Module 2: Globalization and

Multicultural Literacy
ALFIE M. ENAJE, LPT

Faculty of Science and Mathematics Area

Southern Leyte State University- Tomas Oppus Campus
San Isisdro, Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte, Philippines
Lesson 1: Globalization

ALFIE M. ENAJE, LPT

Faculty of Science and Mathematics Area

Southern Leyte State University- Tomas Oppus Campus
San Isisdro, Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte, Philippines
Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. develop a clear and practical understanding
of globalization and its implications on both
the national and individual level.
What is Globalization?
• Globalization is the process of interaction and
integration between people, business entities,
governments, and cultures from other nations,
driven by international trade and investment and
supported by information technology (Levin
Institute, 2017).
Consider two people from
different countries, for example,
the Philippines and South Korea.
Let us say they meet in college
and become good friends, so that
the Korean comes to be treated
like a member of the Filipino's
family.
 I love to listen to • After some time, the Korean returns to
OPM her own country, but something has
changed-she notices an aspect of her
culture that she finds herself wishing to
I love eating be more Filipino. She knows very well
Filipino that she cannot change Korean culture
foods as a whole, so she decides to just
change herself.
• She does not change everything, of
I started to use
course just a little thing here and there;
po and opo at she is still obviously Korean, but she just
nagmamano na does a few things differently from those
ako sa mga
nakakatanda
who have never been to the Philippines.
 • Now suppose a little more time passes
and the Korean is very happy with the
changes she has made to her life that
makes it just a little more Filipino. Let us
say some of her colleagues notice how
I want to try she does some things differently and they
Filipino become curious, so she tells them about
culture
her experiences in the Philippines and
how that in some ways, she wishes to do
things the way the Filipinos do. Her
colleagues decide to give it a try, and they
find that they like this different way of
doing things, too.
 I always listen
to KPOP • Now let us say that when we look at the
person from the Philippines, something
similar has taken place: the Filipino,
I like to wear
while still being Filipino through and
Korean fashion through, has made a few changes in her
life as a result of her experience of
Korean culture through her friend
during their years in college. Some of
I like to eat her friends have also noticed it and have
korean food
made similar little changes in their own
lives.
How did the story
illustrate the idea
of Globalization?
 Key Points
• We primarily view globalization through an economic lens.
• This limited perspective makes us think globalization only affects
economists and businessmen.
• In reality, globalization impacts a wider range of people and areas.
• Globalization encompasses more than just trade and investment.
• It creates interconnectedness between individuals and societies
beyond direct interaction.
• Globalization involves the exchange of various aspects of culture,
technology, and economy on a global scale.
• Globalization is more than just trade and investment. It's a
complex process that intertwines cultures, economies,
and societies on a global scale.
• It involves the exchange of everything from fashion and
entertainment to technology and business practices.
• E s s e n t i a l l y, g l o b a l i z a t i o n i s t h e i n c r e a s i n g
interconnectedness of the world.
• This is globalization as we know it today.
• Globalization as a phenomenon is not new.
Nations and cultures have been interacting and
integrating with one another for millennia.

• What is different now, however, is the speed at

which globalization is happening, its overall scope,
and its effects on the lives of ordinary people.
• Not only are we interacting with, learning from, and
integrating knowledge gleaned from other cultures and
nations at an unprecedented rate
• There is now also a sense that no matter where one lives
or how limited is one's face-to-face interaction with
members of another nation or culture and how limited
one's time is spent online.
• Globalization and its effects are inescapable.
Effects of Globalization
• The effects of globalization are multi-dimensional.

• Meyer (2000) summarizes the effects of globalization as

follows:
Ø economic, political, and military dependence and
interdependence between nations;
Ø expanded flow of individual people among societies;
Ø interdependence of expressive culture among nations; and
Ø expanded flow of instrumental culture around the world.
Economic Dependence/Interdependence

• When the term globalization entered the Philippine public

mindset in the early 90s, it was popularly understood to
be a mainly economic phenomenon, and a negative one
at that.

