Economic+and+Cultural+Sovereignty+in+a+Global+Information+Society

In light of the changing information society, the World Wide Web has changed the way we do business and the way our society acts. More and more we are seeing the world change into a global village where countries are connected in a variety of different ways. The internet has enabled us to interact with other countries and individuals both economically and culturally. With this ever growing interaction there have also been numerous debates on whether this new globalization is threatening the sovereignty of individual countries.

First, looking at the economic changes of the information society, it becomes evident that with the abundant transactions that are made through the World Wide Web, e-commerce has changed the way countries deal with trade. E-commerce and the new growing economy through the internet have made it harder for the government to control its trade.

Countries have begun to take action to protect themselves from global financial markets in light of globalization (Weisbrot 2005). Countries such as Malaysia use controls for currency and capital to lower interest rates in order to stabilize its economy (Weisbrot). Hong Kong has also placed restrictions on trading and has stepped in to intervene in its currency and stock markets (Weisbrot). Chile and Colombia have used capitol controls to change the composition of foreign investment away from a short-term surge to a longer term investment and loan-measures (Weisbrot). Rather than devaluating its exchange rates China has kept them fixed, in order to get a larger share of decreasing regional export markets (Weisbrot). Most of these countries that have taken action to fight against the depreciation of their economy through globalization have shifted their resources to domestic production (Weisbrot).

Vietnam for example has recognized that globalization is inevitable and has decided to use it to their advantage instead of fight it. The country has established that in order to maintain a healthy economy they must build it on “sustainable development; balancing imports and exports through diversification of commodities and international markets; and using the competitiveness of globalization to drive greater efficiency in domestic industry” (YaleGroup 2005). Even though they have tried to stay independent and self-reliant Vietnam believes that a greater role in the international economy of globalization will benefit them and their role in international organizations, and strength ties with other countries (YaleGroup).

These countries are generally smaller ones but they show that despite this they are able to stand up to international financial markets and control their economy despite globalization. It demonstrates that in order to control markets and ensure a greater national sovereignty for countries, individual governments must step up and take greater control in the changing world economy.

The cultural sovereignty of countries is also a very important aspect within the globalizing information society. Aside from the economy, countries have struggled to be independent from monopolizing corporations. These huge conglomerate companies, often from the west, have forced themselves upon other countries and have therefore imposed many different cultural values that are new to the society.

In Silvio Waisbord’s article “The Ties that Still Bind: Media and National Cultures in Latin America,” he occludes that in reality culture has a “processual character” which means that it is ever changing from the beginning of time. Therefore he is trying to say that culture can not be looked upon as being fixed in time. It is in reality an ever changing thing and therefore cultural sovereignty and the protection of ones individual culture is not very realistic especially in a global world. He uses the example of Latin America which in essence is neither indigenous nor European; therefore it may not be ideal to view Latin America and other societies alike to have one national culture. He argues that we are all made up of multiple identities and so are nations and cultures within those nation states. “The making of nations is not something frozen in the past but it is continually reenacted and renewed” (Waisbord, 1998).

All this is significant in the issue of globalization because although many states are striving to keep their culture independent of influences from the outside, in reality every culture is actually made up of various other cultures and globalization only brings out this reality of interconnectivity between nations. Transnational corporation’s motives are purely that of profit and markets (Tynes 2002). “Economic power has replaced military power as the most important, widely, form of control and expansion” (Tynes). These corporations are not worried about keeping a specific culture sovereign, they are only concerned with capitalism. Not only do transnational corporations threaten independent cultures they also hurt the social aspects of societies. Beliefs, morals and traditions that are distinctive in one society may be compromised with companies that impose their rules and regulations on their advertising methods, work ethics, and so forth that are different to that of the country they are operating within. Globalization in an information society means that the transfer of information is easily spread between borders. For an example there are transnational company from the United States that’s main purpose is to provide American television channels and or music to other countries. By providing this service they are directly imposing one culture and its values within another. Therefore the American culture will be globally spread to other countries in which it may not have any meaningful context. The reality is that until governments take direct action to stop or restrict these transnational corporations and the free flow of information and therefore culture, globalization will change our world forever. With time we will become one big global village with a diminishing difference between cultures and economies, and therefore nationalities.

References:

Weisbrot, Mark. "Think Globally Act Nationally: The Case For National Economic Sovereignty." //Preamble Center ,// April 1, 2001. Global Exchange 2005. Online at , consulted on February 27, 2006.

YaleGroup. "Building an Independent and Self-reliant Economy in Globalization." //Yale Center for the Study of Globalization//, 2005. Sourced from the //Voice of Vietnam News; November 1, 2003.// Online at , consulted on February 27, 2006.

Waisbord, Silvo R. (1998). "The Ties that Still Bind: Media and National Cultures in Latin America," //Canadian Journal of Communication//, Vol.23, n#, p.289-304. Online at: , consulted on November 26, 2004.

Tynes, J. Scott (2002). "Globalization and Cultural Imperialism: Do all the Pieces Fit?" //Star, The (Jordan); 01/21/2002// Worldsources, Inc. Referenced from the Canadian Reference Centre.