Eurocentric View Of Globalisation

Globalisation is defined to be the “process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence or start operating at an international scale” (oxford dictionaries, 2014), however the actual process by which this happened is debated. I would like to define it here as the inter-exchange of ‘cultures’ whether that be social, economic or political aspects. When referring to the impact of globalisation on a country the influence on society, economy, politics and even security tend to be intertwined and overlap, as each seems to have a subsequent effect on the other. My main focus in this essay being towards the economy. Firstly I need to address the problem of the different views of globalisation as there is a Eurocentric

Secondly I will focus on China, Japan and Korea looking at their interpretation of the West and how this has influenced them.

Hobson (2010) highlights that the Eurocentric view of globalisation unjustly empowers the West, such as Europe and America, and gives little credit to the East as playing any role in globalisation. This is done through the idea of the “West being self-made as a result of its own exceptional qualities” (Hobson, 2010, pp.25) and miraculously appearing to dominate the world through globalisation around 1945. This view suggests that it has been more of a process of the West influencing the East and very little vice versa. On the other hand the non-Eurocentric view of globalisation puts forth the idea that instead the East actually paved the way for globalisation first by establishing early trading routes. Hobson (2010) argues that the Eurocentric (Occidental) globalisation and non-Eurocentric (Oriental) globalisation combined make for a better understanding of globalisations history. Hobson (2010, pp.20-22) points out a period, between approximately 500-1450 CE, of

After interactions with the strong and powerful West during colonialism and such, China has been conflicted as to its view of the West. Anti-traditionalists in China tend to look up to the West as something to model their own country and economy after. This came to a head in the economic reforms of the 1980s as the West was idealised as the model system to take after, this change was seen as necessary to the future of China according to anti-traditionalists. This came upon strong opposition over time by traditionalists in China who viewed anti-traditionalists as betraying the country and that instead they should build upon what they already have to make a better China. In either sense the West has been viewed as China’s competitor whether it be as the ideal model or as the enemy of tradition. A big debate surrounds China’s late economic growth as to why it occurred later than Europe’s sustainable economic growth. Knight (2012, pp.5) state how “China’s authoritarian political institutions normally regulated economic activity very tightly” making it difficult to improve, their government exercised strict constraints over many aspects of businesses and the economy. The government also restricted new players in the game of the economy as they brought the threat of new ideas and technologies that may conflict with their own. Another view of this can be seen in Weber’s theory of the spirit of