Derek McKenna LG119Student number: 10809341
Held and McGrew, 2003, p.4). Sceptics, like hyperglobalists, see the concept of globalisationin primarily economic terms. However, far from agreeing with them, the sceptics totallyreject the notion of globalisation as anything essentially new. For sceptics, the concept of globalisation is a convenient ideologically constructed myth that helps justify the neo-liberal,free market capitalist system (Held and McGrew, 2003, p.5). In line with Marxist thought,many sceptics consider capitalism to be imperialist in its search for new markets. This line of thought was most prominently developed by Lenin in his “Imperialism: the highest stage of capitalism” (Lenin, 1996). According to this view, globalisation is nothing more thanwestern capitalist imperialism. Modern globalisation only differs from the past in the level of interaction between nations, but this essentially is nothing new. From a cultural standpoint, asceptic may argue that cultures have always mixed and shared ideas, and that this in itself constitutes nothing new. Modelski alludes to this when he suggests that globalisation beganaround 1000AD (2003, p.55). So, from the sceptical viewpoint, to what extent is thecontemporary world actually globalised? The sceptics have argued that the current economicinterdependence that characterises the global system is not without precedent, and would point to statistics from over a century ago to back up their claims (Held et al, 2000, p.5). Thesceptics would also suggest that globalisation overstates its reach, with the current worldeconomic system not truly global in its reach. In this context, sceptics argue that what wenow have is increased regionalisation, with states within regions such as the European Unionmostly trading amongst themselves. This, they suggest means we are less global, moreregional. The sceptics would also