in 1989 led to a
number of new developments and made those that were
already underway more conspicuous. Economists noted the
rapid advances being made by the market economy: the
expansion of trade between countries, ever more
investment in others, deregulation, privatization of
former state enterprises, and the liberalization of
capital flows. In other words, the market mechanism was
being embraced on a worldwide scale, a phenomenon often
referred to now as economic globalization.
People everywhere were confronted with the effects of the
emergence of modern communication technologies and
electronics. Silicon Valley, the chip, the Sputnik,
Soyuz, and Apollo heralded the birth of a new world. CNN
and the Internet, global sourcing, electronic capital
flows signalled the emergence of the information and
communication age. It has been said that the bits provoke
one world, accomplishing the globalization of
information/communication and technology.
Politicians realized that the division of the world into
three worlds, i.e., the first, free world; the second,
that of communism; and the third world, was no longer
viable. Every country seemed to want to belong to the
first world, a decision in favour of the market economy
and democracy: political globalization.
These events provided the impetus for creating the chair
in Globalization of the economy and society at the
University of Tilburg. The term globalization implies
that the becoming and making worldwide of various
phenomena has accelerated at such a pace that it is
giving rise to a variety of new phenomena. Globalization
entails a quantitative shift of several autonomous
national economies to a global marketplace for
production, distribution, and technology. All this has
resulted in the emergence of a worldwide confrontation of
political, societal, and ethical insights.
In this presentation, the most important aspects of
globalization will be briefly reviewed, on the basis of
the conceptual framework used for the course
Globalization of the economy and society, taught at the
University of Tilburg and represented in Figure 1.
[Image]
FIGURE 1
We shall first deal with the three components of the
primary globalization process, i.e., political, economic,
and technological globalization. In the second part, we
shall discuss the consequences of the primary
globalization process. These consequences, or subsequent
effects, concern the various kinds of frictions, their
backgrounds, and the reactions to these frictions. These
reactions, as can be seen from Figure 1, can be divided
into political/administrative reactions and societal
countereffects. The former are mainly positive, although
it is certainly possible to think of negative ones,
whereas the latter are mostly negative, although some
positive aspects can be recognized.
I. THE PRIMARY GLOBALIZATION PROCESS
Introduction
The becoming and making worldwide that was outlined in
the introduction is an age-old process. However, the word
globalization has only gained currency since 1989, the
year in which globalizition became manifest. Its roots
were examined as if it was a new plant, a new tree; the
roots extend farther and deeper than the visible part of
the plant. From a historical perspective, it can be
compared with voyages of discovery. Some people call
globalization Westernization.
In the period after World War II, the emergence of the
concept of globalization was marked by a number of
signals, each of which proclaimed that, in a figurative
sense, the world was getting smaller. An early signal was
the book "The global village" by MacLuhan, published in
the mid-1960s. He observed the global impact of our
consumption culture, including our entertainment culture.
A second signal was given by the Club of Rome. Because of
the overtaxing and depletion of nature, there was a need
for "Limits to growth", which became the title of the now
world-famous report. A third signal was the book "The
Third Wave" by Alvin Toffler. The far-reaching
integration of electronics and computers, on the one
hand, and communication technology, on the other, led to
what Toffler christened the third wave. And thus today's
world came into being. These signals date from a
generation ago, but globalization was finally set in
motion by the collapse of communism and the economic boom
in the Pacific rim.
The concept of globalization is currently characterized
as a primary globalization process that has consequences
for society and administration. The primary globalization
process is characterized by a continuously reinforced
interaction between politics, the economy, and
technology, factors that we shall examine first.
Subsequently, we shall look at each of the implications
separately.
Political globalization
Although technology is often considered the driving force
behind the globalization process, here we shall here
start with politics (or ideology in Figure 1) because the
word globalization only gained currency after the demise
of communism. The end of the communist era, which became
tangible with the destruction of the Berlin wall at the
end of 1989, was also the end of an era in which politics
divided the world into three worlds:
* the first world, the so-called free world;
* the second world, that of communism;
* and the third world, that of the developing
countries.
