Mutual Construction: The Relation Between Software & Globalization
Introduction
The history of computer software as a fundamental part of Information Technology is tightly coupled with modern globalization. Defined by neither liberalism, universalization, internationalization, nor other similarly limited concepts, globalization can be thought of as an eclectic synthesis of many different theories, with major trends loosely identified by Geography, Production, Governance, Identity, and Knowledge. Major developments in these areas coincide, and are closely related to, developments in software and information technology. While information technology is hardly the cause of globalization the two are so closely related it’s difficult to determine just which is influencing the other. Primarily written and documented in English, software has served to spread the English language and to a lesser extent Westernization to all technically capable corners of the earth. English as a second or third language is increasingly taught the world over as a competitive advantage. That same software is usually built on top of standards determined not by State or treaty but by supraterritorial agencies lobbied just as heavily by States as they are by multinational corporations. The modern software developer who doesn’t want to see their job outsourced needs focus not on a particular skill or technology but on a whole suite of them that will distinguish them from their overseas competitors with cost of living expenses a fraction of their own. This “knowledge worker”, whether from the USA, India, Brazil, or China is afforded both sides of that double-edged sword, just as they must compete globally so too can they offer their skill set on a global market. Time will tell if this is an opportunity for all or a race to the bottom.
Geography
For those that can afford it, which is sadly a small percentage of the global population, globalization has torn asunder the previous limits of geography. Commoditized transportation, global communication, and a mobile workforce have all greatly reduced the importance of geography. (And increased the importance of rapid pandemic response.) Many knowledge workers have taken advantage of these advances.
The most familiar example of using information technology to scale geographical barriers is the act of outsourcing to India. Using global communication and to a smaller extent transportation, both driven by software and information technology, outsourcing has in turn driven dramatic changes in the software industry. Positions in higher cost of living nations where being physically present isn’t a competitive advantage have been sent overseas, where entire industries and government-driven education programs have sprung up to meet demand. The knowledge workers in these locations, often performing more mundane tasks than their 1st world counterparts and at a fraction of the pay, nonetheless receive better pay than was otherwise likely. Of course better pay still isn’t considered adequate pay by many. Sites such as Rentacoder and eLance have built on outsourcing to further commoditize development work. Allowing jobs to be posted and reviewed by developers from all over the world, any individual with access to a globalized banking system can offer their services or post jobs. With as little as a credit card and a few minutes I was able to contract a team from Pakistan to do several hundred dollars worth of work for me, after reviewing bids from development teams from all over the world.
The Imagine Cup competition is another example of the union between information technology and globalization. While not on the scale of the other examples discussed in this paper it is something I had direct experience with for two years. Sponsored by Microsoft, a multinational corporation selling its products to most of the world and with development centers in several countries including the tax haven Ireland and probably the single biggest employer of software developers, the Imagine Cup is an international competition for English (or close enough) speaking students. The students compete in several categories with a general theme of making the world a better place. Nationality/territoriality is of little consequence to the competitors, with the result of their work intended to be applicable to a broad international audience. While browsing the Imagine Cup forums and talking to other contestants and the judges it was usually evident for whom English was not their first language, but beyond that I was just as likely to be talking to someone from China, Brazil, Jordan, or a large list of other countries. Different times, different place, different languages and cultures, a common identity was formed around the Imagine Cup. This was all made possible by information technology, but was driven by a globalization poster-child in Microsoft in a not-so-thinly veiled attempt to identify and hire the top competitors.
Production
Software makes for an interesting product. It is very expensive to produce once, but free to make infinite copies of thereafter. Paradoxically, software is used to create software, and recent advances in software have contributed to increases in software production, most recently in the form of “Web 2.0″. Software is used for the production of much more than just other software, in fact it forms the backbone of international supply chains, just-in-time inventories, and similar globalized constructs of nearly all large companies.
Software production is a good example of the globalization of an industry. Teams from multinational corporations or self-employed individuals collaborate online, never meeting face to face before completing a project and splitting up to move on to new tasks. Location, nationality, and language are of little importance to the leaders within corporate teams, as they will frequently travel to other centers around the globe to facilitate in person. In less desirable circumstances a developer will move to another center for continued employment. In these cases their identity, geography, and governance are as much associated with their employer as the country they were born in. Possibly limited to only the near future, a lot of travel and outsourcing between countries occurs within the software industry due to a lack of qualified professionals able to meet current demands. It is for this reason that outsourcing growth has slowed in India and even China and moved into Eastern Europe, as these early outsourcing targets have not been able to keep up with demand. Interestingly, this has contributed to an increased wage for qualified software professionals in each of these countries in turn, so for at least a short period globalization has lifted all boats. What’s not clear is if demand will continue to outstrip supply, or if it has even continued to do so during the current economic crisis, in which case most boats will begin a race to the bottom.
