ABSTRACT
Some commentators have denied that globalization is occurring or at any rate have questioned its novelty and inevitability. Others argue that globalization is a chaotic, destructive process, a view that is shared by some sociologists and anti-globalization activists though for different reasons and in different ways. In sociology this stance towards contemporary society is resonant with what I have argued elsewhere (Ray 1999) is a Romantic yearning for a more authentic and secure past. Classical sociology’s critique of industrial society often invoked an image of lost past, tradition, customs, folk wisdom, social solidarity, morality and enchantment, a view epitomized by Tönnies’ distinction between Gemeinschaft ‘communal’ relations and Gesellschaft ‘modern’ social relations (Tönnies 1971). Some critiques of globalization invoke similar tropes even if (like many sociologists of industrial society in the past) they do regard the process as inevitable. The view to be proposed here is that globalization refers to a complex array of contemporary social changes, some of which were familiar to earlier sociology and some of which are novel. This complexity alone should preclude summative (negative or positive) judgements about globalization.
