Page 327 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

G L O B A L I Z AT I O N : I T S R O O T S A N D I N N E R L O G I C
Globalization: Its Roots and Inner L ogic
From the life of society, we may now turn to a pressing and
timely topic as the consequences of so-called “globaliza-
tion” on the life of humanity. The term “globalization” has
become widely established in our language as a technical
term, used internationally to describe the formation of a
global community—primarily in the realm of economy, but
inevitably extending to politics and culture as well. The real-
ity it denotes cannot be adequately conveyed by terms such
as “globality” or “universality.” These express fundamental
existential properties, modes of human existence present
since the dawn of history. Globalization, however, is some-
thing different: a modern historical phenomenon, a con-
scious construct, even what some would call an ideological
formation.
In this sense, globalization may be understood as an artifi-
cial globality, a distorted universality. It represents what has
been called the “imaginary institution of society,” and as such
it must be critically examined, especially in relation to culture.
To understand it properly, we must trace its roots and un-
cover the forces that have shaped it.
There is a view that globalization marks the culmination of
the modern era, which began with the scientific revolutions of
the seventeenth century and developed through the indus-
trial transformations that united knowledge with production.
Already in this period, it was suggested that through knowl-
edge humanity would become the “master and possessor of
nature.” Globalization cannot be understood apart from this
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