Possibly the most contentious, and thus most deserving of closer examination, facet of the software landscape is the idea of open source software. Software is made of code, and code is simply text, and thanks to the printing press we have been very adept at sharing and disseminating text for a long time. The idea is that if a software product is accompanied by its source code, future bugs or fixes can be made even if the publishing company goes out of business. Building on the idea of open source software is the idea of free software. Because code can be distilled to basic ideas, and because these ideas are dependent upon the work of the software industry up to this point, free software advocates argue that not only should software be open-source, a company has no right to “steal” ideas consisting mostly of the ideas that came before it, in fact nobody has the right to steal ideas in general from humanity, ideas should be free for all. Open-source and free software are interesting in the context of globalization because they represent a new model of production, a new model of governance, and a new idea of knowledge. Open-source software is often produced by any number of individuals with varying degrees of affiliation and completely different locations. Sometimes a typical model of governance is used where a “leader” determines what does and doesn’t happen, but just as often the direction of a project is decided by whomever decides to code that direction, and these people often lose interest after a time only to be replaced by the next round of enthusiasts. Finally, the really contentious part of the free software movement concerns what should be free, not free as in donated by a company but free because nobody has the right to “own” it, free as in freedom. This applies not just to software but information in general. Thanks to information technology and the internet infinite free copies can be made of anything from Microsoft Office to a hot new album to the latest summer movie. All of these companies, and most recently the newspaper industry, are having to learn to deal with a world in which information has been divorced from physical packaging that was easy to control and monetize. As more of our lives move online and thus are able to be copied instantly the world over, what new business model will be used? The power of software in combination with information technology and the other forces of globalization cannot be overestimated as a disruptive force.
Governance
Gitmo may be closing and the CIA may stop torturing people (for a little while) due not to the interests of the United States or new found decency, but because of pressure from various state and non-state actors. Consortiums of scientists describe the increasingly visible effects of global warming and Democracy Now reports the details of death and injustice the world over. Globalization of governance is evident in many of the software and information technology standards bodies. Not officially beholden to the traditional nexuses of power, standards are ostensibly decided based on what’s best for the industry, or at least the multinationals lobbying quietly in the background.
Software and information technology have been less directly affected by the globalization of governance and more a primary enabler of what new forms of governance have developed. The best example of this is the use of the internet to communicate and organize between non-state actors. While the death of the State is far from near, these affects can’t be ignored. The election of our current president has been attributed in part to his use of the internet as an organizing, communicating, and fundraising tool. While highly unlikely to be found on Fox News or CNN, first-hand accounts of genocide and countless injustices the world over are at least made known to more than the people about to get machete’d into a hole. And one of the more impressive recent propaganda campaigns, Israel’s “defense” of its people (and subsequent murder of Gaza civilians) is as quickly dispelled as the amount of time it takes to bring up a photo of a white phosphorus burned and disfigured Gaza child.
Sadly, software and information technology is just as easily used against common humanity, perhaps even more so. The Great Firewall of China is a good example of using misinformation and lack of information to protect the interests of an existing power structure. Of course, information disruptful enough to be blocked in China is still readily available in the United States where it seems to make little difference, so perhaps the criticism of China’s firewall is overstated.
Identity
The idea of identity continues to grow more amorphous thanks to globalization and the practical impact of software and information technology. Once potential dates and employers were able to Google the entire online lives of a potential candidate, identity grew to encompass a broader spectrum of options, many of them made possible by software and information technology.
The current leading provider of online identity is Facebook, where individuals are defined by what they do and say, much like the real world, but with the addition of a perfect memory and instance search. Facebook serves to vastly decrease the distance between geographically separated parties, and allows people to keep track of each other. Tweets from Twitter gives real-time feedback on the activities of your friends, regardless of where they are and regardless of where you are, and new applications demonstrated on the iPhone and similar smartphones can display the real-time GPS location of your friends with accompanying map. This last feature is interesting because it can do the opposite of the location-deemphasizing that’s occurred thus far. Now you can become hypersensitive to your location and the people around you with whom you may only have a passing affiliation, such as a fascination with cat videos on YouTube, but with whom you are interested in because they are close enough for a face-to-face meetup. The commoditization of social interaction might be an adequate description.
Identity is closely linked to our societies, and how we partake. It is unsurprising therefore that popular culture has been unable to keep up with the pace of advancements, as evidenced by firings after drunk or topless photos appear on personal blogs or Facebook pages, or the draconian stances some companies take to any mention of themselves online, especially negative mentions. One of the most discouraging examples are the teachers who behaved differently online, or even previously in their lives, than they currently do in front of their students, such as stripping or posting bikini photos. Of course it was the internet that enabled these individuals to be “outed”, just as it has a variety of people engaged in other edge-case activities.
Knowledge
Writing software is an extremely rationalist activity. The developer has control over nearly the entire “world” and can expect everything to operate in a predictable manner. Of course, being predictable shouldn’t be confused with a developer accurately predicting all the possible outcomes! In this sense software falls in step with the influences of modern globalization, though I have a hard time imagining “software” falling under a different epistemology. Conversely, software can definitely be said to have been used to promote reflexist/rationalism via the Internet, but the Internet is just as capable at disseminating other world views. Of course, being able to access the Internet typically signifies a lifestyle condoned by corporate and nationalist interests, so perhaps at that point it’s already too late?
Conclusion
The software industry and modern globalization are truly linked in a cycle of mutual construction. Fortunately they are not so closely linked that the outcome of one absolutely dictates the outcome of the other. Software can be used to reduce the impact of geography for all people, not just the corporate managers running sweatshops. Software can be used to fine-tune and coordinate local production like never before, not just develop Roundup ready corn. Software can be used for journalism, accountability, and labor organization, not just identification and surveillance of dissidents. Software can be used to facilitate a plethora of diverse and satisfying relationships and identities richer than ever before, not just as a tool to ensure “moral” compliance. And finally, software can be used to promote any number of competing world views, not just a censorship tool. Thus software can be said to have great power, whether in tandem with modern globalization or not, but with that power comes responsibility.
“The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.”
William Shakespeare
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
