The Meaning of Globalization

The technological development that characterizes the past several decades has triggered a communications enhancement around the globe. Interconnectedness between people is greater every day; goods, services, money, and information are exchanged between the furthermost parts of the world. International travel and communication now represent ordinary aspects of life. This phenomenon is called globalization.

The term entered common vocabulary in the 1980’s and it grew so popular that the economic, political and cultural background of today is now described as “The Era of Globalization.” However, this term needs to be thoroughly clarified as it means different things to different people. To some, it is a natural phenomenon of wide-spreading economic, social, and political activities of different countries beyond their physical borders. In these people’s view, the increase in free trade and international exchange of information, labor and technology represents a beneficial process of economic development. Yet, there are others who believe globalization can damage the level of employment, the social progress and the cultural identity of a country. As a result of these divergent views on the matter, the term “globalization” and the phenomenon it names are the subject of a very strong debate.

Thus the natural question is “What exactly is globalization?” The answer is that there is no answer, or at least that there is no precise, commonly agreed upon answer. As David Dollar said in the article “Growth is Good for the Poor”, “amazingly for so widely

used a term [globalization], there does not appear to be any precise, widely agreed definition. Indeed the breadth of meanings attached to it seems to be increasing rather than narrowing over time, taking on cultural, political, and other connotations in addition to the economic.”

Even though globalization cannot be defined in a precise way, there is a widespread description of it as “the growing integration of economies and societies around the world.” Yet such a complex phenomenon cannot be properly explained by such a broad definition, as the process has implications that expand on many levels. Firstly, the evolution of systems of international transport and communication driven by technological progress has led to an increase in the circulation of money, goods, information and people. This kind of ...

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... on an IBM laptop with Windows 98. Many societies around the world can't get enough of it, but others see it as a fundamental threat."

Yet what the people involved in this dispute fail to understand is that nobody can win here. Arguments on what globalization really means or implies are useless, and so is the struggle to promote or prevent it from happening. Globalization merely happens as a natural and inevitable result of the evolution of humankind. It is a force that can be good and can as well be evil. According to Thomas Friedman, "[globalization] can be incredibly empowering and incredibly coercive. It can democratize opportunity and democratize panic. It makes the whales bigger and the minnows stronger. It leaves you behind faster and faster, and it catches up to you faster and faster. While it is homogenizing cultures, it is also enabling people to share their unique individuality farther and wider." Globalization is encountered in all aspects of social activities from the economic to the political, the cultural and even the legal. It can mean a lot of things and it cannot be defined as a singular element. In fact, what globalization means is what WE want it to mean.