What Is Globalization? - Noam Chomsky

[@Powerphail]

Except we don't live in a world of scarcity, we have the capacity and means RIGHT NOW to feed, clothe and educate every single person on the planet. All that stands in the way is the sickening inequity of wealth and the structures that perpetuate it.

[@TwilightSagaBella1]

A rational peasant ( thats how farmers become with globalization) is a peasant who understands that he has to produce for exports, seeking the maximum profit. ( with industrial revolution and due to globalization people have been made natural peasants of the system and they do not have too many choices.They either move to a city, create very low wage labour force and have a miserable life in big cities or they stay home..continue farming.again for low income)

[@garretttedeman]

Utter classic -- Learned more from this than several actual economics courses at the graduate level.

[@Alpinex105]

@DAGDAsRevenge Something to look up is the emerging middle class of these 3rd world nations, by international standards. Now we're competing on a global scale for jobs. People in India are getting better education and accept less wages. We're cutting expenses for maximum profit. But we are relying to much on the service industry, non-renewable resources and primitive technology. We have to adapt to the current global market. I do agree with stiffer regulations, but let's not ignore the befits

[@ReviveR6]

Finally, a Chomsky video we’re the quality of video matches the audio quality

[@Raford146]

"The poor complain, they always do. But that's just idle chatter. The system brings rewards to all. At least to all that matter." Great quote.

[@lol101lol101lol10199]

I think we should start a club for the advocates of capitalism, slavery, stalinism and nazism. Where they can all sit down together, with dollar signs in their eyes, and dream wet dreams about economic growth and maximizing profit. All the while we build a society based on righteousness, liberation and sustainable, long-term development of which we will all be able to reap the benefits.

[@arzoyan]

@rockandrock44 The issue is that you learnt ruling class propaganda as economics, You are colonised for commercial use.

[@johnnytastetest]

Thank you for your reply, WSidis. Upon closer examination, I kept your words in mind and tried to "paint a picture" -- figuratively speaking -- of what Chomsky is saying, and yes, now it is much clearer!

[@idic5]

Pls cite WHEN and WHERE this recording took place. thanks.

[@Beauweir]

@garybsg from what I can see child labour is high at the start of an industrial process then decreases as the country gains in economic stability and becomes a recognised industrial power. Victorian England is a good example. Many children were recruited to work if they were poor or homeless (sent to the workhouse). This was at the height of England's industrialization.

[@zsylvana]

André Gorz said:Instead, let everyone work much less for his salary and thus be free to act in a much more autonomous manner. This means replacing heteronomous, salaried labor with the independent work of freely associated individuals in extended families and neighborhood cooperatives so that autonomous activity based on voluntary cooperation would prevail and market relationships, including the sale of labor time, would waste away.

[@kattiejones9270]

Royal Bloodlines still rule the earth.

[@jdlund]

I agree with part of what you said there. The problem, as you actually pointed out, raising salaries too high would lead to some small companies going under or people being laid off. If people lose their jobs you aren't helping them live better. But you are correct to a degree about crime. The biggest motivator of crime is lack of means or at least a perceived lack of means. A majority of crimes are committed by people from low incomes. You find a way to reduce poverty you reduce crime.

[@royrattler]

the man is right and more than right... but you have to remember that real Globalization started in 1521 when Magellan the great navigator, discovered the Philippines. It was finally and officially believed by the church that the world is a globe and not flat. And this is when global trading begins... Thank You very much.

[@arzoyan]

@polygamous1 The rulers can t rule by brute force, the ideological manipulation,idoctrination and distortion is their only means. Their lies and distortions are so easy to reveal systematically and coherently and there is so much resistance and fightback across the world.

[@vivalarevolution1220]

An example of this is Jamaica. Globalization means trade without barriers and almost no government interference. The Jamaican government is thanks to unfair IMF terms + globalisation unable to interfere with trade. As a result ALMOST EVERY product in the local supermarkets are imported since industrialized nations can produce way cheaper. As a result millions are losing their jobs and they're becoming more and more dependant of Western countries! Jamaica is not the only one, its a global trend.

