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.