Perhaps we need to make a distinction between globalization and global.
We might say that when we talk about globalization, we mean market-driven economy, liberalization of capitals, privatization by means of complex network operations involving global financial services and operators, referring mainly to the suppression of territorial barriers to economic exchange, currencies and financial operations. In other words, globalization is capitalism itself and its operations to create constant infinite value. Globalization is about goods, services and transactions, and is seldom related to humanitarian issues or the construction of equality.
Most countries and the most vulnerable parts of society are scorched by globalization as we know it. We have seen it recently with social protests in South America, the rise of populism under the fake banner of national identity and ancient local heroic ideals that never existed, and with ghostly market decisions none can explain but many suffer when the loss of jobs happens unexpectedly, prioritizing numbers over labour or social conditions to correct projected results on spreadsheets. But definitely its most democratic—in that it is for everybody, with no distinctions—and tangible surplus is climate change, inequity and environmental crisis, despite our blindness, denial or alienation.
Globalization has never been equal. Globalization has to date been an operation and a display of power, mainly economic, based on the idea and objective of growth, mostly by sacrificing many for the benefit of a few. Globalization as we know it is mainly selfish, and it is a self-feeding loop. The more capital you insert, the more resources you have; more resources secure greater advantages; greater advantages means competing, and, when everyone competes, you need to grow. Private funds, governments, NGOs and almost all organizations have prioritized quantity over quality. How much did we grow this year? It has become typical and even natural to quantify visitors to a museum, sales, earnings, or passengers on a bus. But how much is enough? Are we capable of stepping back and rethinking what figures mean to us under this umbrella of infinite growth, when our planet and resources are limited?
Globalization has turned value into waste by converting things and experiences into economic terms, reducing the beauty and potential generosity of globality as solidarity. Perhaps the beautiful idea of globality has been distorted by a few politicians, trade organizations, and our lack of political participation and representation. Can we remain politically apathetic as our needs and challenges are redefined, but still feel unrepresented?