This division had dominated the political map since the
United Nations Charter of 1945. Having defeated the Axis
Powers, the Allied forces, which included the Soviet
Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin,
disintegrated. This was the beginning of the Cold War.
After the Soviet Union had made an abortive attempt at
annexing Berlin through isolation and siege in 1948, in
the meantime bringing one Eastern European country after
another under its sphere of influence, the Iron Curtain
became a political reality. This was to be the line of
demarcation - or of democracy - for a very long time,
despite popular uprisings, the most important of which
were Hungary 1956 and Prague 1968. But in Asia, too, the
communists and the non-communists were facing off.
The year 1945 also marked another development. The
resistance to foreign domination, which had been growing
for decades in many developing nations and colonies, and
which was given a fresh impulse by World War II,
culminated in the UN-Charter establishing the right to
autonomy. Decolonization and nation-building was the
order of the day, and a dramatic increase in the number
of United Nations members resulted. The first and the
second world exerted strong pressure on these new
countries to join their blocs, the communist philosophy
capitalizing on the interpretation of colonial
exploitation, the rich North versus the poor South, etc.
The overall preference, however, was to belong to the
non-aligned countries rather than to become part of
either the first or the second world.
Another important component of political globalization is
international organizations. As the contacts between
nations intensified because of the increasing mobility
and internationalization of trade, capital, and citizens,
there was a growing need for lasting and structural
contacts and consultative bodies. Diplomats and embassies
were the first step in that direction. Then, as the need
for contacts got stronger, there was also an explosive
growth in the number of specific intergovernmental
organizations and institutions. These institutions are of
crucial importance, which illustrates the fact that
politics, to a high degree, is subject to globalization.
This also has to do with the fact that it is often beyond
the powers of national governments to deal with
international problems, so that international
coordination and consultation becomes a necessity.
The international collaboration in these organizations
often left much to be desired. Talks frequently
deteriorated into wrangles and threats, and especially at
the height of the cold war (the zenith of the three
worlds), there was a strong tendency towards bloc
formation and the mutual hampering of proposals in these
institutions. The United Nations and its organizations
were paralysed to a high degree. The result was a large
number of institutions that were exclusively intended for
their own world (NATO, Warsaw Pact, G7, Comecon, etc.).
However, the Bretton Woods institutions, International
Monetary Fund and World Bank, dating from shortly after
World War II, did appear to function properly, partly
because there the votes were weighted according to
economic power rather than being politicized in a system
of one country, one vote. Moreover, the aims of these
organizations were more unequivocal, i.e., more in
accordance with the first world.
Be that as it may, the period 1945-1990 was characterized
by the division into the first, the second, and the third
world. The collapse of communism brought that period to a
definitive close. What began as perestroika and glasnost
(Gorbatsjev) and as open door politics (Deng) in the
second world was in fact a development in the direction
of the first world. The third world lost its monolithic
character; the picture became more differentiated; the
victory of the market economy over the planned economy
began to take shape. The memories of colonialism began to
fade, making it possible to opt for westernization, for
the first world. But cracks in the third world structure
had begun to appear earlier. From the early '70s, the
rich oil-producing countries (OPEC) emerged. In the '80s,
a number of countries in the Pacific rim had started
their take-off, so they could no longer be classed with
the least developed nations.
After 1989, just about everybody wanted to belong to the
first world: a market economy plus democracy for all
countries. If now, seven years later, one looks at the
political map, it turns out that the end of the cold war
has produced three other remarkable differences:
* as a result of both the collapse of the Soviet Union
and the success of their own economy, the United
States is more than ever the leading nation;
* China has proved capable of realizing a fabulous
growth with its particular combination of market
economy and non-democracy;
* and the reunification of Germany has transformed it
from a country that operated on a careful and modest
scale into a European giant, albeit without any
military power of its own.
