George Richardson
In the last decade, globalization has been much in the news. Despite its prominence, however, globalization is difficult to describe in specific terms. Unlike ideologies with particular belief systems like communism or liberalism, it has no central body of thought, and no great ideologues like Karl Marx or John Stuart Mill to define and defend its central tenets. In many ways, globalization is not as much an ideology as it is a period or an era. It is the consequence of a number of late 20th Century developments: the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism, the evolution of sophisticated global technology networks, the decline of the social welfare state, the increasing permeability of national boundaries, and finally and perhaps most significantly, the world-wide re-emergence of 19th Century economic liberalism.
Although globalization may be difficult to define, anxiety over its perceived economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts is quite tangible and has led to such public manifestations of concern as the recent protests at the November, 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. Given widespread concerns over its meaning and consequences, it is both timely and relevant that the social studies community engage in a discussion about globalization.
The articles that make up this issue of the Canadian Social Studies present different perspectives on globalization. For the most part, those perspectives offer an implied or direct criticism of developments that have serious implications for the maintenance of Canada's political, economic and cultural sovereignty. As such, the papers make a strong political statement. But given that globalization is such a powerful drive, it is important to present critical perspectives and to offer alternative worldviews to globalization's own vision of the future.