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Module for Flexible Learning
September 18 -October 18, 2023

I. GEC -- The Contemporary World

II. Lesson 2: Structure of Globalization

Topic A: Market Integration

Sub - Topics 1: International Financial Institution

2: History of Global Market Integration
3: Global Corporation

Topic B: The Global Interstate System

Sub – Topics 1: Global Governance in the 21st Century

2: Effects of Globalization to Government
3: The Relevance of State and Globalization
4: Institution that Govern International Organizations
5: Globalization and Globalism
6: Informationalism
7: Global Citizenship

III. Introduction

The social institution that has one of the biggest impacts on society is the economy. It is
composed of people. It is the social institution that organizes all production, consumption and trade of
goods in the society. Think about capitalism or socialism. These economic systems -- and the
economic revolutions that created them -- shape the way the people live their lives.
The state has traditionally been the subject of most interest to scholars of global politics
because it is viewed as “the institution that creates warfare and sets economic policies for a country.”

IV. Overview

Economic globalization, as a historical process, represents the result of human

innovation and technological progress, characterized by the increasing integration of markets around
the world through the movement of goods, services, and capitals across the borders. These changes
are the products of people, organizations, institutions and technologies. Then, how are we going to
describe “increasing integration?” When it is considered that trade has increased?
Today, the globalization of politics created an atmosphere where the ideas of the nation-
state sovereignty, government control, and state policies are challenged from all sides.

V. Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

a. understand that economic systems vary from one society to another.

b. understand that economic system is more complicated or at least more sophisticated.
c. understand the role of civil society in the government
VI. Pre Test (to be written in yellow pad paper)
l. What are the effects of the information revolution in today’s global market?
2. What are the effects of multinational corporations in the Philippine economy?
 3. Compare and contrast globalism and informationalism.

