Boxill, Ian. 1994. "Globalization, Sustainable Development, and Postmodernism: The New Ideology of Imperialism." Humanity and Society 18 (4): 3-18.

Thesis:

Boxill states: "In the discussion that follows, I attempt to show how the concepts of globalization, postmodernism, and sustainable development have built-in assumptions about reality, mainly drawn from the experience of the industrialized North, that resulting policies which are not consistent with the welfare of developing countries. Although my argument refers to developing countries in general, much of my discussion will focus on the experience of the Anglophone Caribbean" (p. 5).

Summary:

The Local Nature of Globalization:

Boxill draws parallels between colonialism of the past and the imperialistic nature of globalization today: "What is now touted as a universal process is really a situation of great developmental unevenness between the North and the South" (p. 7). Boxill criticizes proponents of globalization for assuming a level economic playing field in North and South relations. He argues that globalization can be characterized by "capitalist forms of production, distribution, and consumption at the local and international levels" (p. 6). It is also characterized by "a new form of global mass culture.

Global Postmodernism and Local Peripheralization:

A primary feature of a postmodern society, according to Bigg, is the global mass culture which has developed due to current communication technology: "global postmodernism is characterized by the presence of a global mass culture that is Northern and Western (viz. American) centered in terms of technology and forms of capitalist production, popular tastes, and intellectual ideas" (p. 11). He then argues that what appears to be global homogenization is "an exaggeration of a process that has been present since European colonialism." Therefore, he concludes that what passes as homogenization is really an "intellectual construction of scholars from the North" (p. 11).

Sustainable Development and the Persistence of Poverty:

Sustainable development is "activities that at least support, but preferably better the standards of living and amenities of citizensover a very long timeamong these amenities are the culture of the citizens as well as their natural resources'" (p. 13). While he agrees that environmental degradation is a global problem, Boxill argues that generally people who hold this view ignore the "historical roots of current environmental degradation in the South, and the reasons why some developing countries are forced to adopt ecologically unsound strategies in order to survive and compete in the global economy" (p. 13). He notes that most of the environmental degradation in the South is the consequence of activities in the North, especially in terms of disproportionate resource consumption.

Boxill concludes by stating that "the South will continue to be dominated by political and economic institutions of the North if it uncritically allows Northern scholarship to construct the reality of and provide solutions for the problems of the South" (p. 17).

Keywords: globalization, sustainable development, postmodernism, imperialism, poverty