But the Security Council, although it has rid itself of
the paralysing vetoes, still lacks strength. The United
Nations and all its allied institutions are going through
difficult times. In brief, political globalization is in
full swing.
Economic globalization
It is time to examine the globalization of the economy in
more detail. Where do we stand in the last decade of this
century? And why do so many identify the concept of
globalization with economic globalization? A historic
survey is called for. The shift of the economic power
centre, long ago, from the Middle East to Europe, then
from Europe to the USA and now, possibly, from the USA to
East Asia, is only a part of economic history. With each
shift of the power centre, a greater economic
interwovenness emerged in the world economy. The economy
is globalizing at a rapid pace. After World War II,
economic globalization was given an enormous boost. Not
only did trade become worldwide, but also production and
consumption. Whereas production and consumption once took
place mainly in Europe and to a lesser extent in the
United States, now the whole world has become a market
and a place of business for enterprises. Numerous studies
have used various indicators to show that today's world
is becoming ever more interdependent. Not only are people
becoming more mobile, but so are capital and even
problems and crises in the economy.
As a result of the enormous significance and weight of
the economy in our present society, this aspect of
globalization stands out. Trade, also across great
distances, has always been a characteristic of the
economy. The phrase free trade is of more recent vintage,
and refers to the relationship between trade and the
formation of states. Through the formation of states, the
economic order was in principle determined and delimited
by the state. The state imposed limits and constraints on
the conduct of trade across borders. The question of the
extent to which free trade does, or does not, enhance the
prosperity of a nation has been long debated. When,
during World War II, stock was taken of the dark first
half of the 20th century, the decision was made, at least
in the first world, to systematically promote free trade
by establishing the GATT. The United Nations too, had its
trade institution, called United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This was a political
forum in the tradition of the United Nations.
The globalization of the economy was promoted not only by
free trade, but also by the free movement of capital.
This liberalization has made it possible to realize a
global capital market. In fact, not only are the
financial markets a driving force behind the
globalization of the economy, they have also made the
most progress towards globalization. Besides free trade
and the free movement of capital, the promotion of direct
foreign investments by other countries, through
investment protection agreements, has had a strong
influence on the globalization of the economy. In the
Netherlands alone, some hundreds of these agreements have
been concluded. A number of years ago, the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had
already ascertained that there is also a need for
sectorial agreements, a case in point being the European
Charter Treaty for Energy.
Besides the evolution of the GATT which led to the World
Trade Organization, regional trade agreements also had a
strong positive effect on the integration of economies.
The most spectacular of these agreements was the European
Community's single market. In America, the North American
Free Trade Association (NAFTA) was created. In Latin
America, it was the more modest MERCOSUR, and in Asia,
the equally modest ASEAN. A not unimportant impulse was
also given by faith in deregulation, which in essence is
also an expression of faith in the market. Deregulation
comes in two guises: on the one hand, fewer rules, on the
other, fewer sheltered (protected?) sectors. Deregulation
is not only significant for economies within countries,
but it is also regarded as a condition for participation
in the world economy. Another phenomenon reflecting the
strength of the market is the privatization of former
state enterprises, which has resulted in enormous gains
in efficiency.
Economic globalization has also become observable in the
expansion of enterprises across borders. Seen from the
state's perspective, various stages can be distinguished.
First, there is the international enterprise, i.e., the
enterprise that extends its sphere of activity across
national borders. This extension often concerns certain
specific activities, such as export, import, and the
extraction of raw materials. Second, there is the
multinational enterprise, i.e., the enterprise that
conducts its affairs in a number of countries, in the
sense that the complete enterprise is operative in each
country (within the tariff walls and in accordance with
the specific laws and customs of the country in
question). Finally, there is the global enterprise, which
looks upon the world economy as one whole and, for each
new expansion, selects the optimal place of business,
going in for a lot of global sourcing in the process. One
can often observe the global company consciously aiming
at a flat organization. Globalization has meant a great
deal to the development of these multinationals;
conversely, the multinationals themselves have also
contributed to the globalization process.