VII. Lesson Proper

International Financial Institutions
World economies have been brought closer together by globalization. It is reflected in
the phrase “When the American economy sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold.” But it is not
only the economy of the United State but also other economies in the world that have significant impact
on the global market and finance. The strength of a more powerful economy brings greater effect on
other countries. In the same manner, crises on weaker economies have less effect on other countries.
Although countries are heavily affected by the gains and crises in the world economy,
the organizations that they consist also contribute to these events. The following are the financial
institutions and economic organizations that made countries even more closer together, at least, when
it comes to trade.
The Bretton Woods System
The major economies in the world had suffered because of World War I, the Great
Depression in the 1930s and World War II. Because of the fear of recurrence of lack of cooperation
among nation-states, political stability, and economic turmoil (especially after the 2 nd World War),
reduction of barriers to trade and free flow of money among nations became the focus to restructure
the world economy and ensure global financial stability (Ritzer, 2015). These consist the background for
the establishment of the Bretton Woods system.
In general, the Bretton Woods system has five (5) key elements.
1. the expression of currency in terms of gold or gold value to established a par value
(Boughton, 2007)
2. the official monetary authority in each country (a central bank or its equivalent)
would agree to exchange its currency for those of other countries at the established exchange rates,
plus or minus a one-percent margin.
3. the establishment of an overseer for these exchange rate, thus, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) was founded.
4. eliminating restrictions on the currencies of member states in the international
trade.
5. that the US dollar became the global currency.
The Bretton Woods system was largely influence by the ideas of British economist John
Maynard Keynes who believed that economic crises occur not when a country does not have enough
money, but when money is not being spent and, thereby, not moving.. When economies slow down,
according to Keynes, governments have to reinvigorate markets with infusions of capital.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
According to Peet (@003), global trade and finance was greatly affected by the Bretton
Woods system. One of the system born out of Bretton Woods was the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) tha was established in 1947 (Goldstein et al., 2007). It focused on trade goods
through multinational trade agreements conducted in many “rounds” of negotiation.
The World Trade Organization (WTO)
The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland with 152 member states as of
2008 (Trachtman, 2007). Unlike GATT, WTO is an independent multilateral organization that became
responsible for trade in services non-tariff-related barriers to trade, and other broader areas of trade
liberalization. This means that by reducing or eliminating barriers, all nations will benefit.
However, significant criticisms to WTO is that trade barriers created by developed
countries cannot be countered enough by WTO, especially in agriculture. Another is that the decision-
making processes were heavily influenced by larger trading powers, while excluding smaller powers in
any meetings.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
IMF and World Bank were founded after the World War II. Their establishment was
mainly because of peace advocacy after the war. These institutions aimed to help the economic stability
of the world. Both of them are basically banks, but instead of being started by individuals like regular
banks, they were started by countries. Most of the world’s countries were members, but of course, the
richest countries were those who handled most of the financing and ultimately, those who had the
greatest influence.
IMF and the World Bank were designed to complement each other. The IMF’s goal
was to help countries which were in trouble and who could not obtain money by any means, perhaps,
their economy collapsed or their currency was threatened. IMF, in this case, served as a lender or the
last resort for countries which needed financial assistance. The World Bank, in comparison, had a more
long-term approach. Its main goals revolved around the eradication of poverty and it funded specific
projects that helped them reach their goals, especially in poor countries.
Unfortunately, the reputation of these institutions has been dwindling, mainly due
to practices such as lending the corrupt governments or even dictators and imposing ineffective
austerity measures to get their money back.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
The most encompassing club of the richest countries in the world with 35 member
states as of 2016, with Latvia as its latest member. It is highly influential, despite the group having little
formal power. This eliminates from member countries’ resources and economic power.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
In 1960, OPEC was originally comprised of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, and
Venezuela. They are still part of the major exporters of oil in the world today. OPEC was formed
because member countries wanted to increase the price of oil, which in the past had a relatively low
price and had failed in keeping up with inflation. Today, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Libya, Qatar,
Nigeria and Indonesia are also included as members.
The European Union (EU)
The EU is made up of 28 member states. Most members in the Eurozone adopted
the euro as basic currency but some Western European nations like the Great Britain, Sweden and
Denmark did not. Critics argue that the euro increased the prices in Eurozones and resulted in
depressed economic growth rates, like in Greece, Spain, and Portugal. The policies of the European
Central Bank are considered to be a significant contributor in these situations.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
NAFTA is a trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada created on
January 1, 1994 when Mexico joined the two other nations. It was created in 1989 with only Canada
and United States as trading partners. NAFTA helps in developing and expanding world trade by
broadening international cooperation
Generally, NAFTA has its positive and negative consequences. It lowered prices by
removing tariffs, opened up new opportunities for small-and-medium sized businesses to establish a
name for itself quadrupled trade between the three countries and created more jobs in the US. Some of
the negative effects, however, include excessive pollution, loss of more manufacturing jobs, exploitation
of workers in Mexico, and moving Mexican farmers out of business.
History of Global Market Integration
Before the rise of today’s modern economy, people only produced for their family.
Nowadays, economy demands the different sectors to work together in order to produce, distribute,
and exchange products and services. What caused this shift in the way people produce for their needs?
The Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution
 The first big economic change was the Agricultural Revolution (Pomeranz,
2000). When people learned how to domesticate plants and animals, they realized that it was much
more productive than hunter-gatherer societies. This became the new agricultural economy. Farming
helped societies build surpluses, meaning, not everyone had to spend their time producing food. This,
in turn, led to major developments like permanent settlements, trade networks, and population
growth.
The second major economic revolution is the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s.
With the rise of industry came new economic tools, like steam engines, manufacturing, and mass
production. Factories popped up and changed how work functioned. Instead of working at home where
people worked for their family by making things from start to finish, they began working as wage
laborers and then becoming more specialized in their skills. Overall, productivity went up, standards of
living rose, and people had access to a wider variety of goods due to mass production.

However, every economic revolution comes with economic casualties.

