In the aftermath of globalization: Antiglobalizing and deglobalizing forms of subjectivity

Abstract

After explaining the meaning of mentality, sources of globalization are discussed. Globalization, and antiglobalizing and deglobalizing mentalities, are understood as grounded in the historical, material, and concrete discursive and practical experiences of individuals. Globalization is divided into political-economic, cosmopolitan, and internationalist streams corresponding to historical trends developed into the 20th and 21st centuries, illustrating how contradictory projects of globalization set the stage for conflicting mentalities. Both antiglobalizing and deglobalizing forms of subjectivity are understood idealtypically as mentalities that resist neoliberal globalization. While antiglobalizing mentalities challenge the political-economic practices of globalization, deglobalizing mentalities reject cosmopolitan and internationalist projects, and are based on attribution mistakes, which can develop into nationalist, supremacist, and fascist subjectivities. Given the extent of global problems, the case for an internationalist form of subjectivity is made. The relevance of these reflections for psychology is addressed.