Globalization and The Other: Lifeworld(s) on the Brink

Abstract

This article specifies how globalization is not only an economic reality, but is also a socio-political–psychological and ecological one. It demonstrates how globalization, as an institution created by humans, not only fosters fear and greed among humans, but also decimates non-human animal lifeworlds, and, in doing so, threatens planet Earth itself. The article explores the relationship of globalization to Otherness in the form of the “enemy”, whether religious, national, ethnic, political, or ecological, the latter specifically in the form of coral reefs. The exploration highlights the fact that if there are endangered species, it is because a dangerous species exists. Globalization foments an “us against them” mentality; heightens human competition between groups; and, not surprisingly, draws on what Darwin described as “the law of battle”, namely, male–male competition. What in a phylogenetic sense originated in the service of mating now functions in the service of power and war. Recognition of this socio-political–psychological–ecological reality leads to an inquiry into the enemy that is not only outside but also within. Notable descriptions of the “Other within” are found in Socrates' and Plato's commentaries on the nature of humans, in Jung's concept of the Shadow, and, strikingly, in the observations of David Shulman and Mahmoud Darwish on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and impasse. This investigation of the relationship between globalization and the Other leads ultimately to the realization that, if socio-political–psychological – and ecological – ills are to be treated and cured, then we need to examine the Other within.