The new individualism: the emotional costs of globalization
Corporate networking, compulsive consumerism, plastic surgery, therapeutic tribulations, instant identity makeovers and reality TV: welcome to life in our increasingly individualized world. In this dazzling book, Anthony Elliott and Charles Lemert explore the culture of the 'new individualism' generated by global capitalism and develop a major new perspective on people's emotional experiences of globalization. The New Individualismoffers fascinating, but disturbing, accounts of people struggling to cope with a new individualism reshaping the world today. There is Larry, a high-tech executive 'emotionally wrecked by success'; there is Ruth, a married woman in her late fifties, typing real-time erotica in cyberspace; there is Norman, a recovering drug addict infected with HIV, reinventing himself by accepting the deadly worlds for what they are; and Caoimhe and Annie, two little girls only beginning to explore the disorientating effects of the new individualism. This book powerfully cuts against the grain of current orthodoxies that view globalization as corrosive of private life. Elliott and Lemert argue that today's worlds are not only risky but deadly. Yet there is hope, the authors contend, beyond the complexities. Voted into the 50 Best Management Books For 2006 by The Australian Financial Review.
From what I have briefly read from this book I have found that Globalization can have a very big effect of us emotionally and physically. Ways that we would usually think nothing of. For instance a man (in this book) is very successful and wealthy but from having a protective childhood wanted to control everything and everyone his way. The social change was a lot to handle being the way he was but also the change around the globe that was happening brought mounts of stress into his life.
This book explains what someone has gone through when the globe has been changing and evolving how it has effected the people in it. I found this a very interesting read as it has opened my mind up about what Globalization can do to people emotionally.
From this quote and what Rachael has also viewed upon, I found that this is quite an accurate observation and it has become a sense of normalisation for the population to adapt to the changes in the world whether they are physical or emotional or technological. With the idea of the Internet it is most common that our personal lives are exposed and people are vulnerable, "the growth of the Internet has such broad ranging implications for individual countries and their people that is almost inevitable that there will be concern at social, cultural and political impact of this internet inspired globalisation", (P. Gangopadhyay, et al, 2005) globalisation has gone through a lot of positive and negative views however it has changed the world and I believe it will keep changing for the rest of time.
ReplyDeleteP. Gangopadhyay and M. Chatterji (2005) Economics of Globalisation, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, page 191
I think when people first think of globalisation, they don't necessarily think about peoples personal experiences with it and jump straight to big scale companies and how it's affected them. Looking into how it affects people emotionally is really interesting as there must be so many people who have been affected by it. The rate in which globalisation happens can be very quickly and so I can imagine how it can be hard for individuals to keep up mentally, especially people who are stuck in their old ways. I imagine when the internet first came about, lots of people were against it and it was probably too much of a big change for people to feel comfortable with, but nowadays everyone uses it and it's become the norm! People adapt eventually, I guess they have to, but it's interesting to hear about how people have coped and adapted themselves in the long run.
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