Globalization and fundamentalism: tensions and dynamics

GLOBALIZATION vs. FUNDAMENTALISM

Globalization is now a much hyped, much discussed and extensively debated subject. Whatever anyone says about globalization sounds cliched and trite. But nonetheless it is an important subject and thus needs to be paid closer attention to. In this area, Friedman is considered an authority. According to Friedman, globalization is the result of the power struggle between the powerful economies and their slower counterparts. He is of the view that to understand globalization, we need to focus on the differences between fast and slow growing economies and we would then be able to see what the whole issue is about.

A cannot say if Friedman would agree with Roach's views expressed in his article "A Tipping Point for Globalization" but after reading both pieces of literature, I have come to the conclusion that Roach has sound and fresh views on the subject of globalization.

Let us understand why globalization may be coming to an end by first taking into account what Friedman says about the process of globalization.

The driving idea behind globalization is free-market capitalism -- the more you let market forces rule and the more you open your economy to free trade and competition, the more efficient and flourishing your economy will be. Globalization means the spread of free-market capitalism to virtually every country in the world. Globalization also has its own set of economic rules -- rules that revolve around opening, deregulating and privatizing your economy." (Chapter one: Tourist with an attitude)

He is of the view that globalization is simply the result of free market economy through which capitalism has made an entry into foreign markets and American has thus been able to spread its influence to every part of the world. But since you mentioned that after September 11, corporation would need to think twice before taking their production overseas, I feel this can lead to the end of globalization which according to Friedman was the by product of rapidly growing capitalism.

Friedman is of the view that globalization is not a simple process because it involves numerous events and sub-processes. This is in accordance with what Roach said about the tipping point of globalization. Though Roach was trying to explain the end of this complex process, Friedman on the other hand is trying to make us understand how globalization began. But we must read between the lines to find the middle ground and see how the two pieces of literature coincide. When I read Friedman's book and compared it to Roach's article, I felt that the two presented dissimilar ideas but I later realized that this was not the case at all. In fact both pieces were trying to explain the process of globalization, with the possible difference that Roach was explaining its end, while Friedman was focusing on its birth.

These two works are thus connected and spreading it a little further, we can connect them to Bruce Lawrence's work Defenders of God. This work is essentially on fundamentalism but explains that globalization is one of the main reasons why fundamentalism sprung up. Lawrence defines "fundamentalism" as: "The affirmation of religious authority as holistic and absolute, admitting of neither criticism nor reduction; it is expressed through the collective demand that specific creedal and ethical dictates derived from the scriptures be publicly recognized and legally enforced." (p. 78)