[@tonybonez]

@arzoyan That is what I thought you meant. Sounds similar to a friend I was debating about healthcare with, I asked "why should we treat health care as any different from a car or other product" and he replied "because it could be the difference between life and death, it is not just another random product" I think that is a valid point especially when talking about food,clean air and water, good housing. Especially clean air, most all scientists agree on pollution causing global warming.

[@arzoyan]

@ssmusic214 Wage slavery can be organised by STATE or PRIVATE CORPORATions

[@arzoyan]

@lifestraight your understanding of profit is misleading, PROFIT is the surplus value extracted from the labor power and is realised in the act of selling, thats why the laboe camp is in China as its leaders are pimping the chinese working class for world Capital. TAKE CARE

[@cesarojas182]

funny?? what do you mean , this is what the system has created, that only the few can benefit at the expense of others

[@mose3]

November 2005 Prospect Magazine Global Public Intellectuals Poll. The Prospect/Foreign Policy list of 100 global public intellectuals suggested that the age of the great oppositional thinker was over, but Noam Chomsky's emphatic victory shows many remain nostalgic for it. David Herman. Prospect Magazine. UK (Google it) 2° Umberto Eco

[@Pharnax]

@DK0526 Your intellect is stunning! Never have I seen such powerful logic and reason being applied to a discussion concerning practical politics, simply amazing! Are you by any chance teaching at Harward? I would be honored to attend your classes!

[@arzoyan]

@TheMoriMaster The Industrial military complex is the most dominant corporate rider of US tax payers. Wake up from simple mindedness of Disney USA.

[@crnogoracz]

@lughlamh As a doctoral student, you should be seeking answer rather than asking for them. But regardless, one can only make observations on why such situation may help someone, but in my opinion, depression is only a byproduct of trying to gain as much as possible as quickly as possible,

[@EziheUgonnaKosisochukwu-f5w]

excellent explaination

[@zsylvana]

Economist Andre Gorz said:The error consist in believing that labor, by which I mean heteronomous, salaried labor, can and must remain the essential matter. It's just not so. According to American projections, within twenty years labor time will be less than half that of leisure time.

[@arzoyan]

@Aussi To realise that one is a wage slave is awakening to the exploitative political economy one is imposed, its not to isult anyone. socialy necessary labor time determines the value of any commodity, for further insight into the labor theory of value check world socialist movement.

[@CalebHotchkiss]

Concise example of affects of globalization.

[@d3p3ch3mod3]

I know all that but Chomsky said he occasionally votes when he thinks there is a difference between the candidates and has also said that he thought Nader is okay, so it's not entirely impossible that he might think of Ron Paul as the lesser of 3 evils, but he might also think he's the worst of 3 evils. Just wondering if anyone has an actual quote from the horse's mouth you know

[@TheIdleGoat]

Actually, he didn't just advocate a larger State. He advocated what Socialists and Anarchists like Chomsky have been quoting all along: that the only reasonable societies are the ones that maximize their potential for creative work, creative inquiry, and avoidance of exploitation by refuting the Class system and redistributing either Wealth or altering the framework in which politics persists all together. Up to and including the refutation of the State and corporate power structure.

[@DannyMcCaffrey]

"I don't like it" - such a fascinating breakdown of his theories and arguments. So simple, so pure, so childlike. You must have read all his work.

[@jdlund]

Well there are a lot of solutions that sound great on paper but have disastrous consequences when implemented. Raising minimum wages too high can lead to lay offs and company closings. Unfortunately lowering real estate prices in poor neighborhoods would also have very negative consequences. By dropping the price you drop the value of people's property in those neighborhoods. That would cut off upward mobility, discourage home ownership and be unconstitutional.

[@zsylvana]

In the United States...a handful of corporations centralize decisions and responsibilities that are relevant for military and political as well as economic developments of global significance.We now live in a political economy that is closely linked with military institutions and decisions.This is obvious in the repeated "oil crisis" in the Middle East, or in the relevance of Southeast Asia and African resources for the Western powers... C. Wright Mills, Character & Social Structure,1954

[@InvertedFox]

Just to make things clear, I am not singing the praises of the state in pointing out that the internet and computing originated from state institutions... the state is also very restrictive in this regard, similar to the restrictive structures of profit driven private institutions. The fundamental mechanism which drives scientific progress is the mental resource of human beings functioning collaboratively.

