The Word and the Things: An Archaeology of an Amnesic Notion

Abstract

Few terms have been stretched as far or proved to be as infinitely extendable as the word “globalization.” It is a notion that refers to a project, to firmly established beliefs. This is what gives the notion of globalization the configuration of a new totalizing ideology, lending support and legitimacy to neoliberal reordering of the world. It is indissolubly linked to the techno-determinist ideology of communication. In the end, we lose sight of what is at stake in the complex new forms of contemporary interaction and transaction between economies, societies and cultures. In this contribution, I propose to unearth the archaeology of some of the expressions of this single regime of truth. From the “thesis of the end” to the messianic narratives of a “global society of information,” from the networked company to military strategists’ soft power, this chapter aims at revealing the various strata of the making of this particular vision of the world to come and at grasping if effects of reality on peace as on war.