Essay On Globalization In The 20th Century

Onlinedatei vom 14.12.2015 02:23

Kate Lucas

Essay Response

Globalization in the 20th Century emerged from the smoke of a devastating world war, thrived in the advent of rapidly advancing modes of travel and communication, and was met with a wave of economic and political reform in western democratic nations. The nature of globalization in the 21st Century is less a natural continuation of this process than a reaction to it, as policies implemented in the late 20th century struggle to address a host of problems considered unforeseeable at one point, but which are now painfully evident.

During the 20th Century, modern globalization arguably began following the post­WWII Era, which can be thought of in two phases: the 30 year “golden age” of welfare

The consequences of policy changes in the last few decades of the 20th century, ushered in by the neo­liberal movement, are becoming more and more evident. “Neoliberal structural adjustment programmes engineered by the IMF and the World Bank have been implemented in every country cross the globe, based on price stabilization, fiscal discipline, privatization, deregulation, trade liberalization, reduction of tarrifs, liberalization of capital markets, and the opening of economies” (Hemerijick 130). In this structure, transnational corporations have come to dominate the international political landscape in the 21st century, with troubling results. The workforce in various countries must organize transnationally as well as domestically in order to represent its interests, and with concerted efforts by several western democratic countries to legislatively weaken labor representation, many groups are having trouble doing that at home, let alone in a highly bureaucratized framework operated by capitalist and government elite (Tarrow 236­237). The consequence of these policies? Opening up the competitive market for dominating financial interests. The method? Creating a quasi­political structure that could not operate without the expertise and ‘consultation’ of transnational corporations, who often go so far as to help draft legislation adopted by actors in the international community, and then defend it to

As a global community, we are more connected than ever before, not just economically, but culturally. Individuals have access to a huge array of information, and while some hope the proliferation of online technology will lead to political reform in oppressed nations, others point out ISIS and its use of Facebook as an effective recruiting tool, or the ways inaccurate or flawed information can be so easily spread to millions of people as