Globalisation. It's kind of the new buzzword like 'information
superhighway' was in the 90's and 'fetch me some penicillin because I'm
pissing fire and razor blades.' in the 1940's.
But what does it mean? Is it a good thing, a bad thing? What the fucken?
What
it means is that we are no longer living in an era of self contained
nations. It is no longer possible to shut the door, tell everyone to
fuck off and run your country as a hermit... North Korea has been trying
to do this for decades and they are now in a state where a bowl of
spaghetti would feed five families. They are not doing so well.
Globalisation
has met a lot of opposition for various groups. It's uncomfortable,
scary and it can bring a whole lot of unwanted baggage.
Think of it
this way. Say you've been living with your parents. You only got a
couple of people to deal with so you've manage to work out rules and
protocols that allow you to live in sort of harmony. Suddenly, your
entire family moves in. Cousins, uncles, long lost relatives. This will
cause a lot of friction. Everyone has their own idea of how to run
things and how to deal with each other. Suddenly your routine, protocols
and bathroom is thrown in disarray. You're no longer as important as
you thought you were.
In the 80's , it's first victim was
communism. Capitalist saw this as confirmation that capitalism was the
way forward and they went full steam ahead. Now capitalism is on life
support and I don't think it will be waking up from its coma. Maybe we
can draw a funny moustache with a marker before it kicks the bucket.
You
see, the thing about communism and capitalism it that their demise was
not due to them not working or being ineffective. Under the right
conditions, both system have demonstrated that they can work. What
happened was that they simply became obsolete. Both systems encourage
despotism. Communism with despotism of state and capitalism with
despotism of elite classes. Thanks to a wired, on-line and always
connected world population, that shit don't fly anymore.
Now
we're in a state of flux. There is a power struggle of different ideas
and factions battling it out to become the next dominant philosophy that
guides the world. Religious and fringe political groups are in upheaval
for that same reason. I suspect they are wasting their time.
Just
as Socialism was an answer to the exploited working class of the 18th
century or environmental parties came out as an answer to the reckless
environmental damage of the 20th century, I believe a new
political/philosophical movement shall rise in this new world. A
movement that defies national boundaries and not so much ignores
cultural differences but acknowledges the common bonds that ties us all
as a human family.
It won't be easy. We have an enormous amount of
baggage to throw away. Nationalism, racial prejudices, socio-economic
elitism. Heck, there are some countries out there that still haven't
realised that they are but a small part of a very big planet and see
themselves as more important that the rest of the world. I wish them
luck because some of them are already paying the price for their
self-importance.
No one can survive on their own anymore. For a
few countries, these lessons will not be learned but beaten into by the
circumstances.
It will not be pretty and a lot will be lost. Some
individual cultures will cease to exist and the world as a whole will be
a bit poorer for it. But really, it is what may need to happen for us
to survive. In the end, that's the name of the game, survival.