• It was feared that foreign businesses would dominate the

market, harming local industries, even though it was
erroneous.
• While Philippine society has come to realize that this early
perspective represented a shallow understanding of
globalization, the fact of the matter is that globalization
has brought economic development to our society as a
whole.
• By attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), new
technologies, employment opportunities, and money have
come into the country.
• Kentor (2001) notes that foreign capital dependence
increases income inequality in four ways:
1. It creates a small, highly paid class of elites to manage
these investments, who create many but usually low-
pay jobs;

2. Profits from these investments are repatriated, rather

than invested in the host country, therefore inhibiting
domestic capital formation;
3. Foreign capital penetration tends to concentrate land
ownership among the very rich; and

4. Host countries tend to create political and economic

climates favorable to foreign capital that in turn limit
domestic labor's ability to obtain better wages. In simple
words, "the rich become richer, and the poor become
poorer."
• Hout (1980) observes that international dependence
(another word for globalization) tends to suppress adult
wages, which in turn perpetuates the role of children as
economic necessities (the familiar saying "Kapag
maraming anak, maraming katulong sa hanapbuhay"),
leading to explosive population growth.
• Rapid population growth creates a large, impoverished
segment of society that strains resources and contributes
to economic inequality. This inequality fuels political
unrest, leading to policies that redistribute wealth. These
policies deter investment and ultimately hinder economic
growth.
Political and Military Dependence/Interdependence
• A survey conducted in late 2018 found that three in five
Filipinos believe that the United States would intervene on
behalf of the country in case of war (Viray, 2018).
• Despite the current very conservative stance of the US on
its foreign policies, this can be taken as evidence of the
Philippines' dependence on both the political and military
power of the US in order to maintain its sovereignty as a
nation-state Southeast Asia Region.
Expansive Flow of Expressive and Instrumental
Culture

• Expressive culture, as the term suggests, deals with

how a particular culture expresses itself in its language,
music, arts, and the like.
• Globalization encourages the monetization of these
cultural artifacts and their import/export among
participating cultures; the increased consumption of which
changes the consuming culture.
• Instrumental culture, on the other hand, refers to
'common models of social order' (Meyer, 2000)—that is,
models or ways of thinking about and enacting national
identity, nation-state policies both domestic and foreign,
socio-economic development, human rights, education,
and social progress.
• A simple example of this is the Philippine educational
system: Closely patterned after the American educational
system, education leaders in the country closely follow
the educational trends in America and select European
countries, perceiving them to be the global leaders in the
field. While this has served us to an arguably satisfactory
degree thus far, it is interesting to observe that the
problems and difficulties in American education eventually
show up in Philippine education, albeit five to ten years
removed.
Expanded Flow of People among Societies
• The fact that globalization encourages the movement of
people between nation-states should come as no surprise
to us.
• The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimates that
there were 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)
during the period of April to September 2017, who were
responsible for up to 205.2 billion pesos in remittances
(Philippine Statistics Authority, 2018).
• Meyer (2000) observes three reasons for this:
1. socio-economic migration
2. political expulsion, and
3. travel/tourism
• Socio-economic migration explains the Philippines'
OFW phenomenon. Filipinos travel abroad to find better
economic opportunities for themselves and their families
for lack of said opportunities here.
• Political expulsion, on the other hand, has more to do
with trying to escape the political climate of a particular
country, thereby forcing an individual to seek asylum (and
ultimately, resettlement) in another more favorable country.
• Travel for the sake of leisure (i.e., tourism) is a strong
indicator of economic development as more and more
Filipinos are able to finance short-term travels abroad,
fueled by curiosity that is fed by social media and enabled
by globalization.
• In your own words, explain what globalization is
and discuss one positive and one negative effect it
has on your country or community.