Workers in the factories -- who were mainly poor women and children -- worked in dangerous
conditions for low wages, with more productivity came greater wealth, but also greater economic
inequality. Because of this conditions, inspired by Marxist principles, labor unions gave way for
minimum wage laws, reasonable working hours, and regulations to protect the safety of workers.
Capitalism and Socialism
There are two (2) competing economic models that sprung up around the time of
Industrial Revolution, as economic capital became more and more important to the production of
goods. These were capitalism and socialism.
Capitalism is a system in which all natural resources and means of production are privately
owned. It emphasizes profit maximization and competition as the main drivers of efficiency. This means
that when one owns a business, he needs to outperform his competitors if he is going to succeed. He is
incentivized to be more efficient by improving the quality of one’s product and reducing the prices. This
is what economist Adam Smith in the 1770s called the “invisible hand” of the market. The idea is that if
one leaves a capitalist economy alone, consumers will regulate things themselves by selecting goods and
services that provide the best value.
In practice, however, an economy does not work very well if it is left completely autopilot
(alone}. There are many sectors where a hands off approach can lead to what economists call market
failures, where an unregulated market ends up allocating goods and services inefficiently. A monopoly,
for example, is a kind of market failure. In situation like these, a government might step in and force
the company to break up into smaller companies to increase competition. Government also set
minimum wages, create workplace safety laws, and provide social support programs like unemployment
benefits and food stamps.
Socialism is a system in which the means of production are under collective ownership. It
rejects capitalism’s private property and hands-off approaches. Instead, property is owned by the
government and allocated to all citizens. Socialism emphasizes collective goals, expecting everyone to
work for the common good and placing a higher value on meeting everyone’s basic needs than on
individual profit. When Karl Marx first wrote socialism, he viewed it as a political and economic system
in which all members of a society are socially equal. In practice, this has not played out in the countries
that have modelled their economies on socialism, like Cuba, N Korea, China and the USSR. Rather than
freeing the workers --- in Marxist terms, the proletariat --- from inequality, the massive power of the
government in these states gave enormous wealth power and privilege to political elites
Those two (2) models ae not the end of the story because we are living in the middle of the
economic revolution that followed the Industrial Revolution.
The Information Revolution
Ours is the time of the information revolution. Technology has reduced the role of human
labor and shifted it from a manufacturing-based economy to one that is based on service work and the
production of ideas rather than goods. This has had a lot of residual effects on our economy.
Computers and other technologies are beginning to replace many jobs because of automation or
outsourcing jobs offshore.
What do jobs in a post-industrial society look like?
Agricultural jobs, which once were a massive part of the Philippine labor force, have fallen
drastically over the century.
Manufacturing jobs, which were the lifeblood of United States’s economy for much of the 20 th
century, have declined in the last 30 years. The US economy began with their many workers serving in
either the primary or secondary economic sectors. But today, much of their economy is centered on the
tertiary sector or in the service industry.
The service industry includes every job such as administrative assistants, nurses, teachers,
and lawyers. This is a big and diverse group because the tertiary sector, like all the economic sectors, is
defined mainly by what it produces rather than what kinds of jobs it includes.
Sociologists have a way of distinguishing between types of jobs, which is based more on the
social status and the compensation that come with them.
1. Primary labor market --- includes jobs that provide many benefits to workers, like high
incomes, job security, health insurance, and retirement packages. These are white-collar professions,
like doctors, accountants and engineers.
2. Secondary labor market --- jobs that provide fewer benefits and include lower-skilled
service sector jobs. They tend to pay less, have more unpredictable schedules, typically do not offer
benefits like health insurance and also tend to have less job security.
What is next to capitalism and socialism? No one knows what the next economic revolution is
going to look like. Nowadays, a key part of both our economic and political landscape is corporation.
