Chapter 24: Acceleration Global Interaction

Like previous chapters about globalization, Chapter 24 explains its consequences: benefits and drawbacks. Specifically, the economic globalization mentioned here is currently happening, and has been since the ending of the World Wars around 1945.

The beginning anecdote is very interesting. “I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile.” That girl is evil, she drills in the minds of little girls that perfection is attainable and that having a dream house and pink convertible is the only way of living. I never really realized that her clothes can be a bit revealing, and the shape her body also gives girls the impression that Barbie is the model of what you’re supposed to look like. And I never realized that Ken and Barbie aren’t even married! What a horrible depiction that must give kids. America and Iran obviously have different views in the internationally exported toy. Iranian toy seller Masoumeh Rahimi, against what Barbie stands for with her perfection, revealing clothing, and lover Ken, decided to manufacture dolls Sara and Dara. They portray siblings that help each other when in need and also comply Iranian Muslim beliefs with appropriate clothing. I think what Rahimi has done is an attack to keep the culture’s values in Iran intact.

[As a side note, I think Mattel, the company by which Barbie is manufactured should consider Barbie’s clothing and nonrealistic lifestyles. Also, I always wondered why there was no Asian Barbie. There would be a blonde, a brunette, and an African-American, but no Asian, no Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander, etc. Wouldn’t little girls wonder why there isn’t any Barbie doll that looks like them?]

The world economy was able to reglobalize after World War II due to “the accelerating circulation of goods, capital, and people.” As shown on Map 24.1, goods were flown all over the world. America invested in goods from China, Mexico, India, the Philippines, etc.; Japan has imports from China, America, and many Asian countries; and Europe invested in goods from America, Brazil, and Russia. The map shows that everyone was trading: “Department stores and supermarkets around the world stocked their shelves with goods from every part of the globe.” I find this really funny, because it’s so true. My dad, as a little boy living in rural, provincial, and poverty-stricken Philippines always had the dream of owning a pair of Chuck Taylors by Converse from America. When he immigrated to America and rediscovered his childhood dreams, he put my mom, my two sisters, and me on a hunt for his dream shoes, made in America. We all laughed at the idea. C’mon, whose shoes are made in America? All of mines that were American-bought are made in China or Vietnam. The pair of Converse I bought in the Philippines is made from Indonesia. My dad didn’t want a pair of Converse shoes that wasn’t American-made. I don’t even know if Converse ever had an American made shoe.

Reglobalization bought economic growth. World output went from $7.1 trillion in 1950 to 55.9 trillion in 2003; life expectancies grew, as did literacy rates. There were also increases in mobile telephones, Internet users, international air travelers, and number of transnational companies. An example of a transnational company that soared heights was McDonalds. As Map 24.4 shows, McDonalds can be found in many places of the world including Canada, Europe, South(ern?) Africa, China, etc. The very first time I went to the Philippines, I was very surprised to see that there was a McDonalds, KFC, and even Starbucks. Similarly, Philippine fast food joints Jollibee and ChowKing, have reached other countries such as Hong Kong, Dubai, and the United States.

With this reglobalization, I think where ever you may travel to, something will look familiar, making the foreign country not as foreign. California is not a foreign country, but upon my arrival from Hawaii, I felt a little better when I saw Hawaiian Barbeque Restaurants and Asian Supermarkets, etc.

DGP Chapter 15: Religious Fundamentalism in the Modern World: Faith, Identity, and Contemporary Politics (1970s-present)

On page 461, the text provides the advantages, or rather, important social benefits. The first item listed is identity. It gives “a way to define a group and give it unity.”

This statement is true. Most people use their religion as a characteristic that takes part in their identity. Many religious people use their faith not only as a religion, but also a lifestyle: everything they do revolves around their faith.

This statement can be quite problematic, however. I don’t necessarily disagree with this statement, but similar to how people of the same ethnicity usually “stick together”, those that believe in the same faith follow these norms. This unification of people creates a feeling of stability, community, and safety for people. However, at the same time, it creates tension between the different groups of people. Without religion, tension is still inevitable however, for there are still groups of ethnicity, gender, status, etc, that provide unification of people, and yet at the same time, separation.

Even without religion, the simultaneous action of separation and unification occurs. In a classroom of kindergartners, where religion is probably not a prominent interest, little boys that like to play basketball with stick together and the little boys that like to play dodge ball will stick together. While they all are joining groups and making friends, the two groups also create a partition, not so drastic as a violent act, but nonetheless, a division.

