Derick Liu
February 2, 2014
IDC 4001H - Prof. Maciuika
The Environment of Global Community, a Question of cost vs. Benefit
Each paper has a different topic; they discuss ideas of modernity and globalization, which
aren’t too obviously connected. However, the two notions both discuss community on a global
scale and how it influences our lives. Questions regarding the benevolence of this community are
raised. As such, it seems appropriate to link them as arguments of pros against cons. At first,
comparing the thoughts of Ulrich Beck to the ideas presented in All That is Solid Melts into Air
feels similar to comparing apples to oranges (one views the influence economically while the
other views it socially and almost spiritually), but both works are simply commenting on the
effects of the new and emerging global environment.
Ulrich Beck seems to despise the influence of the new environment; to him, it is the
source of unemployment and corruption. He seems to perceive it as the father of globalism and
globalization, which he defines as situations where the “world market eliminates or supplants
political action,” and, where “sovereign nations are undermined by transnational actors,”
respectively. (pg. 9 & 11) From what I can understand, he seems to suggest that if globalization
comes about, then a dichotomy between government and transnational corporations will be
created, in which the TNCs will have a large sum of power. To me he seems to be imagining a
scene where laissez-faire is taken to the extreme; he has jumped to the end of the domino line in
his theory.
Many of the points he makes are valid and do apply today, however he is biased and
refuses to even mention the benefits of a globalized community in his writing. It’s true that
globalization has allowed for outsourcing (which cuts jobs) and legal forms of tax evasion, but it
has also helped to create jobs as well. It is through globalization that Rocket was able to be
created, and it is Rocket that has created 25,000 new jobs, according to The Economist. If Beck
had put aside the economic lens, through which he was clearly observing, he might have seen the
social benefits of a globalized community as well. According to All That is Solid Melts into Air,
modernity, a fundamental necessity, is created through community. Modernity, being a
paradoxical existence of pain and joy is both strengthened and weakened by a growing a
community, but that is the essence of modernity, so it seems that in the end it is benefited by the
globalizing environment.
Both readings seem to be arguing a point on the increasing strength of the global
community. They seem to fight to point out the strengths and weaknesses of a globalized society
and world. For this reason it seems best to link them as evidence and claims for separate sides of
an argument, while our role is to answer the question being argued – is globalization worth it?