KRITIKE VOLUME FIVE NUMBER TWO (DECEMBER 2011) 10-25 © 2011 Pieter Meurs, Nicole Note, and Diederik Aerts http://www.kritike.org/journal/issue_10/meurs_december2011.pdf ISSN 1908-7330 Article The “Globe” of Globalization Pieter Meurs, Nicole Note, and Diederik Aerts Abstract: In this article, we will scrutinize what globalization actually means when you look at its praxis, not from a socio-political perspective but from a philosophical stance. This stems from a point of view that the debate and scholarship on globalization is still too often protruded by ideological and idealist arguments. These arguments posit the world as an object to think about or act upon. This thought of globalization remains stuck in formal conceptions or in a Bildungsideal rather than referring to the praxis of our being in the world. We will turn to the critical philosophy of Jean-Luc Nancy to assess the condition of our existence in and forming of a global world. Following Heidegger, Nancy argues the world cannot be considered as an external object we can interpret or gain knowledge about. We will investigate what this means for a thinking of globalization. Key words: Nancy, globalization, alterglobalization, empire Introduction t has been 10 years since the media first spoke about the alterglobalization movement. Dubbed as such during the aftermath of the so-called Battle of Seattle in 1999, the name more or less covers the central issue of its participants’ claims: an alternative way to globalization. 1 Its meaning ambiguous and difficult to grasp in scientific models however, at the turn of the century, alterglobalization became as much as a buzzword as its counterpart. Even today, both still seem to remain catchall words that – be it each in a specific way – want to capture the essence of what is going on in the world. Although these concepts first and foremost seem to live a life of their own, various actors do try to claim their interpretation of the matter as the single reality. Rightfully the tenability of the meaning of the concepts is assessed in contemporary social and political theory. Most theorizing has focused on a descriptive or prescriptive account of the state of affairs of the contemporary world. Analysts have tried to frame the significance of globalization as a description of reality. Living in a globalized world would 1 Initially the media spoke of the anti-globalization movement. Since December 2001 however, the neologism alterglobalization becomes increasingly common as it describes more accurately the underlying idea of 'another globalization' and the importance of constructing alternatives. See Geoffrey Pleyers, Alter-Globalization. Becoming actors in the global age (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010). I