Chapter 23: Independence and Development in the Global South (1914- present)

(Just to be sure I understand the reading…) In general, both India and South Africa endured lengthy journeys to gain independence from their previous European rulers. While both countries went through different struggles, they both underwent partitions.

India separated into two different countries due to religious conflict. The Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan. [This may be slightly embarrassing, but I was unaware of this fact. I had no idea that Pakistan and India was once one nation.] Upon discovering this divide of nations, I found the situation tragic. Many other countries have various populations of different faiths, and still were able to remain undivided. If these countries were able to set aside their differences, I think Pakistan and India could have done the same. However, the conflict may be much greater than what I suspect it was. Then again, maybe India was meant to become two separate countries. I am a believer of fate and destiny...the two major conflicting religions were destined to partition.

South Africa was already independent from Great Britain. “That independence, however, had been granted to a government wholly controlled by a white settler minority, which represented less than 20 percent of the total population; the country’s black African majority had no political rights whatever within the central state. Therefore, this struggle in South America is like fighting with a very good friend, instead of going against your common enemy. The end of this struggle led to the demolition of the apartheid and the eventual elected president of the inspirational Nelson Mandela. Like colonial India, however, South Africa also divided on the basis of race, ethnicity, and ideology.

The most interesting part is the fact that after gaining independence and gaining victory of their prolonged struggles, they still had internal conflicts and went through partitions. Independence should have led to liberation celebrations and for the most part, joy to these countries. It’s like winning a football game, then fighting against your own teammate.

Just as an accessory comment, the literacy rates in the table on page 712 really surprised me. I pictured them to be much lower, especially in the less developed countries. Most of them were relatively high, considering that the U.S.’s is recorded as having a 99% literacy rate amongst the adults. The Philippines has a recorded 93%,; Mexico 90%; and Tanzania 69%. In the Philippines, I know that even public schools have tuition rates, and because of this, many are not able to enroll in school. This was the case of both my parents: my father was unable to attend high school, and my mother only went up to the second grade. Of course, they were born long before 2004, but it is still a developing country and assumed the literacy rate would be much much lower.

Chapter 22: The Rise and Fall of World Communism (1917-present)

This chapter, “The Rise and Fall of World Communism”, was probably the least interesting out of all of the chapters we’ve read this entire semester. I am unsure of the reasons, but it just wasn’t happening.

Despite the chapter’s lack of interesting content, one of things that stood out was the section entitled “Communist Feminism”. The entire chapter compares and contrasts the effects of communism in the Soviet Union and China, but I found it weird that communism advocated, or supported such unusual actions of women. Then again, communism promoted the idea of equality and giving rights to women followed this idea. The women must have been grateful for the privileges that they were given. Apparently, communist countries were the start of women’s liberation (669).

In the Soviet Union, “They declared full legal and political equality for women; marriage became a civil procedure…; divorce was legalized and made easier, as was abortion; illegitimacy was abolished; women no longer had to take their husbands’ surnames...” (669) This practice of women not having to change their last names is genius! I wonder how that started anyways. Not that I hate my dad’s last name, but I wish that my mother’s maiden name was chosen as our family surname. It would be quite interesting if the situation were flipped though: had the custom been that men instead took the women’s last name.

In China, similar actions were observed. “…free choice in marriage, relatively easy divorce, the end of concubinage and child marriage, permission for widows to remarry, and equal property rights for women.” (669) Also, women were more often spotted in the work force, both agriculture and non-agricultural jobs. On page 670, it says that the quote “Women can do anything.” was a very popular one during this time. When I came upon this sentence, a television commercial for Gatorade came into mind. Basketball player Michael Jordan and soccer player, Mia Hamm are competing against each in their sports and the song playing during the commercial goes: “…anything you can do, I can do better…” Women are capable of any job that men can do, if not better.

Chapter 21: The Collapse and Recovery of Europe (1914-1970s)

Though both World War I and World War II brought depression, death, and defeat, women were given more rights in the result of the war. It may seem hard to believe, but there can be some good in the result of war…besides winning against the opponent.

During the “Great” War, many men were sent to fight in the war. Because of this, the women were sort of forced into work. “In factories, women replaced the men who had left for the battlefront, while labor unions agreed to suspend strikes and accept sacrifices for the common good (630).” As the caption for the image on page 630 mentions, women were indirectly contributing to the war like manufacturing war munitions. After the Great War, women continued to be “free”. Young women showed up at nightclubs engaging in dancing, drinking and smoking. They cut their hairs shorter than what was the norm, and wore more revealing clothing. Probably the most important part however, is that women gained the right to vote. Though the Great War was not so great (positively), without the occurrence of this war, I would not have the right to vote.