Global Corporations
The increase in international trade has both created and been supported by international
regulatory groups, like WTO, and transnational trade agreements, like NAFTA. There is no single country
that is completely independent. All are dependent to some degree on international trade for their own
prosperity. The trade regulatory groups and agreements regulate the flow of goods and services
between countries. They reduce tariffs, which are taxes on imports, and make customs procedures
easier. This makes trading across national borders much more feasible. These international trade
agreements often benefit private industries the most. Companies can produce their goods and services
across many different countries.
These companies that extend beyond the borders of one country are multinational or
transnational corporations (MNCs or TNCs) . They are also referred to as Global corporations. They
intentionally surpass national borders and take advantage of opportunities in different countries to
manufacture, distribute, market, and sell their products. Some global corporations are almost
everywhere like McDonald and Coca-Cola, and yet they market themselves as American companies.
Transnational corporations have a significant role in the global economy. Some have
greater production advantages than an entire nation. They influence he economy and politics by
donating money to specific political campaigns or lobbyists. They can influence the global trade laws of
the international regulatory groups.
Global corporations often locate their factories in countries which can provide the
cheapest labor in order to save up for expenses in the making of a product. The companies will set up
shop in their country in hopes of bringing jobs and industry to the host country. This promotes more
rapid advances in the developing countries because of the ideas and innovations brought over from the
industrialized countries. It also makes nations around the world more interdependent, which minimizes
the potential for conflict.
Setting up factories in these developing nations may also hurt core country where the TNC
is based because many potential jobs are being sent abroad. The same thing happens when companies
outsource their labor to other countries. Outsourcing has been enabled by technological advances,
allowing immediate communication across the world and the ease of transporting people, goods, and
information.
There seems to be a lot of negative effects of globalization from transnational corporations.
Trade does promote the self-interested agendas of corporations and give them autonomy. The global
corporations also influence politics and allow workers to be exploited. There are, however, positive
effects. These include better allocation of resources, lower prices for products, more employment
worldwide, higher product output, cultural changes are as important and sometimes, even more
obvious than the economic changes the nation can experience. Cultural practices and expressions are
also passed between nations, spreading from group to group.
International trade and global corporations, along with the internet and more global
processes, contribute to globalization because people and corporations bring their own traditions, and
their money with them when they interact with other countries.
VIII. Learning Activity: (To be written in yellow pad)
The history of global market brought positive and negative effects through time. At this
point, markets will be assessed through your own perspective provided that you already had a good
grasp of the different concepts in economic and financial globalization. This activity will help you
understand the benefits and harms of global economic processes, structures and technologies.
1. Listed below are the scenarios that have to do with the economy. Discuss the major
impacts of these scenarios whether they are positive or negative (for you, for the country, or for the
Filipinos). Justify your answers.
Scenario A: Agriculture is the main source of employment/income in your home
province. The government has recently decided to develop the farmlands into real state and exclusive
subdivisions in order to attract foreign investors to the country. (Positive or negative). Justify your
answer/s.
Scenario B: You decided to purchase a new shirt through an online shop based in
Hongkong. (Positive or negative). Justify your answer/s.
Scenario C: The Philippine government is being pressured by current economic
crisis to import rice from Vietnam and other nearby countries in the region. (Positive or negative).
Justify your answer/s.
Scenario D: A multinational corporation decided to close. Unfortunately, your father
is one of the employees whose work has been terminated. However, he could still be employed if he
were to accept the offer to move or relocate to another country. (Positive or negative). Justify your
answer/s.
2. How did you decide for each scenario?

