Scandinavian Nepali Diaspora

A Critical Review on Concepts of Perrons Dianes’ Book

Globalization and Social Change: People and Places in a Divided World.

Prabin K. Prajapati

Introduction:

Later half of the twentieth century, some of world’s development agencies such as World Bank IMF, and UN formulated some of the strategic policies to alleviate extreme poverty in the world. IMF introduced the structural adjustment policy in the conditions to donate the development funds. When implemented, a few countries were only benefitted where as many of them went on reverse gear. Though globalization gave a new practice and knowledge in late seventies it subsequently brought tremendous inequality in rich and poor as well as division of labour. On the other hand rapid development of ICT, large scale migrations, cultural exchange contributed to shape a new mode of production. Participation of women in economy and division of labour in the international scale has a few positive outcomes. Diane mentions, “…. Globalization is a product of political decision making or choice and open to change the modification through human decision making” (P 3). She clearly indicates the need of state intervention in terms of addressing the marginalized groups though state has lost its role in globalization process. Many studies have already been done on effect of globalization process out of which Diane’s book is also one of them.  In this book I will discuss the concepts and their implications contextually. I will also discuss how she used the concepts to make more epistemological understanding of globalization process.

Globalization, market and Social Change:

Diane’s epistemology of globalization is to interpret the phenomena further a post structuralist approach in the neo-Marxist theory of surplus value from labour. She talks about the technology and scrupulous inputs in human resources and capital market where capitalist play the vital role to reduce the cost of production aiming to large scale consumption. The fusion of new groups in the superstructures has contributed to emerge a challenge at normalizing social structures.   The new structure has become a problematic since race, class and gender are the issues to be addressed. Basically, globalization process also shaped the trend of division of labour. Many more jobs have been feminized therefore, the patriarchal structure of family is collapsing rapidly. It can be experienced in Thailand and Malaysia and Japan however, there is also a new problem of lower paid jobs to women. Diane argues that division of labour in social works where value of service is paid low. This also creates the power imbalance in the capitalist context. The context has invisibly contributed to uneven development and inequality between rich and poor countries and within the countries. In chapter 4, Diane gives an illustration of women’s empowerment process in economy with an example from Chile. In this chapter, she explains how supermarkets in the UK fix the working hours of female workers through the export companies. Without having alternatives, they have to stay seasonal workers whereas men are working all year round.  Of course, this economic participation of women has enhanced purchasing power parity and living standard.  Diane mentions- “Different wage zones have been used to lower the cost of manufactured good and now different time and zones are drawn upon to lower cost in service sectors … interconnections between places are becoming more complex.”  Different wage zones have brought cultural, social and economic complexity geographically.

Conclusion:

Many more illustrations and comparisons through data and chart Diane has successfully argued that globalization process has really made the world complex and it’s a greatest challenge to stop geographically uneven development and inequality. Her analysis through GDP, PPP and Exchange values and Human development Index in chapter 2 strongly supports to the concept of Marxist view on capitalism. Despite this Diane has not more discussed finding a space for marginalized people who have not experienced the wave of capitalist movement or she talks a little about narrowing down the stark inequality. Munck and Denis (eds. 1999) suggest global force as economic hegemony should make visible (p.14). The book has much more highlighted the problems of global capitalist system and its current wave in the world but has less discussed how to combat with expanding gaps of race, class and gender inequality by theories of new world order.

References:

Escobar, Aruto (1995) Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton University Press

Munch, R. & Denis O’Hearn (Eds. 1999) Critical Development Theory: Contributions to a New Paradigm. Zed Books London.

Perrons, Diane (2004) Globalization and Social Change: People and Places in the Divided World. Routlege