Globalism: The New Market Ideology (review)

Globalism is Manfred B. Steger's term for the discourse promoting the political and economic processes of globalization. Steger's argument is familiar to language scholars: talk about an event is itself part of the event. Globalism, as Steger has it in his subtitle, is the ideology of globalization, the sales pitch that champions free trade. Substantively, the content of globalism is the reemergence and increasing political dominance of ideas concerned with the individualism and market mechanisms characteristic of early liberalism, whose central goal is to eliminate protectionist tariffs and roll back much of the social program of the modern welfare state in the name of governmental fiscal austerity.

Steger makes no bones about being critical of the neoliberal ideology of globalism, writing in his preface that it "diminish[es] the capacity of human beings to participate in shaping their destinies and live in dignity and relative material security" (x). Steger's criticism is thoughtful, however, so that his critical passion lends an air of concerned engagement to his study without descending into polemics. He is equally careful to say, "I take comfort in the fact that the world is becoming a more interdependent place in which people have a better chance of discovering their common humanity" (x).

A political scientist, Steger engages in what he calls "critical discourse analysis" (46). Mainstay critical discourse analysts like Norman Fairclough and Ruth Wodak are not in Steger's bibliography, much less any rhetorical scholars or communication discourse analysts. Steger's approach works, in a counterintuitive way, to make critical discourse analysis look natural, as if anyone could do this if they would only look closely enough, but his methodology is only thinly articulated.

While other works do a better job on particular facets of globalization, Steger's book provides a good introductory overview of the public discourse generated about globalization, one suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Chapter 1, "The Roots of Globalism," sets up the book by a brief general discussion of ideology followed by a similarly brief historical overview of the emergence of what is often called classical liberalism, in the political economy of figures like Adam Smith and David Ricardo, and subsequent figures like Herbert Spencer and Friedrich Hayek. Chapters 2 through 5 then cover, in turn, four main venues of discourse about globalization: the academy; cheerleaders for globalization in the general press; challenges to globalization in politics; and activist opponents of globalism. Chapter 6 segues from chapter 5's discussion of activism to consider alternative paths that increasing political and economic interdependence might take that offer opportunities for a more humane form of globalization. Steger's breadth in assessing the range of discourses is a real strength of the book.

Chapter 2, "The Academic Debate over Globalization," surveys the lack of consensus on the meaning of globalization, with positions varying from objective accounts based on data about trade flows to ideological/normative accounts that question economic, political, and/or cultural processes, such as whether Americanization is a more accurate term than globalization (35). In the process of his survey, Steger finds that beliefs and arguments about globalization are inextricably bound up with the process itself, writing that he wants to "avoid a general discussion of globalization (the material process) without a proper recognition that the former is inextricably intertwined with globalism (the dominant ideological package)" (42).

Chapter 3, "Five Central Claims of Globalism," turns to the arena of public argument, primarily using public statements of government and trade officials, economists and other academics writing for public audiences, and journalists. The five claims about globalization are that it (a) is about "the liberalization and global integration of markets" (47); (b) can't be stopped; (c) is spontaneous and natural; (d) is good for everyone; and (e) "furthers the spread of democracy in the world" (73). This is the most informative chapter in the book, with a good articulation of each of the five points combined with Steger's critical commentary. Steger's advocacy [End Page 246...