·
GLOBALIZATION OUTLINE OF THE
HOLISTIC WORLD
·
CONTENTS
·
Summary
Alexander N.
Chumakov
GLOBALIZATION
PROSPECT
2004
1.
Why specify what seems self-evident
2.
When awakening comes
Part
I. Global
transformations in the modern world
1. Individual
in the realm of problems
2. Global
problems as reality
3. The emergence
of global studies
4. The
first global revolution
5. Paradigm
shift
6. The
phenomenon of globalization
7. From
global problems to globalization
8. Resurrection
of global studies
Part II. stages of progress: dynamics of scientific and
technological development
1.
Science and technology as the engines of
progress
2.
Technological progress
3.
Scientific progress
4.
Scientific and technological progress
5.
Scientific and technological revolution
6.
Informational revolution
7. Social
dimension of scientific and technological progress
Part
III. globalization
as an objective historical process
1.
The holistic world
2.
The main turning points of history
3.
Prehistoric society
4.
History begins
5.
The first symptoms of globalization
6. Globalization
begins
7. Fundamental
globalization
8. Space
era begins
9. Multiaspect globalization
Part
IV. conceptual
approaches to history
1. History
as reconstruction of the past directed to the future
2. Formations
approach
3. Cultural
and historical types
4. Cultures
approach
5. Civilizations
approach
6. Noosphere
7. Sustainable
development
8. Futurology
Part
V. Understanding
globalization: basic stages
1. From
reality to its understanding
2. Understanding
universal linkages (first stage)
3. Understanding
the holism of the world (second stage)
4. Discovering
global problems (third stage)
5. Recognizing
globalization (forth stage)
6. Post-globalization
(fifth, hypothetical stage)
Instead
of the Conclusion
Appendixes
Index
Summary
Contents
The volume is dedicated to one of the
most topical issues today - to the issue of globalization. Academic discussions
around this topic are numerous and the number of globalization-related studies
and publications steadily grows. Although practical experience and theoretical
material is vast, nevertheless, they can hardly be considered satisfactory. For
the last decades the significance of globalization and global problems
engendered by it has grown while adequate coordinated response of the world
community still lacks.
This volume analyzes the phenomenon of
globalization in tight connection with such fundamental social phenomena as “scientific
and technological progress”, “culture” and “civilization”. The book
claims that civilizational
interconnections emerged and developed as a result of the emergence and
refinement of culture that arose with the upraise of the first human beings at
some stage of history – more precisely, in the period of the Neolithic
revolution. These interconnections gave birth to separated civilizational
centers. From the very beginning civilizational development contributed into
unification of social life to lead in the middle of the second millennium (in
the era of Renaissance and the great geographic discoveries) to the beginning
of practical globalization. In the last century it grew into multiaspect
globalization that determined the formation of the world community and the
emergence of global problems of humankind in the last half of the XX century.
In the Introduction it is stressed that
tight connections between mutually dependent and complimentary concepts of
culture, civilization and globalization (and, most important, between the
phenomena behind them) have not been understood and thoroughly analyzed so far.
Numerous publications contain many diverse facts about globalization,
attempting to figure out trends and repeating patterns but they fail to go
farther than simple description of what is going on in the world. There is
neither theory of globalization, nor clear and concise analysis of its multiple
and interconnected aspects. The volume rises these questions and attempts to
answer them through comprehensive study of the objective foundations of
globalization as well as of those natural and historical conditions under which
this multiaspect and large-scale phenomena emerged and was developing.
The book is prefaced by methodological
commentaries where the author stresses the need to define more precisely the basic
concepts related to globalization. He emphasizes several principles explaining
why our understanding of globalization falls behind with regard to the real
world developments and why our interest to globalization emerges and fades away
periodically.
Part One, Global Transformations in The
Modern World, demonstrates that human beings are determined to face problems.
These problems become more complex and acute while humankind is becoming
global. It is stressed that the Earth is the best of all possible worlds for
humans to live in. It is the real paradise often turned into hell by human
beings themselves. This part of the book shows how global studies emerged and
were developing as a transdisciplinary sphere of scientific knowledge located
at the crossroads of philosophical, natural, technological and social sciences.
Global studies are also seen as a set of practical activities (governmental
decisions, political actions, social movements, etc.) directed towards
resolving universal contradictions.
Part Two, Stages of Progress: Dynamics
of Scientific and Technological Development, analyzes the emergence and
development of science and technology and explains their role in the process of
globalization. Basing on rich historical material, the volume describes various
stages of scientific and technological progress and reveals the essence of
scientific and informational revolutions and their influence on the formation
of holistic world.
Part Three, Globalization as an
Objective Historical Process, analysis the world as a holistic world. History
is understood as an interconnected time-bound process divided into subsequent
stages. Interchange of these stages signifies, according to the author, the four turning points of history. The
first stage is prehistoric period. The second, connected with the Neolithic
revolution, means that history begins. The third stage defined by Karl Jaspers
as “pivotal time” is characterized by the first signs of globalization. The
fourth stage is identified with the era of the great geographic discoveries
when practical globalization begins. Already by the beginning of the XX century
it has become fundamental; with the beginning of space explorations and
informational revolution it becomes multiaspect. Globalization is seen as a
process of universalization, of the development of structures, ties and
relations common for the whole planet in various spheres of social life.
Globalisation is also seen as a fact of reality, a phenomenon manifesting
itself through the existence of the limited global space, single world economy,
universal ecological interconnectedness, global communications, etc. This
phenomenon, thus, can not be ignored by anyone. The volume shows how
globalization embraces the whole Earth and its three basic spheres: geological,
biological and social untied by a common name triosphere.
Part Four, Conceptual Approaches to
History, analyzes various approaches to social development. Such concepts as
socio-economic formations, culture, civilization, noosphere, sustainable
development and futurology are critically studies in order to evaluate their
applicability to describing the process of globalization.
Part Five, Understanding Globalization:
Basic Stages, concludes the volume and demonstrates that understanding
globalization is a complex task having five stages. First stage meant
understanding universal connections and lasted from the end of the XVIII
century to the beginning of the XX century. Second stage meant understanding of
the holism of the world and lasted from the 1920s to the 1960s. Third stage in
the 1970s – 1980s meant discovering global problems of modernity. At the moment
we witness recognizing globalization and this fourth stage will last about 10
years more. In the future one could suggest the beginning of the fifth stage
provisionally called postglobalization.
The Conclusion sums up the volume
stressing that our understanding of globalization is hampered by the fact that
this phenomenon is not common for our normal perception. It has no historical
analogies and its scale and complexity overgrows ordinary human vision of the
world. Globalization is the largest and the most significant planetary
phenomenon, which can only be understood at some special and temporal distance.
Time is needed for collecting and analyzing information, special distance is
needed for details and particulars not to hide the main elements and outlines
of the whole. To evaluate globalization correctly and non-partially we should
recreate the holistic world outlook and to look at this complex phenomenon from
various sides. This would allow to work out a general theory of globalization.
Now the time have come to do it. Spatial distance needed is provided by space
explorations, above all. This allows to consider globalization both as a
natural and historical process and as the sphere of relations and
confrontations between various forces and interests.
Email:
chumakov@logic.ru