chapter3:Global Economy and International Telecommunication

Jihad Faroukhi
Dr.Ibahrine
International Communication

Chapter 3:Global Economy and International Telecommunication

Global Economy affects our lives in personal ways. For example, we encounter products from all over the world.
The global economy is also related to global communication. They are inseparably intertwined: for the global economy requires global communication to control and coordinate global divisions of labour.
I. Pre-modern World:

1.1.1. In the 13th century, the world was very different from the world of today.
1.1.2. Foreigner products were rare.
1.1.3. The only people who had access to these products were kings, queens and the rich.
1.1.4. Everyday goods were made by local people who worked independently.

II. Division of Labour:
1.1.1. One important thing that distinguishes the modern world from the pre-modern was the extent to which division of labour was used in the production process.
1.1.2. With the division of labour the workers no longer world independently at their workshops; they instead work together as a group in a factory.
1.1.3. The flip side to division of labour is that it creates interdependencies.
1.1.4. In the old system shoemaker could wake up whenever he wanted and start working whenever it suited his mood.
1.1.5. In the new system, the division of labour requires coordination.
1.1.6. Division of labour increases productivity via specialization, which in tern creates problems of coordination and control.
1.1.7. Changes brought about by global economy, global division of labour, and global communication are explained in a purely conceptual way as if they were abstract phenomenon.
III. Imperialism:
1.1.1. In the 13th century the world was multipolar with multiple centers of power ( china, Egypt, India, Italy….).
1.1.2. This picture changed with the emergence of Portugueuse, Spanish, Deutsh, French and British empires in the 14th and 15th century.
1.1.3. the world became a monopolar one.
1.1.4. The new empires were not like earlier ones in history
1.1.5. They were far flung and disjoined and they extracted tribute in the form of gifts,grain or taxes every year.
1.1.6. one of the main reasons the imperial powers were interested in acquiring colonies was to gain access to raw materials for thei growing industries.
IV. Electronic Imperialism:
Electronic imperialism is a broad concept that can encompass a wide range of issues.
1.1.1. Global Media Flows
(a) After WW II the age of imperialism ended and the center of power moved across the Atlantic to the united states.
(b) The main source of US power was its economic rather than its military strength.
(c) The US dominates the cinema and television screens all over the world.
(d) Other countries are concerned about the cultural influence of films fearing that imported films will shape people’s attitudes and perceptions in the accordance with alien ideas and values.
(e) Many nations called for a new world information order(NWIO) that would change this asymmetrical patterns and make it more ballenced.
(f) The US opposed the NWIO.
1.1.2. Transborder Data Flow
(a) With the improvement in transportation technologies, international trade progressively moved beyond many commodities.
(b) The current imbalance in world trade further aggravates the problem because if one walks around a mall in the US and looks at the labels of different products in the stores; one will come across products made in china, Korea, Malaysia, Brazil…
(c) As the division of labour had progressed, manufacturing jobs have moved overseas from the US to developing countries where labour costs are much cheaper.
(d) This reflects the fact that most US manufacturing has moved overseas.
V. Emerging Network Structures
1.1.1. Newer technologies do not seem to follow the same logic: the cost of production equipment has dropped sharply.
1.1.2. The transmission costs have declined as bandwidths have increased with the deployment of fiber optic and other broadband technologies.
1.1.3. The internet with its all lateral communication potentialities, is at present like the British imperial telegraph network and is likely to remain like that for the foreseeable future.
VI. Toward A New World System
1.1.1. Throughout history there have been centers and peripheries.