Globaloney : Unraveling the Myths of Globalization

Review By: John Woolf, Compare Book Suit
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The media is awash these days about the economic, environmental and political effects of globalization. Will globalization ultimately be the panacea, that is so often promoted by the hyper-globalists, of worldwide wealth, peace and democracy? Or, is globalization really the "Borg" of Star Trek fame, where "resistance is futile" and we all should be prepared to "be assimilated" turning cultures, tastes and landscapes into one bland homogenized McWorld? Will this soulless, faceless machinery only serve to make the rich richer at the expense of the poor? Or, is it all Globaloney, as Michael Veseth espouses in his critical book by the say name? At first blush, Globaloney : Unraveling the Myths of Globalization may sound like a book squarely opposed to globalization. Actually, Michael Veseth is not necessarily pro or con to globalization per se. Using his easy-going prose, it might be easy to forget that the author, a professor of international political economy at the University of Puget Sound, has a very keen sense as to what does, in fact, constitutes globaloney as he systematically punctures popular contemporary myths and promotes critical thinking. And there is plenty of critical thinking to be done, as there seems to be no end to the hyperbole, as politicians, media and policymakers of every stripe continue to paint their fears or fantasies in broad strokes.

What most of us may think as a recent phenomenon, the concept globaloney goes back to the father modern economics Adam Smith. It seems that Adam Smith, in one of most influential books of all time, The Wealth on Nations, popularized a way of thinking and writing that has become a visceral part of our psyche today. Globaloney indicates that Adam Smith starts out with a profound concept but frames it in broad generalizations. What is of import, is not that he actually proves the point, with fact and figures, but rather that he simply persuades you through narrative, which is a much easier task. Indeed, the birth of economic globaloney. It would seem, according to Michael Veseth, that nothing has changed much in this arena since 1776. The book goes on to state that most metaphors and images are "rhetorical devices used to manipulate facts so that they seem to line up in conventional ways" to advance a particular agenda.

While Globaloney goes on to point out much that is globaloney today, it steers clear of defining what globalization actually is- good or bad. Partly because, as the book explains, globalization is far too complex and multifaceted, for one individual or culture to accurately define. What the book does conclude it that globalization, while it does exists as a serious phenomenon, is like the Mirror of Erised in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This mirror is unique in that it has the special property of reflecting the viewers deepest hopes and fears. Given that globalization is so complex, we have no problem recognizing what we are focused on; our own hopes and fears. These in turn can be in fact great motivators as we continue to see, naturally, more and more of what we are looking for. Compounding all of this is the fact that we are all prisoners of our own contemporary conditions. The facts may remain the same, but our views will change as our hopes and fears evolve, both as individuals and societies. But globalization is also dynamic in its own right; constantly creating new facts. Some perhaps good and some perhaps bad, depending on different economic, environmental, cultural or political views. For example, almost every book on globalization trots out McDonalds as the poster boy of what is good or bad about a global free market. Veseth can't resists the opportunity to use McDonalds as a classic case study of globaloney, looking at arguments that support or detract from the "globalization of McWorld."

At 232 pages, Globaloney : Unraveling the Myths of Globalization is well worth the price of any informative book. However, it would seem that most of what Michael Veseth has to say could be more concise when it comes to his lengthy treatise of case histories to support his thesis. But having said that, this book is really a case history of critical thinking that will awaken your senses to the globaloney around us all. You will never view the world in quite the same way again.