Global society and its detractors

July 22, 2024

MANILA – We have long been accustomed to seeing the world as a global system of nation-states. In this view, the word “international” refers to relations between and among nation-states. Today, however, that term is used less often. It has given way to the term “global,” signifying the momentous emergence of a new world system that operates according to its logic and principles. Such a system has no interest other than to reproduce itself, whatever the consequences may be to the environment or to the future of humanity itself.

This global system arose from the need to cope with the growing complexity of human affairs. Unlike previous forms of human society, however, global society recognizes no pre-ordained hierarchies, and is indifferent to traditional identity markers like race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or religious affiliation. Instead, it differentiates only according to “function”—meaning, the specific need or purpose that is served in the broader social system.

At the level of the individual, for instance, this means that one’s career path is no longer determined by where one comes from or who one knows, but only by what one can do, and what level of professional training one possesses.

In such a world, someone like Barack Obama, whose father was African, could become the first Black president of the United States. Likewise, Rishi Sunak, born of immigrant Indian parents, could become British prime minister. What they bring to their positions is a personal quality that has nothing to do with their racial or ethnic background. This is not to say they are not sometimes subjected to occasional racial slurs in their own countries. Traditional identities die hard, and, even within modern society,