| Abstract: |
This paper discusses a central element in globalization debate little
addressed by economists, namely the interactions at global, national, and
community levels between globalization and societally based values. Social
values refer to wider notions of collective identity: religious values,
attitudes towards materialism, moral beliefs, and a sense of collective
awareness and are a broader and more encompassing concept than social capital
discussed in recent economics and sociology literature. Social capital relates
to trust, honesty and the social fabric of accepted norms central to the
successful implementation of individual optimizing decisions, and denotes a
communal asset reflecting strength of joint collective commitment whose amount
can be increased or improved upon through investment of time and resources.
Social values are much discussed in sociological literature going back to
Comte, Durkheim, Parsons, and others. The issues taken up here are how
different social values might interact and change as societies and their
economies integrate (globalize). Processes of value competition, displacement,
joint assimilation occur naturally to economists, but seem little studied by
sociologists who seemingly place less stress on analytical comparative
statics. Scenarios for how values can interact under globalization are
discussed in the text. |