Technological globalization
The development of technology is relevant both to the
economic world and to the process of globalization, i.e.,
the process of becoming and making worldwide. There has
always been interaction between these two. The
improvement of communication from sailing the oceans to
radiotelephony, satellites, and glass fibre, has made a
direct contribution to becoming worldwide and assisted in
the globalization of the economy. This kind of reduction
of distance meant a greater intensity of contact, causing
an ever-faster integration of market economy and
democracy.
Thus, technological globalization is at the heart of the
triangle of the primary globalization process. Remember
that economic and political globalization were the other
elements in this triangle. Of course, it is not the first
time in history that technological developments have
given rise to changes in the economic and political
fields. Technology is, as it were, the driving force
behind all progress in the economy, politics, and even
culture. The (re)birth of physics after the Middle Ages
is a case in point; and in historical descriptions of
earlier developments in the economy and of the formation
of states, one can always give a parallel description of
technological development.
What we see happening now, however, is fundamentally
different. The integration of computer development and
communication technology has given a worldwide impetus to
growth. More generally, the character of technological
development led to greater mobility, which simultaneously
led to tertiarization, i.e., a ever-growing dependence on
services instead of products and services within the
production chain. In addition, the awareness of scarcity
and environmental problems have led to miniaturization
and the efficient use of raw materials and additives. In
some sectors, even dematerialization is taking place,
which means the systematic reduction of weight in
relation to the value of a product.
Cultural globalization
Some people also speak of cultural globalization. What
exactly is meant by this? We may say that the phenomena
referred to as the Americanization of our consumption and
entertainment culture are already implied by the
globalization of the market economy and thus of the
consumer society. Hence, this form of globalization is
the fruit of economic and technological globalization.
However, cultural globalization has no roots; people
prefer to think in terms of our neighbourhood, our city,
and our country, rather than in terms of our world. This
implies that cultural globalization remains something
superficial, although people's cultural identity may
sometimes cause them to react violently against
globalization.
II. CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBALIZATION
Introduction
Having had a close look at the primary globalization
process in the preceding section, we shall now pay
attention to the consequences of this process. We can
distinguish a number of frictions, which subsequently
produce societal countereffects and administrative
reactions. If, in a globalized economy, countries are
forced to enter into political and administrative
consultation, there will be considerable frictions. We
shall sketch the backgrounds of these frictions and some
relevant problem areas. What may be even more interesting
than these frictions are the societal countereffects,
i.e., the reactions of citizens to globalization: the
reaction against the increase in scale, against the
primacy of economy and technology, against market and
individualistic thinking. Finally, there are the
administrative reactions, which are attempts to deal with
these frictions and countereffects properly.
Frictions
When looking at frictions, we distinguish general
backgrounds and specific globalization problems. In order
to really come to grips with these frictions, it is
useful to go into the general background of a number of
the specific globalization problems we are facing
nowadays. Afterwards, we shall discuss the specific
globalization problems. As far as general backgrounds are
concerned, we distinguish the following issues :
* I. Weaker administrative power of nation states
Globalization weakens the administrative power of
states. Why do states (governments) get weaker?
o Borders are no longer boundaries, especially
with respect to information, the flow of money,
and crime.
o A number of problems can only be tackled in
collaboration with other countries.
o Short-term thinking caused by the electoral
cycle.
o There is also criticism with respect to
corruption and lack of integrity.
o There is the disappearance of external threat,
especially that of communism. (NOTE: The place
of this external security matter has been taken
by an internal security matter, namely, crime.)
o Finally, one may add here that the authority of
the state is also weakened because it is forced
to renounce some of the achievements of the
welfare state.
* II. Need for international coordination between
nation states
The second category has to do with the fact that
given the level of globalization, international
coordination is necessary but difficult to achieve:
o Because there are phase differences in economic
development.
o Because there may be differences in priority
with respect to political-social aims.
o Because there is a difference in cultural
background and the social discipline that is
deemed necessary.