[Why was World War I referenced as the “Great” War? The word great, I think, denotes positivity, as a synonym for awesome…the “Awesome War”.]

The section about the Great Depression kind of scared me, just because the situation during this time is similar to what is going on today. This contributes to the infamous quote about how history tends to repeat itself. Of course, I hope for the betterment of the economy, but I could not but help notice the similarities. Right now, the unemployment rate in the United States is roughly about 10 percent. According to the graph on page 635, the highest rate of unemployment during the Great Depression was between 1932-1933 around 30%. “Vacant factories, soup kitchens, bread lines, shanytowns, and beggars came to symbolize the human reality of this economic disaster.” It’s rough knowing that the current situation is much better today. Many people have been laid off, business are going out of business, and people cannot afford as much as could/used to. It’s funny though, I admit, my spending habits are still the same, but maybe it is because I haven’t been directly affected.

Chapter 20: Colonial Encounters

Wooooooow. Talk about power hungry. As if the takeover of the Americas wasn’t enough in the 16^th and 17^th century, a second wave of European conquests occurred between 1750s and 1900s. Though the later race involved different competitors and different countries of interests, the theme of power and colonial rule still parallel.

The text hardly speaks of the Asian countries of colonial empiricism, but instead that the Europeans sought more of the African countries. Map 20.2’s caption states that by the early 1900s, all the different parts of Africa were conquered by different European countries: France, Britain, Germany, Italy, among others.

On page 594, under Under European Rule, it says, “In many places, incorporation into European colonial empires was a traumatic experience. Especially for small-scale societies, the loss of life, homes, cattle, crops, and land could be devastating.” Could be? In what ways would it not be devastating? How can losing your home and land be a good thing? The most disturbing part of this chapter is the image on page 600. The young boys have lost their hands, not as a direct effect of forced labor, but as a crude punishment for not obtaining an abundance of materials that the Europeans ordered. They have no footwear; the boy on the left doesn’t even have a shirt on. It seems like the body of the boy on the left has developed improperly, which could have been an effect of the forced labor he was put through.

It is hard to believe, but some good did result from these colonial encounters. One of these benefits was education. More opportunities of literacy were available via missionary and government schools. And these opportunities gave access to actual jobs, like government bureaucracies and business firms, versus the horridness forced labor. Having the abilities to read and write gave people higher social statuses compared to those that were not literate.

The textbook implies that the natives became literate in the European languages, French, or English. Why hadn’t the Westerners also encouraged literacy of native African languages? Also, what if the reverse occurred in terms of colonial rule: What if it had been the Africans and Asians who colonized the European countries? Would Europeans be speaking Asian and/or African languages? Now that would be interesting. English is spoken almost everywhere, like a universal language. It may not be the primary language for every country, but when translations are given in foreign countries, an English one is most likely to be given. I don’t think you can expect a Japanese translation in an African country (unless of course, there is a Japanese tourist attraction). With that said, imagine if the “universal language” was Swahili? Or Vietnamese? Or Arabic?

Chapter 19: Internal Troubles, External Threats

The introduction of WW Chapter 19 was quite disturbing. People make mistakes, and it is normal to be ashamed of them, but the important thing is to move forward and learn from these mistakes. Japan is basically lying to the world by publishing textbooks that “…distort history and attempt to cover the truth [of Nanjing Massacre].” Japan can no longer change what happened in Nanjing, but the least they could do is admit to their wrong doing by speaking the truth, allowing textbooks to hold factual information.

China was obviously furious, for they were the victims in the massacre. I too would be furious if our textbooks had not mentioned the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, or how Spain took over the Philippines. Koreans also expressed anger with Japan, for they started sexual slavery for militants. This situation reminds me of the Holocaust and how some still insist that it did not happen, despite the pictorial evidences and survivor stories.

This chapter focuses on Europe’s imperialism and how European countries tried to influence and pressure China, the Ottoman Empire, and Japan. Because Europe was seen as “the center of the world’s economy” with its global expansion, they kind of put themselves on a pedestal. They thought highly of themselves and saw other races as inferior. They came with the conclusion that whites’ skulls were larger, and therefore, they possess more knowledge than those of other races. This gives the implication that intelligence is based on the size of one’s skull. I’m pretty sure that most no longer think this way, but it’s funny. There are kid geniuses that have college degrees that probably have developing skulls.

Another disturbing topic of this chapter is China and Britain’s trade of Opium. Europe just destroyed China with the smuggling of Opium into the country. First off, because it was illegal, there was an uprising of corruption. To pay for the opium, China had to give up a good amount of silver, which led to economic problems. This imbalance of trade resulted in many addicts.

