Monday, June 16, 2008
Polarization of the Political
This morning, we watched a BBC documentary for our Globalization and Governance class. The documentary was entitled "Where's our money?" (2001). It narrates the story of a retired couple who decided to invest through pension. The documentary traced where the money of the couple went. Upon inquiry they found out that their fund managers are doing what they're supposed to do - not putting all the eggs in one basket. The couple found out that their investment had gone to an array of ventures - a rising fastfood chain, a new insulin pump, and General Electric.
In addition, the companies that are getting the portfolio investments were located in different countries, thus making the web of events a bit tangled. To make things messier, the investments seem to ethically contradict one another. For example, investment on the fast food chain only exacerbates the obesity and diabetes problem. On the other hand, the couple invests on the pump that tries to treat the collateral damage of the fast food lifestyle.
Clearly, globalization poses several problems (in so far as the financial sector is concerned) such as disempowerment (you have little or no say to where your money goes to) and the growing need for transparency (access to the information on where the money goes to).
That was a mini-problematization of globalization. This afternoon, I joined the meeting of BUSINA in preparation for its caucus on June 28. At one point we were deadlocked at a specific issue. A point was raised regarding the regional delegates that we'll be hosting. As one of us pointed out, issues of national politics are not in the priority of those in the region. Issues like the rice crisis and mining are at the forefront of regional consciousness. Thus, how can a campaign on Truth, Accountability, and Reform that is anchored in the language of the nation-state capture the imagination (and the energies) of those outside the NCR? Is there a way to attack this metropolitan-provincial dichotomy that would not only sound good in paper but also in practice?
In political science we are currently looking at globalization's challenge to the sovereignity of the nation-state. This morning's documentary shows that globalization is more than a buzzword. It's a reality confronting us (some more than others). But my experience this afternoon validated the fact that amidst this new wave of late capitalism (yes, that's how I would think of it), the nation-state will remain resilient. How else could I reconcile the fact that my professor in my globalization class is one of our leaders in this national issue?
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