* III. Uncertainty about the delimitation of
government tasks
The third type is the result of uncertainty about
what democracies and goverments are to do in new,
globalized situations outside their own territories.
The most striking example of this has to do with the
primary task of governments, which is to prevent and
reduce violence wherever it occurs. Traditionally,
this concerned the responsibility of states for
security within their own borders and mutually among
states. Nowadays TV images seem to force a sense of
responsibility on governments for violence in
another country (the former Yugoslavia, Somalia,
Rwanda). In addition, there is the tendency in large
countries, especially the USA, to claim the right to
extraterritorial application of their laws because
of their leading role in the field to security.
All of the three above-mentioned issues are related to
the fact that the world may be becoming one in terms of
market and information, but that governments do their
work on the basis of the territorially delimited
constitutional state. Put succinctly, we may have one
world, but we will have to make do with states. As far as
globalization problems are concerned, free trade, the
establishment of standards, regionalization, equity,
ecology, and security are all relevant:
* Free trade
There is widespread agreement that, on the whole,
free trade is beneficial to the countries involved.
This does not alter the fact that adaptation to a
free trade situation confronts the countries and
sectors involved with often difficult transitional
problems. The GATT/WTO negotiations over the last
few years aptly illustrate this.
* The establishment of social and environmental
standards
There are various reasons for establishing
international norms and standards; they may pertain
to anything from human rights to working conditions.
With respect to the latter, we see that first
slavery was abolished, and later hard labour and
apartheid. This is now generally accepted. The
International Labor Organization (ILO) has been
operative since 1917. Of much more recent date, but
analytically comparable to social standards, is the
development of environmental standards.
These environmental standards are cause of many
international problems. To fully understand these
problems, we should pay attention to the process
described as "race to the bottom". The fear for a
race to the bottom refers to the fact that many
people fear that competition will force
para-economic standards downwards, resulting in less
social protection, lower environmental standards and
less tax incomes to finance the necessary collective
expenses.
The reverse problem is that social and environmental
standards, which damage development, are enforced
upon less developed countries to promote "equitable"
free trade. The question, which begs itself, is to
what extent these countries are entitled to decide
themselves (democratically) in what pace they want
to adjust their social and environmental standards
upwards to economic growth.
* Regionalization
Regionalization results from problems connected with
free trade. On the one hand, countries want to open
up their borders, promote free trade, and want to
profit from economies of scale; on the other, they
have administrative and political poblems to cope
with, which have already been mentioned above under
II. In such a case, regional blocks are the logical
choice. The most famous of these is the European
Community, which is now the European Union. In
addition, there are North American Free Trade
Association, MERCOSUR, ASEAN, and others. The
European Union is the most strongly integrated
regional block, as evidenced not only by free trade,
but also by the common market and the common
currency as the culminating point. Moreover, the EMU
is embedded in the even more ambitious project
called EPU (European Political Union). This strong
form of regional integration, like globalization,
produces a good deal of friction and a greater sense
of identity.
* Equity
The globalization of the economy seems to be
attended by serious employment problems in a number
of fully developed economies. This is sometimes
called exclusion, in the sense that certain groups
are excluded from the right to work. The extent to
which this is felt to be a problem differs greatly
between the U.S. and Europe. In any case, in Europe,
and perhaps in Japan in future, exclusion, or the
lack of inclusion, discredits economic globalization
and engenders fear.
A reasonable distribution of income is another
concept which is subsumed under equity. The classic
North-South discussion in terms of rich and poor has
begun to flag. This has everything to do with the
take-off in a number of previously developing
countries, whose economic growth belies traditional
analyses in terms of Ôsouth = poorÕ. Moreover, in
countries of what was originally the third world,
more light is being shed on the differences within
such a country. Meanwhile, poverty in a number
countries, including western democracies, is on the
increase; rents are being earned by those who
succeed in appropriating capital most productively.
At the same time, there is a clear labour surplus,
especially at the bottom end of the labour market.