Topic B: The Global Interstate System

Global Governance in the Twenty-First Century
There is a series of specific factors behind the emergence of global governance.
1. The declining power of nation-states. If states themselves were “highly contingent and in
flux” (Cerny, 2007, p. 854), it would open the possibility of the emergence of some form of global
governance to fill the void.
2. vast flow of all sorts of things that run into and often right through the borders of nation-
states. This could involve the flow of digital information of all sorts through the internet.
3. mass migration of people and their entry, often illegally, into various nation-states. If
states are unable to control this flow, then there is a need for some sort of global governance to help
deal with the problem. The flow of criminal elements and as well as their products is a strong factor in
the call for global governance (Levy and Sznaider, 2006).
 Another set of issues that has led to calls for global governance involves horrendous events
within nation-states that the states themselves either foment and carry out, or unable to control
(Nordstrom, 2004).
Then, there are global problems that single nation-states cannot hope to tackle on their own.
One is the global financial crises and panic that sweep the world periodically, which naions are often
unable to deal with on their own(Strange, 1996).
Effects of Globalization to Governments
One of the key aspects of state sovereignty is the government. It is a group of people who have
the ultimate authority to act on behalf of a state. Each state has its own right to self-detemination and
that other country should not intervene in the affairs of that state unless there are extraordinary
reasons to do so. Other countries must recognize sovereignty or the right to govern one’s own
territorial borders.
There have been several challenges to the government and ultimately, to state autonomy. We
can divide these challenges into four:
Traditional Challenges
External intervention can generally be described as invasion by other countries. These days,
we can see external intervention in other forms, like for instance of intervention in the autonomy of the
state. Internal political challenges can also happen, like the military staging a coup to deposed the
government in order to restore stability. There are also regional organizations challenging state
autonomy.
Challenges from National/Identity Movements
The next challenges are part of national identity or movement. It is important to know that a
nation has cultural identity that people attached to, while a state is a definite entity due to its specific
boundaries. However, different people with different identities can live in different states.
Global movements, are another example of national or identity movements.
Global Economics
The major source of challenge comes from global economics. Global economy demands the
states to conforms to the rules of free-market capitalism. Government austerity comes from
developments of organizations that cooperate across countries, such as WTO and regional agreements ,
such as NAFTA, the European Union (EU), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Neoliberal economics or neoliberal capitalism started in the 1980s. It focuses on free trade
and dismantling trade barriers. It made surer that governments did not impose restrictive regulations
on corporate presence, as well as on the free flow of capital and jobs.
A specific example to expand global economic influence is the use of IMF and World Bank in
forcing government reforms in poorer country. Furthermore, the regional economic development
efforts focused on expanding free trade and market liberalization. Businesses from developed countries
put their factories and pay people to build factories and produce goods in developing countries
worldwide. These corporations will sell the products in developing countries. This exacerbates rising
inequality in the world.
In conclusion, economic crises can force government to subscribe to the terms and
conditions of the global financial market and of other nations that can help them regain economic
stability.
Global Social Movements
Finally, we have global social movements. Most of the time, they are not seen as threat but
they definitely challenge state sovereignty. Social movements are movements of people that are
spontaneous or that emerge through enormous grassroots organizations. These social movements are
transnational movements which means they occur across countries across borders. Therefore, states
have less control over them.
 For example, human rights movements create public sentiment, value, and agenda. The
idea is that, there are certain rights that states cannot neglect or generally, what we call human rights.
If a country decides that they are going to have a particular policy and if that policy violates the
international standard of human rights, there is a challenge to the ability of states to fully implement it.
The environmental movement is another example of global social movements related to
public policy. Consensus on women’s rights is another example in many countries. Rights of personal
autonomy are another example and this includes issues on homosexuality, same-sex marriage and
gender equality.
There is also an increased role in international organizations like the United Nations and the
International Criminal Court in Hague, the role of non-governmental organizations like Doctors Without
Borders or Amnesty International, and role of global media.
The Relevance of the State amid Globalization
The state is a distinctive political community with its own set of rules and practices and that is
more or less separate from other communities. It has four (4) elements: people, territory,
government, and sovereignty. The government regulates relations among its own people and with
other states. This means that a state is formally constituted sovereign political structures encompassing
