How does the process of globalization interconnect humans around the world?

Question

Globalization

Answer 1

Globalization – the growing integration of economies and societies around the world – has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in international economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in China, India, and other countries that were poor 20 years ago, has been a positive aspect of globalization. But globalization has also generated significant international opposition over concerns that it has increased inequality and environmental degradation. This site provides access to some of the most recent presentations on globalization and some of the leading research on the subject.



Highlights

Making Globalisation Work For All | The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, hosted an international conference at the Treasury on Monday, 16 February 2004. Sponsored by Lord Carey of Clifton and Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, the conference will examine the challenges of making globalisation work for all. Delegates have been invited to attend from the faith, business, academic, NGO and diplomatic communities, as well as representatives from Government and Parliament. They will hear keynote addresses from Gordon Brown; Jim Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank; Bono; President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil; and Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development. Additional information.

Globalization, Growth and Poverty: Building an Inclusive World Economy | Globalization has helped reduce poverty in a large number of developing countries but it must be harnessed better to help the world's poorest, most marginalized countries improve the lives of their citizens, says a new World Bank research report published today. Includes quotes from James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. (December 5, 2001

Answer 2

It makes all cultures into an homogeneous flock of sheep with no individualism or separate identity. Globalization used to be called COMMUNISM.

Answer 3

Globalization is making the world one big, boring shopping mall. You can travel from Bangkok to Brussels and not find a decent locally-made souvenier. It's all c**p from China.

A Yahoo! member recently wrote me about how nothing authentic remains in England. There used to be charming pubs on every corner, with long traditions and a local flavor. Now they are all mass-marketed chains, bland, and predictable. Is this what we want? Nothing unique left in the world? I was just in Dubai (part of the United Arab Emirates), and the stores were practically the same as those in the Europe.

Globalization also seems to hurt the poor, indigenous populations the most. The poor in places like Peru have not benefitted from capitalism. If anything, they have become largely landless and without any means of making money in the new economy.

Why do people hate McDonalds? Because they prey on peoples' worst tendencies: convenience over substance, predictability over innovation. McDonalds often acts like a vulture. It targets properties that have financial problems, and snatches them up, replacing the original use of a beautiful, historic building with their garish plastic nightmare. In places like Paris, people still have leisurely lunches, but as the temptation grows for French companies to squeeze more work out of their employees, those respectable lunches may be shortened as employers point out that they can eat fast food.

Let's stick with examples from France. One thing the French excel at is producing relatively small quantities of a product with very high quality. In the globalized market, these companies cannot compete. A small, private French dairy making high quality cheeses has far greater costs than some massive dairy corporation in Argentina. With globalization, the distributors can't be bothered to stock these small quantities, so no matter where you travel, you always get the same mass-marketed products.

Answer 4

Through innumerable ways but  it's possible to categorise them,  as Urry and Lasch have done,  as  'four flows':

-flows of capital (with the increasing international nature of investment)

-flows of people (especially of workers and tourists)

-flows of signs - through tv/film/internet/

-flow of culture - that follows on from these other three forms of globalisation