In a number of countries, this is exacerbated by the
consequences of the reform of the welfare state.
At the same time, we can observe a high degree of
inclusion, especially in South-East Asia and Latin
America, where large numbers of people are being
recruited by the modern economy and are beginning to
experience more prosperity.
* Ecology
There is a close relationship between globalization
and environmental issues. It is useful, as far as
the environment is concerned, to make a distinction
between local (soot, stench, noise), regional (acid
rain), continental (polluted rivers and seas), and
global pollution (ozone layer and greenhouse
effect). In other words, the globalizing economy
also affects citizens elsewhere. A second link
between the environment and globalization is brought
about by depletion and scarcity. This scarcity,
caused by the worldwide expansion of economy and
technology together with continuing population
growth, was the central issue in the famous report
Limits to Growth, which we have already discussed.
In the eighties, the notion of sustainable
development gained wide currency. Environmentally
friendly technology and restrained production and
consumption were supposed to lead to this
sustainable development. The next step was the
foundation of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. Thus
the classic north-south debate about poverty and the
distribution of wealth has been succeeded by a
global debate on the environment. The climate treaty
is stimulating a debate about exactly how the burden
of this effort is to be divided among the countries
of the world.
* Security, human rights and development
When the U.N., together with the Security Council,
was founded in 1945, its aims were the promotion of
peace (non-violence), development, and human rights.
Note that the responsibility for peace is the first
category mentioned in the U.N. charter. This can
take a variety of forms. First, there is frequent
talk nowadays of conflict prevention, conflict
resolution, and exit policies in international
politics. However, as was said before, political
globalization has created a situation in which it is
unclear who is really responsible for political
violence within states. Must countries bear any
responsibility for violence in other countries, and
if so, what form should it take? A second theme
related to security and globalization is the problem
of the non-proliferation of military nuclear
technology and chemical and bacteriological warfare.
A third concerns the so-called rogue-states, which
practice state terrorism, in the sense that they use
terrorism and commit criminal acts outside the
borders of their countries in order to achieve
political aims. A fourth theme is that of
international crime, which has been given wider
scope by the dissolution of borders resulting from
the globalization of the economy, and of
(information) technology. A fifth theme is the drug
problem, tellingly referred to by some as
narco-terrorism, a typically post-war phenomenon
(especially the last two decades).
A separate category within the U.N. charter is
formed by human rights. This theme has gained
prominence as a result of the development of
democracies and worldwide consciousness-raising.
Political globalization has made it easier, in
principle, to ensure the safeguarding of human
rights via the concept of democracy (democratic
pluralism).
Finally, we also see a marked evolution in the third
category within the charter, i.e., the theme of
development. After self-reliance, the focus shifted
to self-governance, especially for the less
developed countries. In the wake of the idea of
sustainable development, which was brought about by
worries about the environment, it is now sustainable
human development, which sets the agenda for
development and the fight against poverty. The World
Bank is especially active here. In sustainable human
development, prosperity and progress in terms of
quality and human perspective are deemed more
important than the growth of the GNP (Gross National
Product).
Countereffects
Globalization gives rise to countereffects in society. In
order to understand these societal countereffects, one
should realize that there are three important aspects to
globalization:
* individualization leading to the me-society, in
which I takes first place;
* the ever-growing significance of the economy and
technology;
* and, the increasing influences from the rest of the
world.
Countereffects are developments in reaction to these
aspects. When judging them, one should realize that the
vast majority of the world is still living in the we-age.
The individualization process started in response to the
modern technology and economy, as individuals wanted to
improve their lot in economic terms. What we call
take-off in the economy can also be seen as the
transformation of we to I. Its spread can also be called
globalization. At the same time, though, we see
reactions, both in the world that has already been
industrialized and in the world where individualization
is still in its infancy. The following phenomena can be
observed and classed under countereffects:
* a revival of a national and cultural sense of
identity;
* a reaction against the surfeit of political thinking
at a great distance the citizens;
* a reaction against market-oriented thinking;
* the emergence of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and New Social Movements (NSMs);
* a religious revival (for example, sects,
fundamentalism, new age, etc.);
* communitarism, i.e., thinking in terms of
communities;
* a revival, in science, of institution-oriented and
holistic thinking.
