Globalization Class

“Accordingly, globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future, but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must first open our eyes.” Ulrich BeckNow more than ever, the forces of globalization are striking our world. But this doesn't take away the fact that globalization has been going around for quite a while. In “The World Is Flat”, Thomas L. Friedman analyzes several factors that have caused globalization to speed up during the last decades. But first, what is globalization? In his book “Making Globalization Work” Joseph E. Stiglitz describes globalization as “the international flow of ideas and knowledge, the sharing of cultures, global civil society, global environment movement” and more over the “the closer economic integration of the countries of the world through the increased flow of goods and services, capital and even labor” (1). Globalization is spread throughout several fields, such as politics, culture, economy, technology and the environment. Worldwide, these areas are going through a period of transformation and progression causing our world to become homogenous and flat. Even third world countries are having the opportunities developed countries once had to emerge into prosperity. However globalization is not new; countless events through which this process is evident have been going on for decades, nonetheless, between the late twentieth century and early twenty-first, globalization has intensified.

Globalization, Not NewGlobalization can be seen since the colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries. By setting up colonies in the Americas, Portugal, Spain, France and England encouraged the association of cultures and economies. Ideas and goods started flowing to the western hemisphere from these European nations resulting in the integration of both hemispheres. However it was not until 1892 that the adjective “global” was first introduced by Harper's Magazine. Later, in 1897 an American entrepreneur, Charles Taze Russell wrote about the concepts of globalization. And sixty years later, the word “globalization” entered Webster's Dictionary.

Numerous events that encouraged globalization went on in the 1900's. During World War I and World War II globalization was enhanced through technology and politics. Technology played an important role; the need to be prepared for the war caused logistics, weapons, machinery, tanks, guns, submarines, aircrafts and communication to improve. Furthermore, World War II led to the decline of dictatorships in countries like Germany and Italy, hence, democracy was established and this started the integration among European countries. The creations of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1944 facilitate globalization worldwide. While the International Monetary Fund supervises the global financial system and offers financial assistance to its member countries, the World Bank provides financial aid for the development of projects in third world countries. These organizations seek equal economic opportunity for every country and the integration of these to the world economy. In 1976, the Group of Seven (G-7: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States of America) was created to ensure wellbeing in our contentious world. Ideas, knowledge and ...