Globalisation is Science Fiction

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

52 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this article, I argue that the liberal discourse of globalisation is science fiction. That discourse, rather than simply reflecting recent trends and transformations, is part of a science fiction/globalisation intertext that encompasses both science fiction and a liberal globalisation discourse spanning the media, state officials, and multilateral economic institutions. After a brief introduction to the notion of an intertext, I examine the defining tropes and narratives of the dominant liberal discourse of globalisation. Using Isaac Asimov's Foundation series as an exemplar, I then show that these tropes and narratives are also central features of 1950s American utopian science fiction. In the fourth section, I argue not only that the narratives and tropes are similar across these two sets of texts, but also that they are animated by a similar problematic, one based on order and stability and legitimating authoritarianism.
Translated title of the contributionGlobalisation is Science Fiction
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)647 - 667
Number of pages21
JournalMillennium
Volume30 (3)
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2001

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