Robinson WI - The Debate on Globalization

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1、GLOBALIZATION353
REVIEWARTICLEScience&Society,Vol.67,No.3,Fall2003,353–360THEDEBATEONGLOBALIZATIONThat“globalizationhasbecomeabuzzword”hasbeenaffirmedsooftenthattheexpressionisbynowitselfpassé.Andindeed,literaturethatpurportstoadvanceatheoreticalunderstandingofthephenome

2、nonhasbecomeaveritablecottageindustry.Muchofthedebateonglobalizationhascenteredonwhetherornotsuchaprocessisactuallyunderwayorjusthownovelinhistoricaltermsitmaybe.Therehasbeensurprisinglyverylittleinthewayofrigorouscritiqueofthelogicalstructureandsetsofclaimsforsocialtheo

3、ryasawholethatthisliteratureadvances.JustinRosenberg’spolemicalessaysarethereforelongoverdueandmuchwelcomed.Thisengagingbook*raisesthedebateonglobalizationtoanewlevel.However,IwishinthisarticletoaccomplishmorethanjustareviewofTheFolliesofGlobalizationTheory.Theworkiscert

4、ainlyavaluablenewcontri-butiontothedebateonglobalization.ButitisrevealingthatRosenbergfeltcomfortableenoughtoevokeinthetitlethephraseglobalizationtheoryinthesingular.Thisunderscorestheprevalentviewthatthereexistssomesingleorunifiedbodyofliteraturethatcouldbecalledthetheo

5、ryofglobal-ization.Iwanttosuggestherethatitistimetotakemoresystematicstockofthehugeandgrowingbodyofliteratureonglobalizationandtocatalogthisliterature.Anexcessivelynarrowviewofthisliteraturemaydomoretoob-scurethantoelucidatethetheoreticalandpracticaltasksofcomingtogripsw

6、ithhistoricalchangeinthelate20thandearly21stcenturies.Rosenbergbeginswiththeobservationthatglobalizationtheoryclaimsnotonlytotheorizethephenomenon,butalsotoadvancesocialtheorymore*TheFolliesofGlobalizationTheory:PolemicalEssays,byJustinRosenberg.London:Verso,2000.353354S

7、CIENCE&SOCIETYorganicallyastheineluctableoutcome.Anditisthisbroaderclaimthatisthetargetofhiswitty,perspicacious,almostsatiricalcritique.Rosenbergidentifiesthecentralproblematicofglobalizationtheoryasitselevationofthesocialorganizationoftimeandspacetothesiteofcausaldeterm

8、ina-tion,“thecommonfallacythatlieswithin[its]ambition”(8).Hewantstoarguethatglobalizationtheorynecessar