What these phenomena have in common is a shift from
I-thinking to we-thinking; from globalization to
delimitation; from rationality to emotion; and from the
present surfeit of efficiency to more equity, also
intergenerationally.
Administrative reactions
In the light not only of these last-mentioned societal
developments which swim against the tide of
globalization, but also in the light of the previously
mentioned frictions, we can mention a number of measures
that aim, as far as possible, to counteract these
frictions and countereffects. More specific measures
depend on the frictions in question. Thus, environmental
problems require totally different solutions than equity
problems. General administrative reactions concern,
first, the handling and resolution of conflicts on an
international scale, for which special institutions and
consultative bodies are founded; second, the promotion of
civil society; and third, giving roots to social
globalization, so that a global ethic can come into
existence. On the one hand, therefore, we observe a
globalization of justice, accompanied, especially during
the last fifty years, by an enormous growth in the number
of institutional treaties, conventions, and international
courts of justice. On the other hand, there are more
societally related administrative reactions.
The globalization of justice has not only given rise to a
spectacular increase in the number of international
treaties, covenants, and agreements, but also to the
international comparison of judicial systems becoming an
important field of research for lawyers, and in line with
this, to international arbitration. It is also striking
that there is growing attention for the international
spread of soft law, which consists of
agreements-in-principle, or rather pronouncements by
groups of people or by institutions without legal power,
from which little legal security can as yet be derived,
but which nonetheless exert influence on legal judgements
and/or the development of law. International hard law, in
contrast, exists by virtue of international treaties or
national laws or by virtue of a certain amount of
jurisprudence from which legal security can be derived.
This is how, for example, human rights evolved. Since the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, these rights have
been hard law.
The following processes are examples of more
societally-orientated administrative reactions:
* in contrast to administrative scaling-up, there is a
tendency towards bringing politics as close to the
citizen as possible. Big government is out. Today,
government at a great distance from the citizen is
out, too. In the European Union, we see a return to
the subsidiarity principle;
* At the business level, there is decentralization.
Industrial organizations are getting less
hierarchical; they are becoming flatter instead.
Global companies, which take strategic decisions at
the global level, are simultaneously opting for more
autonomy on the shop floor, which is entrusted with
the control of quality, technology, improvement and
competitiveness, environmental protection, and even
morality.
* Regional trade blocs can create a level playing
field, so that social and environmental dumping
between member states is driven back. Regionalism
also often leads to one member state taking a
measure of responsibility for the security in the
entire area.
* Finally, the stimulation of a global ethic (see also
Proposals on Global Ethics: Scientific, Cultural and
Political Approaches and National States, Global
Society and Ethical Values on this website) deserves
attention. NGOs and religious movements are even now
taking the first steps in that direction.
In other words, administrative reactions constitute the
answer to frictions in the globalization process. This is
why in Figure 1 an arrow has been drawn from the
consequences back to the primary globalization process.
How the frictions and societal countereffects are coped
with will, to a high degree, determine the future of
globalization. Conceptually, there are three
possibilities:
* Frictions and other problems are energetically dealt
with by market forces and societal initiatives, as
if an invisible hand were at work. This in turn will
provide a strong impetus to the globalization
process, giving rise to a uniformly accelerated
movement.
* There are (creative) tensions between the primary
globalization process and the consequences which
cannot be solved on their own, but clearly require
coordination. This can be done through global
coordination or by the imperial leadership of the
USA. A situation of mitigated leadership is also
conceivable.
* Resistance to the globalization process gives rise
to a clear conflict situation, which in the long run
will act as an impediment to the primary process.
This will result in renewed fragmentation of the
world.
R.F.M. Lubbers
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