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By Barry Gills
gjournal@ncl.ac.uk
Barry Gills is a Professor at The School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle. He is also Editor of the journal Globalizations.
First appeared in Volume 1
Number 1 Globalizations
September 2004
[Routledge, Taylor and Francis]
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The ultimate question is whether the status quo will be allowed to re-assert itself and thus perpetuate the gross inequalities of the present world order, between North and South, East and West, male and female, rich and poor, and myriad other categories of division that beset our present world. Or whether this status quo will be directly and effectively challenged by new social forces and new ideas, that seek to radically restructure and reform both global capitalism as we know it and the inherited international political system. The challenge is to dissolve the entrenched hierarchies of wealth, power, knowledge, and well being that characterize the present world order. We must make these give way to a new set of structures and relationships that will serve the needs of the majority of humanity and by doing so guarantee our best chance for a real and lasting global consensus. Global governance and indeed globalization itself should be, must be, more than a mere condominium of vested interests and power, more than a perpetual oligarchy. If we are indeed to move towards a world of shared responsibilities and shared benefits, of a ‘fair globalization’, and to an ethics of ‘global justice’, then this can only be accomplished by actually serving the interests of all of the world’s peoples, and those of its poorest and most disenfranchised as the highest priority. Only then, and by the active engagement of the world’s peoples in the processes of protest and challenge to the status quo, can our future globalizations be made truly positive. Policies and practices at the global level must be made to correspond to the needs of the global majority, whether this relates to the need for peace, material prosperity, human security and dignity, gender equality, health and welfare, or the protection and preservation of the common environment. It is our challenge to overcome the obstacles inherited from centuries of conflicts, divisions and enmities and replace these with a new global ethos based upon profound empathy for our fellow humanity, compassion for their suffering, and the will for unity. Globalization is not about a set of pre-determined historical outcomes, already set in stone by the laws of nature or history. Our common history remains open, and it is up to all of us to shape its ultimate outcomes. In the rich tapestry that is our common global history, it is by finally embracing the positive potential of globalizations, and the humanocentric rather than egocentric perspective that this move entails, that we will come to see all history as our own, and the future as one common destiny. To me, this is the real meaning of Globalizations. It is the acceptance of a collective human identity, the forging of a collective human will, and the fulfilling of collective responsibilities for the welfare, peace, prosperity and security of all human beings. This then is the ‘turning of the tide’ in human history. Where we go from here is entirely up to us.
Reference
Correspondence Address: Barry Gills, The School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 40/42 Great North Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK. E-mail: gjournal@ncl.ac.uk
1474-7731 Print=1474-774X Online=04=010001–6 # 2004 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/14747730412331298851
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