[@arzoyan]

A moneyless,classless,stateless communities of humanity in real cooperation for our common needs and well being, Market system is the negation and alienation of our common humanity in harmony and wisdom. As for your question its just a meaningless, silly statement.

[@wspsaves]

@byroninwahroonga Aaaaand so long as you maintain your cynicism and intellectual unwillingness to explore, with an open mind, his suggestions about gradually, through grass roots democracy, restructuring the social, economic, political order to better represent the COMMON people, then his ideas will never achieve effective implementation to truly be tested. Chomsky's vision has worked in minor instances throughout history but effective Socialist Libertarian movements have always been

[@ClarksonsinUSA]

Basically get on board or be left behind,no one forces nations to compete...

[@eotto2001]

Thanks for the post.

[@jonblaze32]

These all seem to me to be indicative of some of the success that they have had implementing government control into certain areas of the economy. The article you cited talked about past medical atrocities, valid, i suppose for saying that Sweden is not as "benevolent" as we all assume, but these kind of medical practices (including forced sterilization) were actually pretty standard practice around the world. (wiki "compulsory sterilization") including the US until the mid 80's.

[@lol101lol101lol10199]

@residentzombie I'm swedish, and here we have something called "general welfare". This means that everyone have a right to free healthcare, even those who are rich enough not to need it. The same goes for free education, even at university level. There is no one I know who would trade this for a welfare system based on "churches, private donations, and businesses". Even if it meant paying lower taxes. Providing for the unemployed doesn't mean nobody wants to have a job, thats just ridiculous.

[@sircesare]

please explain to me ow globalization and the outsourcing part of it makes it a better place for all americans. i want to learn something today :)

[@crnogoracz]

... Smaller banks have some liability, so they may get in trouble as well, but the big player, the ones who have representatives in the board of federal reserve, where the money is initially created/loaned, end up owning the smaller banks and all their property, ie Bear Sterns and WaMu was bought by JPMorgan etc. Morgan is the guy who initiated creation of Fed. Reserve in 1913, and his bank went through all the depressions. Its not a conspiracy theory, but a natural consequence of the system

[@Aliothemage]

"You have tech superiority but still strike terror . " But thats the thing, striking terror into your enemies is NOT what makes something terrorism. Its terrorism when you are completely unrestrained in your use of violence and are willing and motivated to target civilians. Just like the in the US Revolution, they fought a guerrilla war but they di NOT hide behind and target civilians, that would have made them terrorists.

[@Flyba1]

Globalisation can be described as the transfer of wealth from labour to capital. In a nutshell.

[@oooodaxteroooo]

And those who "matter" see to it that those who don't won't in the future. That's just great.

[@tonybonez]

@arzoyan I noticed you capitalized the phrase ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY. Why?? As obviously things in life are scarce.

[@lol101lol101lol10199]

@residentzombie What you are talking about can actually be solved on the individual level through the choices we make, for instance, eating at your small local pizza place instead of at McDonald's and so on. What politicians and governments should concern themselves with is to build a good society by giving not just freedom but also economic security to its people. Eliminating poverty and making those who have the most give the most. Inequality is morally wrong and needs to be fought against.

[@arzoyan]

@ssmusic214 You have no clue what wage slavery is if you havent worked in USA.

[@Secretservicedentist]

Well, it seems to be the most effective system, as America is the world's strongest superpower and still manages to maintain a good deal of what was originally laid out in the Constitution. But I suppose you're right. It's a Republic, not a direct democracy. Also we outlawed political assassination in the 70's. Also crippling debt can be fixed to an extent by declaring bankruptcy. Also nationalized healthcare is receiving more public support.