When the Emperor expelled opium imports from China, Britain went against them and called it a violation of property rights. This resulted in the Opium War and the Chinese signing treaties that did not benefit them at all. They had a $21 million debt to Britain, were forced to open ports for trade, lower taxes, and Britain even destroyed the emperor’s summer palace for more ports after the second Opium War.

The world hasn’t changed much though, people are still power hungry.

Oh, and another side note! It’s quite sad, but I’ve always been confused about the exact location of the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to map 19.2 found on page 572, I now know this information (or at least its boundaries in 1800).

Chapter 17: Atlantic Revolutions and their Echoes

Had the multiple echoes of feminists movements NOT occurred, where would I be? Certainly not at NDNU or any other university for that matter. I'd probably be illiterate, and spend all day back at home, doing chores with my mother. I wouldn't be able to read the history text book, type out this blog, or even operate, let alone turn on my macbook. Now wouldn't that be a devastating life? :D

Though there were/many feminists, the one mentioned in the text, Olympe de Gouges (France) wrote the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman". I wonder what triggered these feminists in the Modern Era to 'demand' equality between men and women. In the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman", de Gouges wrote: "Woman, wake up; the warning bell of reason is being heard throughout the whole universe; discover your rights." Whoever the first feminist was, what evoked her to begin such a movement that eventually travelled across the Atlantic?

However it started, I'm glad it did. Despite the fact we still deal with a degree of gender inequalities, it has improved. (It's the same with slavery. It still exists in many parts of the world, but it was a lot worse.) Today, women can attend universities, manage businesses, be employed, and even vote. I wasn't of age at the time of the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections, but it is difficult to imagine a time when women were prohibited to vote. How would America's presidential offices differ had they still only allowed men to vote?

Criticisms against the Feminist movement were numerous. "...feminists were viewed as selfish, willing to sacrifice the family or even the nation while pursuing their individual goals (522)." Wow. They weren't selfish, they were sick and tired, sick and tired of being considered the weaker race and looked down upon. They only longed for change, equality.

Chapter 16: Religion & Science

If the Nobel Peace Prize existed at this time Nicolas Copernicus and the many other discoverers/scientists would have probably been the firsts awardees.

Nicolas Copernicus was one of the very first to contribute to the Revolution of Science. The medieval idea of astronomy was that the Earth was at the center of the universe, while the sun and other planets revolved around us. Copernicus argued against this and proposed instead that the sun was at the center of the universe, while Earth and other planets revolved around it. This act of straying away from the old belief was seen as going against the church, and god. Therefore, religious authorities were not in favor of Copernicus’s ideas. Little did they know that he was absolutely right.

It’s kind of funny how medievalists came up with the theory that the Earth was in the middle of the universe. Apparently, it was a spiritual influence and was parallel to the purpose of the Catholic church in that the Earth was the center of attention.

Medieval everything revolved around theology and spirituality. Everything was explained in the light of God. If asked, “why does the sun rise and set?” A typical medieval answer would be because God likes to nurture the crops and bring his peoples warmth. As opposed to medieval answers, modern answers would look at science to identify the reasoning. A modern answer would include the Earth’s rotations around the sun.

Because many people contributed to the Science of Revolution, the Church felt under attack. They were the ones that people sought to when they wanted answers and now that new knowledge was surfacing, people also began to question the church’s authority. It’s like having a lifelong friend who turned out to be some liar. You thought you knew them, until someone comes along and tells you the truth, leading you to question your “friend”. (Not to call any church and their officials liars, just an example.)

In a way, this new knowledge of science became globally traded commodities: “…the achievements of the Scientific Revolution spread globally, becoming the most widely sought-after product of European culture and far more desired than Christianity, democracy, socialism, or even Western literature (485).” No trading was probably involved, but knowledge that was discovered in Europe was soon spread to other parts of the world like Japan and China.

Chapter 15: Global Commerce

So my Spanish-sounding last name goes back to when the Portuguese entered India?!

The Portuguese devised a plan to travel East into Asia to become somewhat leaders of global commerce: to discover and obtain the most goods and riches before any other European. The Portuguese attempt was done with the use of violence. The text states that a fair trade was not possible because of the lack of valuables they had: “…European trade goods were crude and unattractive in Asian markets.” Without their strong military, the Portuguese would have gotten nowhere.

They bombarded a few cities in Southeast Asia that were accessible. Soon, they claimed leaders of commerce in Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India. However, this didn’t last long and it came to the point where the Portuguese were not able to sell their goods.

