How is the world organized economically?

Before this chapter, it was discussed how is the world divided territorially. In this area it was important to understand by territory, it means that the world is divided due to ownership or control over a geographical area and such. But now, we are going to discuss about the world being divided or organized economically. I think this time the term used is organized because in a sense, all of the countries are connected and intertwined economically. Some countries may be richer and progressive than others but only due to the fact that they know how to get better resources and they are more economically powerful than some.

Every country has their own economy. When you say economy, it is described as a field wherein the scarce resources of a particular country is being produced and distributed. This is an essential aspect for a country because this is what determines a first world country to a third world country. And clearly, it has been a part of our human nature to make use of our resources for our benefits. We started out in agriculture terms, then we progressed to industrialization and now we are in a more modern times called technology. From natural resources to human resources, literally everything in this world can be used for economic gain and power. Due to the increasing hunger for economic gain, it was discussed in the book that economics is not always about legality and formality. But as said the other half of it, the invisible and often illegal aspect of it pose challenges. I guess there are some people who make use of their wealth in a different way. This kind of act is not actually invisible to us, we are aware of such actions but we just never get the proof that we need to make sure that such deals does exist. But as I've said, many people are really hungry for power and wealth and some may even do not so legal things to get that kind of power and wealth.

Now looking at the more general aspect of economy in globalization, we can say that people then up to now are trying to intensify the effect of economic progress all over the globe. I think Western culture is best known for this because I think their way of thinking economically has been the most visible globally. And some may even say that their economy can have a great effect on some countries like the Philippines. Also, advanced industrialized countries make use not only of their own resources for economic gain but other countries that has rich resources for their own gain.

It is pretty evident in the current situation of countries all over the globe, that each and every one of us has an effect on each others economy because it is not enough to make use of our own resources. We trade in what we have, we get what we don't have from other countries and I think this is how economics flow. It is important to keep in mind that a country should also be able to stand up on its own but because of globalization, it can't be ignored that countries try to make use of each others strengths and weaknesses for economic gain and even power. That's how globalization works even in economical terms.

Why is the world divided territorially?

Globalization is a great step in making different countries connects with each other through different means. But in the first place, why are the countries separated geographically and also politically. In geographical terms, the world is separated by different bodies of water. From what I remember in my highschool days, the melting of ice caps caused other land forms to be submerged by water. That’s why some countries are only islands, while some are big and connected, etc. In terms of political aspect, the world is divided due to different laws and government. But the more prominent division of this world that affects people’s way of living is in terms of the political aspect or territorially.

Territory means that a certain area is under the control or jurisdiction of a group of people (Elden, 2008). In simple terms, this means that an area may it be water or land is held responsible by a certain group of people or the state. I think the world became divided territorially because different group of people have made different civilizations in certain lands. Our ancestors started their way of life by being Nomadic, meaning they’re hunters who go to different places to seek for food. But once they had difficulty in gathering food by means of hunting, they’ve settled in areas that they think they can prosper and gather food better and that’s when they became farmers. Agriculture has helped our ancestors create different ancient civilizations that evolved into our current modern civilizations. Once our ancestors have settled in and created their civilizations in a particular area, they’ve become more populated and some have travelled by the seas in search of more lands to conquer. From what I remember again in my high school lessons, two dominant nations; Spain and Portugal divided the world in terms of territory. I think this is one example of the beginning of different nations trying to conquer more territories. Because I think people then believe that the more land or area a certain nation or state conquers is proportioned to their power.

But if you will look closely at these nations, being divided territorially also means being divided within. America is divided into different states, the Philippines is also divided into three main regions and so are many other nations/countries. I think this kind of division is a political plan because a big nation like America has different people within it. And again different people have different ways of thinking and governing their people. This is a more convenient way because laws are better understood within the state and the country is more organized politically speaking. But sometimes, this division can also be a cause of chaos and misunderstanding among people within that nation.
But nowadays, I think the division of the world is no longer a problem but only geographically speaking. As I’ve said, globalization has led us to making the world more connected and intertwined. But politically speaking, people in the world are still divided. I think territories may play a part in this division but I think people are more involved in still making this world divided. There are some of us who doesn’t want to connect with other nations because of certain differences.

References:
Elden, S. Chapter 9:Why is the world divided territorially?, Global Politics, 2008
McNeil, W. World History

How do we find out what's going on in the world?

Whenever I open the Yahoo website, I can immediately notice the part of the website that’s about different news not only in the Philippines but all over the world. This part helps me find out the different situation or important events that are happening all over the world. Internet is one process of how information is delivered to the people in different countries or different times. And I think being able to deliver the information all over the world is one important fact about Globalization.

But how do we really find out what’s going on in the world? The definite answer to this question is media. Media has different forms and shapes but its main core is about gathering information and spreading the information to the people. Different information are gathered, constructed and sent through different forms of technology (Lisle, 2008). That’s why technology is also important for globalization because through technology, people are able to communicate and gain knowledge from other countries.

As pointed out, Media plays an important role for global politics. It is not only essential to study the direct objects or facts concerning globalization but also the process of which these objects and events undergo. Media helps people find out about certain situations and events concerning humanity but this doesn’t mean that people have the same opinion or outlook in interpreting the information sent by media. As I’ve said in my first blog, human beings can think for themselves and for others. So because we can think, we can evaluate and rationalize the information we gathered from media. But because we are also different, we also differ in how we interpret that information. According to Hall, there are three types of audiences; there are people who watch and read media without criticizing the message sent by the media, there are also people who watch and read media but only to a certain degree of criticizing the message, meaning they first accept the idea but not the entire story. There would be some part that he would disagree about. And lastly, there are people who are completely critical about the entire meaning of the story. The different classes of audiences signify that people are not incompetent when it comes to understanding media. This only means that people really give importance to media and the message it holds because the audience knows and feel that they have a say on whatever is happening to the world. This is another way of how globalization works.

I think Media plays a big part not only in my own community but also in every nation. I think because of media, people became more aware of their surroundings and these have helped them seek for more answers to their lives. Media has also played a big part when it comes to political issues; due to the message sent by the media to the community people become more engaged to the community. For example, here in the Philippines, the youth are influenced by what they see in TV’s, read in magazines and hear in the radios nowadays. That’s why presidential candidates use media for their own benefit to reach the community and gain votes. The media’s influence is also visible when it comes to more serious situations in politics. Media serves as the voice, sight and heart of the people. That’s why it is important that the media serves as a way for people to know what’s happening around them. But as said in the book by Debbie Lisle, the media is always biased. Biased in a way that we must always remember that the message media is trying to send to the people have been altered to different sides or opinions of those that have written or produced it. It is not possible to have a fact or event unbiased because people themselves are biased and different. We have different opinions and ideas and these influences the way we perceive and deliver media.

Media really plays many roles in our lives. It can be for entertainment, knowledge and also global politics. It is also very abundant and helpful for the lives of many. Through media, we gather information and we are able to analyze this information and make use of this information. But for us to also keep growing not only as a person but as a nation, we should always keep challenging ourselves and always ask questions. This way we will continue on finding out information outside our domain and at the same time progress.