Functionalist View Of Globalisation

Studying the complex nature of globalisation through the lens of paradigms may, to some, seem outdated. However, but by analysing globalisation this way, we see underlying structures that link seemingly unrelated aspects, thus allowing for a more robust understanding of the wider globalisation phenomena. The nature of these underlying structures is a point of ongoing contention for sociologists. Functionalists argue that although society is made up of individual actors making decisions for themselves, the move towards globalisation is society as a whole coming to a natural equilibrium, with mutual benefits for everyone. Conversely, conflict theorists see globalisation more sceptically, pointing to the exploitative nature of modern globalisation …show more content…
This is demonstrated by the prevalence of representative democracy and internet access amongst developed neoliberal economies. Some questions arise however due to this line of thinking. Firstly, it assumes a narrow view of democracy, in-line with the western model characterised by collusion between firms and politicians, as well as a highly media controlled discourse. In underdeveloped nations a direct, participatory model of democracy may be not only more practical, but more desirable. Functionalists then point to freedom as a by-product of capitalism, with consumers having high levels of access to internet, which can potentially mitigate the effects of oligopolistic media control. It is true that internet access with its immense content has been an undeniable positive of globalisation, and provides opportunities not only for people to extent their scope knowledge, but also broaden their economic opportunities, as it has been said that with globalisation comes ‘new opportunities... for the people who lack them in the non-electronic world. On the Internet, nobody knows whether you are young or old, black or disabled, a man or a woman” (Ardalan 2009, p. 62). This shows that although conflict theorists may have traditionally focused on fair and equal employment, functionalists see these goals as becoming naturally available thanks to globalised economic thought. Unfortunately however, this ignores barriers preventing people from accessing these tools in the first place. As was established earlier, a rise of globalised economic policies has not been synonymous with economic progress in the developing world - in fact, the level of global proletariat has risen to 3 billion people (Steger 2003), . With a highly competitive market comes