School Report: Globalization?

[Bonné]

Hello all you good people.

I have a major school report coming up in a few week's time, and I've got to pick my subject within the next few days. The main topic that has been predetermined is globalization. Now, I've thought of various subjects, such as trash deposits in third world countries, the deforestation going on in the Amazon and the recent global progress in psychedelic studies and therapy (Although it seems harder to formulate some problem statements/questions within this subject).

I really could use any inspiration at this point, as long as it can be chained back to the main topic of globalization in one way or the other.

All of your help will be greatly appreciated.

Note: I'm mostly looking for subjects that fundamentally raise questions regarding the ongoing structure of the world in a very critical manner. So this would leave out things such as outsourcing and terrorism, which are the two subjects our teachers keep bribing to us.

 

[Dead man]

What about time space compression? If this is for a philosophy class that could be very intersting.

 

[OrionFyre]

If it were me I would focus on language.

Language seems to be one of the primary lenses through which we understand our world and perceive it. Look at gendered nouns and how it alters perceptions. Tom Scott on his youtube channel discussed this and other language features in brief, such as absolute direction (this one alone fascinates me). Where globalization comes in is the rate at which people are leaving their micro-cultures and moving into the global economy and adopting the prevailing language(s) and we all know that's English

 

[Bonné]

I wouldn't have an easy time on the subject of space and time, haha.
Language is a definite possibility, surely.

I am open to other ideas.

 

[Dead man]

I wouldn't have an easy time on the subject of space and time, haha.
Language is a definite possibility, surely.

I am open to other ideas.

Space time compression, not space and time. Basically as we are globalizing out sense of space and time are compressing. Back in the day the majority of people would live their entire lives within a five mile radius, now people go around the world. It used to take months to get to another continent, now it takes hours. Long distance communication like letters took weeks/months, now phones/text/chat is all instant. Parts of the same products are now manufactured all over the world, rather than in the studio of a craftsman. etc. etc.
you get the idea.

 

[Bonné]

I wouldn't have an easy time on the subject of space and time, haha.
Language is a definite possibility, surely.

I am open to other ideas.

Space time compression, not space and time. Basically as we are globalizing out sense of space and time are compressing. Back in the day the majority of people would live their entire lives within a five mile radius, now people go around the world. It used to take months to get to another continent, now it takes hours. Long distance communication like letters took weeks/months, now phones/text/chat is all instant. Parts of the same products are now manufactured all over the world, rather than in the studio of a craftsman. etc. etc.
you get the idea.

Ah yes, that sounds like a very exciting topic, to be honest. It's not something I have any knowledge of, except for what you just summed up. I might try to look into it.

 

[Bonné]

This is what my topic looks like so far:

Account for how American celebrities and media influence the increased tourism towards the Amazon to experience the medicinal traditions.

Analyze, based on the documentary "HEAVEN EARTH and the lecture "LG03 - Ayahuasca", how the growing commercialism, which is caused by the globalisation, is breaking down these Amazonian traditions.

Evaluate how the medicinal traditions of indigenous people in the Amazon can be preserved from the future pressure caused by the globalisation.


HEAVEN EARTH:

LG03 - Ayahuasca by Jeronimo M. M.:

 

[SnozzleBerry]

Fwiw, I'll cross-post something I wrote when that Jeronimo video was first posted here. No one ever replied to it, but perhaps it will be of use to you (whether you agree or disagree with my critique, hopefully it will stir some additional thoughts).

I enoyed parts of this video, while other parts I found rather agonizing. His analysis is rather good at points, imo, but falls short of really addressing the root of the problem. He comes so close at many points, which is why I found it agonizing at times.

While his critique of colonialism is valid, it falls short of truly addressing neocolonialism, even though he makes overtures towards it. I would challenge his assertion that "having more money is good" and that bringing money to impoverished places can be good, but causes rifts when left unchecked. Capital is inherently dominating and disempowering. Imo, it is not valid to decry the effects of tourism while touting the "benefits" of accruing more capital, both are pieces of the neocolonial paradigm that lead to oppression and ruin. It is not enough to say, let's leave these places alone (aside from being antithetical to neocolonialism), nor is it practical. The only way that we can work, from our end, to "protect" the sort of remote places he discusses is to actively dismantle the colonialist/capitalist paradigm. Anything short of that will, imo, lead to ruin..of us, of them, of this planet.

Similarly, his claims about pastoralism are mostly on-point, imo, but again, fall short. It's not that these people are "special" or that they are "better-than," "greater-than," or "super" human. Rather, I would assert that there is clear evidence that the manner in which they are living is less environmentally detrimental than industrial civilization. This is not to pass value judgement on indigenous communities as people, but rather, to evaluate the acute "footprint" of those civilizations on "nature" in comparison with the "footprint" of industrial civilizations on "nature."

This is not to say that individuals within these communities do not want technological gizmos, in fact, the majority of the evidence I have seen points to the contrary. However, it is to say that the tremendously ecologically destructive processes of industrial civilization are, by and large, absent from indigenous societies for a number of reasons, some more complex than others. There are interesting questions that arise from indigenous claims regarding the acute effects of and knowledge received from ayahuasca ceremonies and the relationship of these ceremonies to understandings of the ecological environment. I would posit it's not about the people, but moreso, about the effects of the plants, when utilized in contexts that allow for the experiencing of this knowledge.

I think that utilizing these plants (and chemicals), in contexts that have relevance to the user(s), in order to catalyze certain understandings/states of consciousness, and then acting in accordance with those models, is the takeaway from these indigenous practices. That is to say, if you eat mushrooms and realize that all of nature is connected, don't sit around getting baked off your ass pontificating about it, do something about it. If you take ayahuasca and have epiphanies that plants and animals are more than the "machines" Descartes claimed them to be, don't order shipibo garb and prance around your Manhattan apartment singing icaros, do something with that newfound understanding. Imo, if we claim to receive understandings from these substances, if they truly change the way we relate to the world, that should be reflected in the full range our actions, not just our lifestyles.

 

[Bonné]

Thank you very much. I just finished writing up the report, and I think it turned out pretty good.
Your critique was indeed helpful and on point, Snozzy.