[@JP2times2007]

nation-states have not been destroyed at all. States sign free-trade agreements, states are in charge of regulating the money supply, states are in charge of reproducing a labor force and keeping wage down. The head state, the US, is in charge of making sure that global capitalism functions properly. It works like this: each state is like a traffic cop regulating capital flows in their jurisdiction. When capital moves onto your highways, your state takes care of it, or it won't come back.

[@Aliothemage]

"all good intentions fly out the window in theater. Higher ups ordered the torture, the civilian bombings etc." I was over in Iraq for 19 months and not ONCE was I ordered to do anything remotely suspicious and if I had been the person who had ordered it wouldn't have gotten away with it. Marines are not robots and though we do follow orders well, we have also been trained to know when our commanders are in the wrong and there are ways with dealing with that.

[@mattaijauri]

You´re right. Which is why Chomsky never defends or supports communism, which most people seem to think he does... To me communism has more to do with capitalism than Libertarian-Socialism. Libertarian-Socialism is the real opponent of capitalism NOT communism. Good thing you pointed out this difference, since people seem to socialism equals Stalinism or Maoism.

[@bringideason]

I agree. Change requires education, a goal, a plan, organization, tough decisions, leadership, and most of all work. Has Chomsky ever worked at a normal job?

[@um22w22]

I agree. Why do you think it's impossible for people to see the obvious -meaning our friend Aliothemage? Why does the anger of being treated unfairly and the fear of being threatened be described as "unreasonable"? Is defending yourself at that point so wrong?

[@isselman2000]

What if people don't want to work for neighborhood cooperatives, like me?

[@crnogoracz]

... Since there is more money (that was created by loans) than actual value in the economy (services and products) someone will have to default on the loan... this last one was in the housing bussiness, previous was in dot-com, in 80s there was S&L etc. So if your business is not doing well, and you default, everything you purchased with your money I own. And it cost me almost nothing, cause I created loaned money out of nowhere....

[@ChrisGatfield]

@nothingisgreener , Chomsky, at his best, provides critical analysis of the particular social form that currently dominates the globe - namely, capitalism and what could broadly be described as the 'neoliberal doctrine'. Why is he all over KZbin? Perhaps because this critique speaks to a widespread discontent about this particular social formation. Critical analysis doesn't need to provide alternatives, it merely analyses.

[@bringideason]

hazukisan7 You might not see how great America is, but the millions of people that want and do move to America from the rest of the world prove this.

[@garybsg]

@PositivelyBored Well I read that number in China Daily but I can not find the article. The actual number who perished in China has many estimates as the communist Chinese were not forthcoming of this disaster. Frank Dikkoter a researcher University of Hong Kong puts the number at 20-30million, Wikapedia 45 million, a UK newspaper puts the number at 60 million(MailOnline Tony Rennel July 22, 2011) and the China Daily article I am still looking for put at 100 million.

[@binshamak]

I am sorry. The last message was intended to other page. Mistake is mine and I couldn't undo it after posting. Anyway I am new to Prof. Noam Chomsky but suprinzingly so much aligned with his thinking , one may think I am his student (except for the linguistics).

[@Aliothemage]

Im perplexed, not angry. It happens often when dealing with people whose opinions don't make much sense.

[@neo1587]

Anybody know when or where this took place? I'd like to cite this as a source for school.

[@IvanPinillos]

Cuba and North Korea are very much against globalisation. China, India, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia are not. The latter are growing fast and living standards increasing (still lots of problems). Here in Peru, the poor have decreased from 53% to 30% in the last 5 years. The economy has been growing an average of 6% per year, meaning it will double its size every 12 years. Wages are going up, living standards too. Farmer wages have dramatically increased since they began being export-oriented.

[@jonblaze32]

@imre Saying "Sweden has been getting rid of socialism for decades" is not akin to saying that it is not, in fact, a very socialist state. It has a much healthier income ratio between rich and poor, the people are some of the world's "happiest" (according to Forbes magazine), and health care is MUCH better than the US (according to standard metrics such as infant mortality rate).

[@vivalarevolution1220]

India has a population of about 1.3 billion. About 250000 people profit directly from globalization through callcentres etc. 250000 is about 0.0002% 1.3 billion.

[@pandecocojam]

hi - is there a part 2 somewhere?