I think it was a little karma. At some point, they were somewhat leaders of Asian commerce. However, they got there with violence. “…by burning and sacking the city, killing some 1,500 people, and seizing large quantities of cotton and silk textiles, and carpets. Because they did some wrong, they paid for it by not being able to get far in their trading post empire.

In order to compete with Portugal, Spain traveled to the Philippine Islands where they soon established colonial rule, introduced Christianity, taxes, and tribute. The establishment of Spain in the Philippines was a success and soon, the Philippines became a bowl of diversity attracting Chinese and Japanese traders, artisans, and sailors. Spain invading the Philippine Islands contributes to the reasoning behind why so many Filipinos have such Spanish-sounding surnames and claim to be some fraction of Spanish descent. It was to compete with Portugal who was at the time advancing in global trade.

Side note: The text says that the “Philippine Islands” was derived from the Spanish King Phillip II. What the original name was for the archipelago before Spain invaded?

Since Portugal basically failed, the Dutch and English tried to replace the Portuguese in Asia. After reading this section, I kind of felt sorry for Portugal. They worked hard to come up with the plan to travel to India and ended up struggling to stay at the top of global commerce. However, it was an opportunity for the Dutch and English. It’s like shopping. You have a hard time deciding whether to buy this certain item of clothing…and there’s only one of these items left. For a split second, you change your mind, put it back on the rack. Then BOOM someone else seizes the opportunity and snatches it so they can purchase the item.

Global Commerce I think was just that. It was all about seizing opportunity and timing: being at the right place at the right time.

Sugar

It is quite difficult to imagine a world without sugar. We would not be able to sweeten our coffee; or, enjoy most confectionaries like cupcakes. Our ice cream would taste bland and & most importantly, teriyaki sauce could not be invented:)

I never noticed how such tiny crystals could have a huge impact on the world. In “Discovering the Global Past” by Merry Wiesener, Chapter 4 traces sugar in its journey of becoming of global importance. Sugar is a hardcore world traveler: it originated in South Asia and made its way to the Caribbean. As for the Europeans, they had yet to encounter this “secret”. I found it kind of funny when the book says, “Sugar was one of the luxury goods…(88)”. When people think of “luxury”, I highly doubt sugar comes to mind. Instead most people dream about owning extravagant mansions, fancy cars, and a massive wardrobe. Or, for some, simplicity is their idea of luxury. Either way, sugar isn’t usually mentioned. In contrast, when the New World was first introduced to sugar, in fact, it was barely available for the rich and royal.

Although sugar has served some goodness in the world, it does not justify the slavery that came with it. Because sugar required extensive labor and mass produced, many countries, including Spain, used African slaves to cultivate and process sugar. They used slaves in order to save their money. They wanted to have great results (great quantities of sugar) and at the same time, use the least amount of money. Slaves are barely, if ever, paid for the intense labor they endure.

John Boudreau Article: "In Vietnam, Teenage Daughters Sold Into Sex Slavery"

It is amazing how the naïve poor are tricked and bribed into sex trafficking. They explore through dumps in the hopeful search for anything that they could use, or possibly eat. Of course, they don’t have much of a choice: most are uneducated and inexperienced. So when people offer jobs poor daughters to “work in a café in a different city”, it is no surprise that the families quickly comply, thinking that they will soon live better lives. Instead, the teenage girls are brought to their doom.

I cannot say that I wouldn’t do the same thing. If I were poor, illiterate, and unaware of the issues of slavery and human trafficking, I would’ve agreed to the “café job”. Truong and her family (and any other victimized families of sex trafficking) are not at fault. Just as Diep Vuong stated, “If you don’t know how to read the public announcements or have enough money for newspapers and you barely have enough to eat, how can you understand there are risks?”

What is really troublesome is the fact that some families are not even tricked. They willingly accept money for their daughters to be a victim of sex trafficking. The people that offer the families thousands of dollars in a trade for their daughter’s body are low; but I think the families that agree to the trade are even lower. No human being should be bought, sold, traded, or anything of the sort, especially family members.

There were about 6,700 victims of sex trafficking in Vietnam last year. What’s even worse is that the actual statistics maybe even higher. Though the Vietnam government have no resources to put a stop to sex trafficking, it is good to hear that some Vietnamese authorities, like the police, as the article states, are providing some help. It may not be much, but it is definitely a start.

The girls were lucky to have escaped, unlike the reported 6,700+ victims last year. However, Truong’s comments at the end of the article confused me. It kind of seemed like Truong doesn’t know how lucky she is: “If it had happened, it would have been because it was my destiny. That’s the life.” It is no one’s fate to be sold and trafficked into sex slavery.