Читать книгу Essential Concepts in Sociology - Anthony Giddens - Страница 15

Globalization theorists see the process as fundamentally changing the way people live, but others argue that such claims are exaggerated. Critics (also called ‘sceptics’) argue that, despite increasing contacts and more trade between nation states today than in the past, these have not created a unified global economic system (Hirst et al. 2009). Instead, there has been a trend towards intensified regional trading within the European Union, the Asia-Pacific region and North America. Given that these three regional economies operate relatively independently from each other, the sceptical argument is that any notion of a worldwide, global economic system remains fanciful.

The idea that globalization has undermined the role of the nation state can also be challenged. National governments continue to be key players because they regulate and coordinate economic activity in trade agreements and policies of economic liberalization. Pooling of national sovereignty does not mean its inevitable loss. National governments have retained a good deal of power even though global interdependencies are stronger, but states adopt a more active, outwardlooking stance under the conditions of rapid globalization. Globalization is not a one-way process of ever closer integration but a two-way flow of images, information and influence with diverse outcomes.