[@neo1587]

@MikhailSilverwood Sorry, I meant when/where this lecture took place? Globalization is the subject of an essay and I thought Chomsky would be a great source for the paper.

[@daniel987878]

People were more free relative to past times in the 20th century. That would of made a significant contribution to the advancement of ideas and technology I rekon. "The past 100 years the freedoms of the individual were evident? If you asked Indians, blacks and other minorities that have been oppressed world wide, they would dispute that argument". Exactly my point they had less freedoms and were more marginalised. Im not an idiot and I dont think the west was ever truly free.

[@vivalarevolution1220]

TRAAAAAAA Couldn't have said it better! The only way that globalisation helps people from India is by employing them in callcentres. However, there are about 250000 people in India working for Western callcentres, which is the equivelant of 0.0002% of the total population of India. This is nothing compared to how many people are suffering because of globalisation!

[@muf]

what's the name the development economist? guerald highliner? i an't catch that.

[@Alpinex105]

@bankruptleft In actuality people don't understand that both political parties are actually fundamentally liberal.

[@Aliothemage]

"If you don't do it on purpose you're a hell of a bad lot of marksmen" We are the most accurate military force on earth. I worked with artillery and we weren't off target a single time in Iraq. Even in training I know of only 2 instances where we messed up our targeting and only 1 instance of our technology malfunctioning. "How can you tell a resistance fighter from an inactive civilian on a laptop screen?" The terrorists are the ones shooting mortars.

[@bobomber]

True that. Not only are capitalism and democracy not the same thing, they seem to be frequently (always?) at odds with each other.

[@idic5]

Chomsky recites a ditty from Canadian development economist gerald Heliner... "The poor complain - they always do - but that is just idle chatter / Our system brings rewards to all / -at least to all who matter" I can go home."

[@muf]

what's the name the development economist? guerald highliner? i an't catch that. gerry helleiner?

[@manulito2]

this is certainly true in a way. but, globalization as we experience right now, is more focused on economy and money making. we buy expensive products, that were made by cheap laborers in asia, while they get to eat unhealthy food from mcdonald's. in a way, globalization is not so different from communism. the goal is, to make all of us to the same cultural mass, that willingly will buy the same products and respond the same to them, without equality in the meaning of human rights.

[@feor2006]

we need more Chomskyies

[@gjsterp]

Poor thinking leads to poor writing. I wise man once told me, "It is better to remain silent and have people think you ignorant, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

[@d3p3ch3mod3]

I don't know what you just said. I've been trying to figure out if Chomsky likes Paul or not, do you have a source?

[@ViolinistWilliam]

@dunehelicase as a liberal with a strong background in macro, I can tell you that supply side theories do generally lead to greater inequality. it's just a fact. you can argue the poor get richer as well, but it doesn't matter because it's all relative. slaves got richer over time. is that an argument for slavery? capitalism sure as hell isn't a dumb term according to those who argue for it daily on fox news and conservative radio.

[@heyhey89674]

@MillionthUsername But does that destroy everything he ever said? I am inclined to think no. Your thoughts?

[@TheFreedomly]

I 'd rather watching and listening to Chonsky talking about linguistic theory than listening to him and watching him talking about globalization. The reason is obvious, globalization and capitalism they run together and the policy is im some giant 's hands. do you remember before happening the france revolution? how was france? The globalization model is basically the same, just changing its title to globalization, instead of (ancien règime.)

[@bringideason]

You sound like the sky is falling, and I see some problems but as a whole we live in a great country with great people that with their freedom to pursue their own motivation, they continue to improve their life and the lives of everyone else.

[@crnogoracz]

... or in other words "in the long run we are all dead". So, depression is not necessarily a goal. But let see how it may help. If I lend you money as a bank owner, I'm giving you non-existing money, created out of the fractional reserve banking system. Now you may start a bussiness. After enough money is loaned out ("economic boom"), at some point, the loans need to be returned...