people, territory, and its institutions on the other hand, and maintaining its autonomy from other states
on the other hand.
It is important to differentiate the idea of nation from state . Nation refers to a people rather
than any kind of formal territorial boundaries or institutions. It is a collective identity grounded on a
notion of shared history and culture. A cultural concept. State we may refer to the Philippine
government, territory, and its internal and external sovereignty. A political concept.
A variety of arguments are made including that nation-states continue to be the major players
on the global stage (Gilpin, 2001), that they”retain at least some power in the face of globalization”
(Conley, 2002, pp.378-399), thay they vary greatly in “their efficacy in the face of globalization”
(Mann,2007, p. 472), and that rumor of the demise of the nation-state are greatly exaggerated.
Beland (2008) argued that “the role of the state is enduring ---and even increasing---
inadvanced industrial societies” (p. 48). He saw greater demands being placed on the state because of
four major sources of collective insecurity: terrorism; economic globalization, leading to the problems
such as outsourcing and pressures toward downsizing, as well as the current economic crisis; threats to
national ientity due to immigration; and the spread of global diseases such as AIDS and COVID 19
pandemic. Further, the state does not only respond to these threats, but may also exaggerate or
create dangers, thereby making its citizens more insecure (Glassner, 2000).
A related point is that it would be a mistake simply “ to see globalization as a threat to, a
constraint on, the nation-state; it can also be an opportunity for the nation-state” (Conley, 2002,
pp.378-399).
Institution that Govern International Relations
The United Nations (UN) is one of the leading political organizations in the world where
nation-states meet and deliberate. However, it remains as an independent actor in global politics It was
coined by former US Pres. Franklin D Roosevelt in 1942. Its operation began on October 24, 1945 with
50 representatives from different countries. Today it is made up of close to 200 countries from around
the world, 193 to be exact. It functions four areas: military issues, economic issues, environmental
issues, and human protection.
On military issue, The institution that play a big role in foreign conflicts is the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO). It is a defensive treaty or a military alliance between the US, Canada and
twenty five (25) European countries. It is based on the idea of collective security.
In terms of economic issues, the main focus of the UN is the reduction of global inequality.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover a range of concerns for the improvement of all aspects
of life. According to the UN (2017), sustainable development encompasses economic prosperity, social
well-being and environmental protection.
 On environmental issues, such as pollution and hazardous wastes, are addressed through
United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). The increasing rate of greenhouse gas emissions,
rising sea level, and occurrence of extreme weather patterns are the effects of climate change. As a
response, the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)) took efforts that can mitigate
climate change like assessments of climate science, facilitation of climate agreements, and giving
assistance to countries to reduce emissions (UN, 2011).
The UN also has the International Court of Justice (ICJ), usually referred to as the World
Court, located at The Hague, Netherlands. This is were countries can settle disputes in a court of law,
as well as a place where war criminals ruler who have done terrible things to their people can be put to
trial for their crimes. Aside from this there is also the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
Finally, the UN promotes and protects human rights through different organizations and
mechanisms. This is reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A variety of UN-sponsored
human rights treaties and agreements have been done for human rights protection. The UN also
believes in democracy and that it is interdependent with development and respect for all human rights.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Red Cross (Red Crescent in Muslim countries) . It is considered as a non-governmental
organizations. NGOs are not tied to any country. This allows them to operate freely throughout the
world. They provide emergency relief such as food, water, and medical supplies for those whose homes
or towns have been destroyed by disaster or war. Red Cross remains neutral, governments are more
likely to let them come into their countries to help. Its headquarter is at Geneva, Switzerland. Another
NGOs dedicated to help people around the world were: Doctors Without Borders provides free
emergency healthcare in disaster areas; Oxfam fights famine and diseases; Amnesty International
speaks out for human rights and political prisoners; and Save the Children helps kids get health care and
education.
Global Economic Associations: The WTO and The NAFTA
The next group is and economic association ---- WTO. It is made up of 162 countries
around the world and was created with the goal of increasing free trade. Countries, therefore, can
buy and sell goods from one another without placing taxes on imports or tariffs.
Another famous economic organization is NAFTA. An economic treaty between the
United States, Canada, and the Mexico in which the three countries trade freely without taxing each
other.
Globalization and Globalism
Globalism refers to the network of connections that transcends distances of different
countries in the world. In other words, the links among countries and people are better associated with
