Memo+17+Hegemonic+Backdrop+(Dan+F)

The Hegemonic backdrop for the current global interactions among civilizations of different supposed levels of development and wealth is an impossibly large discourse to put into any level of detail here historically, but it can be sufficiently simplified for the purposes of this thesis by starting with American political ideology at the end of Word War II. Westernization and globalization were rebranded from more historical terms and could be said to be at least slightly more ethical evolutions of their past forms. At least in part, capitalization and democracy were the strongest forces spread as far and fast as possible initially and the philanthropic components have been around almost just as long. The largest and most powerful component of globalization is Western economics. Trade liberalization was promised to open up opportunities for all that took part and claimed to allow for equality and the end (or at the very least a reduction) of world poverty. This system ranked the world’s people by the financial structure of the most powerful countries. This of course made it appear that those that weren’t using the system were the ones worse off, but that was primarily only because that is not how they necessarily measured their own development. Globalization and its economic components spread because they were used by those of the most world power, which allowed the systems to steadily become used by the majority. The only other known alternative to this form of development at the time was communism. The point is not that this might have been the right course but that there may have been another course possible, but left undiscovered. It is the belief of many in the current hegemony that this capitalist global system is the course of development that all who develop independently will likely get to if left to develop long enough. It is considered the natural predetermined evolution of every civilization.

Unfortunately the system is extremely flawed because it relies on endless growth on a finite planet. There can be little doubt to how a situation like that ends. The purpose of discussing this is not to suggest that an entirely new system needs to be developed. Change would have to happen on an unprecedented scale and alternatives have been illusive, so the next step in this hegemony has been to slowly patch the failures of the system and keep the system going any way possible. The system has been steadily patched and rebranded to account for its failings since its inception until present day. The idea that growth is the desired result form this system led to the idea that financial wealth is extremely important in the shortest possible time spans. To achieve this, technology has been used to speed up almost every part of the system allowing everyone to be a part of such a fast moving system that it is difficult to see what the long term impact of every day actions is likely to be. Overwhelmingly, technology and its spread are considered important and optimal.

My thesis will question this growth but it will have no sway in overthrowing an entire system so it must be reduced to more context specific problems associated with the choice to embrace a global capitalist system. This focus will challenge the idea that technology and its transfer to less developed regions is generally positive based on the immediate needs of the targeted people and try to address what should govern these interactions