[@daniel987878]

The abundance of the 20th century was mainly due to freedom. It sounds absurd. But as our freedoms increased in the advanced countries our minds opened up we developed technologies that increased our productivity. This is a continuation from the industrial revolution times. I'm nnot saying the rich countries were ever 100% free but the past 100 years were a period I believe were freedoms of the individual were very evident. Now we are walking away from freedom again and things should go backward

[@rockandrock44]

@papooselovesme I'm referring to the vast majority of nations who have engaged in freer trade. How does the global north "exploit" working populations, exactly? I realize that Chomsky is a Libertarian Socialist, but to the extent that he wants to use coercion (be it through the State or otherwise) to prevent people from trading or otherwise voluntarily interacting he isn't advocating a Libertarian solution.

[@Aliothemage]

"Sounds like an excuse to me." You can't count the US as responsible for those who are bought out by Saudis and who directly go against Executive Orders. As for the Contras and Pinochet, I agree they both ended up using terrorist tactics, but I don't believe the US ever approved of those tactics and we wouldn't have used anything remotely like them ourselves. It is an unfortunate truth that the people we support some times end up being not quite as nice as we had hoped.

[@vivalarevolution1220]

Note, you dare not to mention how globalisation is destroying whole economies. The combination of IMF terms and globalisation i.e. a global free market leads to economic devastation. Look, a free market means the strongest(cheapest) survives. This isn't bad as long as nations of the same capacities are competing. Just like Man UTD doesn't compete against amateur teams, industrialized nations shouldn't compete with 3rd world countries since the 3rd world have already lost before it started.

[@heyhey89674]

@MillionthUsername What about this fellow who wrote this book you mentioned, what about him, where does he work... and what does he get out of it... might be something to consider perhaps, is his info accurate and so on... There is something fishy about this. Do you know where I could verify the info he is talking about?

[@sboray1]

Work for Wall St Reform and Fed AuditingReform both in DC and in Wall St - fast and furious

[@Aristocles22]

Without Globalization, we would all be living in isolated countries, cut off from the rest of the world. As it is, there is no undoing globalization; one would have to "un-invent" the internet, containerization, cut off world trade, and limit countries to only buy and sell within their borders or immediate regions. History has shown that the more trade there is, the better. Trade was the engine of the renaissance, for example.

[@nocturnezero]

In my IR class, we hear a lot about the care globalization proponents take to ensure "democracy" and "rights." There's very little that's democratic or free about having your job usurped and stolen by a billion dollar US agribusinesses company and being forced to give up your land because foreign trade agreements often overturn the laws of smaller countries protecting indigenous property ownership.

[@madhaz3359]

Did he actually answer the question ? I wondered off for a minute there ….jeeez .lol

[@d3p3ch3mod3]

That's funny because Chomsky has a lot in common with Orwell, probably more than a lot of the conservatives who make comparisons... They're both pretty tricky guys to pin down politically

[@bringideason]

I love how people that don't want to succeed in America, trash the system. It takes more discipline to criticize yourself. It takes less responsibility to criticize others.

[@revolutionaryfever]

Jmitterii: I think you are missing his point- the quote was suppose to illustrate the arrogance of the person who said it, it wasn't a statement he supported.

[@InvertedFox]

Computing systems and the internet are both the product of research and development carried out in state funded educational/research institutes (DARPA funding state university projects etc). The claim that markets drive technological advancement is provably false. Scientific advancement is currently restricted by the market in that the abstract commodity of money is required in order to pursue any given field of research. Forget what you know about economics, look at the world with fresh eyes.

[@RPete45]

No problem - you'll see that he is aware of the stocks he is invested in(albeit indirectly) and when asked about it, he just says " I shouldn't make money also". Just the crap I'm talking about. It's OK for him to live by the laws of a Capitalist America, but nobody else should. Why should anybody listen to him if he won't live by his own ideals?

[@lol101lol101lol10199]

@residentzombie We may have different opinions on this matter but I for one agree with Chomsky that pure capitalism it not only unfair but also greatly unsuccessful. For a capitalist economy (one run by private enterprise) to work, society has to bail out the rich. The main question here is wether or not society should also help the not so rich, who, obviously have a greater personal need for this security than the owners of multinational banks and corporations. I think so.