globalism while the speed in which they become linked with one another is globalization.
Even before the Industrial Revolution, the world was already connected, through
conquest and invasions. Today, however, the contemporary world is characterized by being connected
through the Internet, modern transportation and advanced communication technologies. This is to say,
therefore, that societies in the world have always been connected; what make the contemporary world
different from the past is the type and speed of connection that people and societies experience.
We can also differentiate globalism and globalization in terms of “thickness” (Nye, 2002).
Globalism is thin. As it become thicker, globalization happens. This means that being able to connect
countries in the world through a more dynamic and faste way is globalization.
With the advent of moden mass communication, computers, and social networking sites,
it seems that the connections made through the exchange of information creates a new kind of network
in this contemporary world.
Informationalism
 The difference between globalism and globalization is the speed and thickness or
intensity of connections. Nevertheless, people are connected with one another whether as a small
community or as a large country.
What type of connection that exists and begins to increase in the contemporary world?
The answer lies on the growth of information as binding force among people, things, and places around
the globe. The technological paradigm, associated with computer science and modern
telecommunication, that replaces industrialism is called informationalism (Castells, 2004). These are
technology, the media and the internet: “ the three (3) of the most cutting edge aspects of the social
world in general and globalization in particular” (Ritzer, 2015, p. 134).
When one mentions online social networking, spam, and computer viruses, it is the
internet that binds them all. “The Internet has prompted a flat world thesis; any one can involved in it,
at least theoretically” (Ritzer, p. 150).
While globalization allowed the expansion of information, access to modern
technologies is not a universal matter that is available to every person around the world. The Internet
and other technologies are limited by certain barriers. These barriers include lack of electricity,
illiteracy, weak financial systems, and government regulations.
Global Citizenship
Citizenship is associated with rights and obligations, for instance, the right to vote and
the obligation to pay taxes. Both rights and obligations link the individual to the state. It also has to do
with our attitudes. We need to be willing to engage and to spend time and effort to the community of
which we feel part of. Community has traditionally been regarded as something very local. How, then,
can the idea of citizenship be transferred to the global level?
Caecilia Johanna van Peski (as cited in Barandi, 2012) defined global citizenship “as moral
and ethical disposition that can guide the understanding of individuals and groups of local contexts, and
remind them of their relative responsibilities within various communities.” Global citizen are the glue
which binds local communities together in an increasingly globalized world.
In any case, given that there is no world government, the idea of global citizenship
demands the creation of rights and obligations. Moreover, fulfilling the promises of globalization and
solution to the problems of the contemporary world does not lie on single entity or individual, but on
citizens, the community, and the different organizations in societies. The dynamics of globalization
demands the efforts of the whole array of inter-governmental organizations such as the United Nations
and the World Bank.
Ultimately, reforms in global governance are required to allow world citizens to take part
directly in all aspects of human life at the global level.
VIII. Learning Activity. Collecting Post, Connecting the World (To be submitted before the
start of the new lesson)
We live in the world where we are surrounded by vast amount of information. It is all
around us. We can information from books, television, newspaper, and online websites. The World
Wide Web has made us familiar with digital technology and allows us to communicate with other people
around the world.
Moreover, our collective learning could also be aided by modern technology. Social media
is one of the ways in which information is exchanged today. In this activity, we will realize how
connected we are in terms of the posts that we see in the Web. Although we do not have a face-to-face
interaction, we could somehow relate with others in this virtual space---- the internet---- which largely
shaped the flow of information in the contemporary world
1. Using your social media account (e.g., Facebook, Instagram or Twitter accounts)
browse your home page and observe the posts of your classmates, your instructors and your friends.
2. Choose and list down at least 20 randomly selected posts. The names of your
friends can be excluded.
 3. Group the posts according to theme. Some of the themes may be about an
educational post, an opinion (on what they are experiencing now), about a product, or status about
one’s personal life. Feel free to construct your own title for the posts that you are going to group
together.
4. Share the themes you have created with a classmate and answer the following
questions:
a. Which theme has the most number of posts?
b. Which post has the most number of share?
c. What are the common themes that you and your classmates have
identified?
d. Have you posted anything in the past that is similar with the posts you
listed down?
5. How do you find this activity: educational, interesting, or informational? Why?
6. Do you experienced certain barriers (that hampers your connectivity)?

References: The Contemporary World by Prince Kennex Reguyal Aldama

The Contemporary World by Lisandro E. Claudio and Patricio N Abinales