What is globalization?

In the later decades of the twentieth century, people needed a term to describe the dizzying amount of changes going on around them. Businesses were buying and selling more goods in distant places, while international organizations were increasingly bringing together representatives from many different communities. People were exchanging ideas rapidly as technology made travel and communications easier. These communication networks were growing, but communication was also getting deeper. It was now possible to send and receive information or visit other places much more rapidly than ever before. Some people even noticed how some individuals could have closer relationships with people thousands of miles away than with their own neighbors. How could all of these changes be described? If you guessed “a hot mess,” you’re close enough, but scholars and journalists eventually settled on globalization.

Globalization is a general term that refers to how the world has become more connected economically, politically, socially, and culturally over time. In this general sense, its roots go back to the era of agrarian societies as empires expanded and trade networks grew. After the Columbian Exchange, these connections sped up and included the whole world. When people, plants, goods, diseases, and ideas were shared across all world zones, the lives of humans everywhere changed. In some regions this change was mainly positive. For example, the introduction of high calorie foods increased life expectancy. However, in other regions the effects were more negative. Land was destroyed and people were enslaved in the name of making a profit, a pattern called the dependency cycle.

After the Industrial Revolution, the world became even more interconnected, and some experts say that globalization really began in this period. In this sense, globalization is about people around the world becoming so connected that local life is shaped by what is happening in other parts of the world. This challenges our definition of community in some ways. Through the Industrial Revolution, connections were established between local and global communities. Advances in transportation and communication increased travel and the sharing of ideas, also known as collective learning. At the same time, imperialist nations took control over other areas of the world. Of course, colonization had many negative effects like slavery and the destruction of traditional culture and resources.

However, there were some effects most people consider positive. These included new technologies like railroads and telegraphs, which connected more people and ideas around the world.

The world wars globalized us even more. In fact, these major conflicts proved to the world that working together across global networks could be good and bad. World War I, World War II, and the Great Depression were global disasters. However, there was also global cooperation for good. The Nazis were removed from power because of global cooperation, and new global organizations formed to help bring peace and economic prosperity to the world. The United Nations, NATO, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund are all global organizations you’ll learn about later in this unit.

Globalization’s effect on communities and economies

Globalization has touched all aspects of human existence. In the modern era, voluntary and forced migration have resulted in a diverse human population in many parts of the world. America, which is often called a “melting pot” of cultures, is a perfect example of how mass migration has shaped the modern world. When people move, they bring their language, culture, and food with them. These customs become part of the existing society and create diversity, which should be celebrated.

The world economy today is similarly connected. If one nation struggles financially, other nations will feel it too. The 2008 global recession, for example, caused an economic crisis that led many people to lose money, jobs, and homes. The recession was caused by events in the United States, but it created banking crises in Europe and Asia. We can see globalization on a daily basis through multinational corporations, which are companies that make a single product using labor from different countries.

The pros and cons of globalization

This kind of intense globalization brings together people from around the world. But—and there are some buts— what are the side-effects? New technologies allow us to send messages around the world in seconds when it used to take months. But not everybody has the same access to computing or the Internet. Governments can work together to trade and solve problems. But that means some people are affected by laws made in other countries. Millions of people across the world share the same religious beliefs. But these shared beliefs can also create conflict when people of different religions or the same religion disagree. Economies have become connected through international trade and aid. But, globalization has also led to an increase in inequality. In some nations the wealthy have become far richer while the poor have stayed poor. Some areas of the world have become extremely powerful and wealthy while others are still trying to overcome the negative effects of colonialism. In perhaps the biggest but of them all, industrialized nations use fossil fuels that create pollution. When this pollution travels through the air and water, it becomes other nations’ problem, too. Wealthy nations have also dumped their waste and garbage in poorer countries.

This unit’s lessons will demonstrate how interconnection and interdependency can be a double-edged sword. With all of the new technologies and multinational companies of the twenty-first century, it might seem impossible to abandon the connected, modern world and focus only on ourselves. Globalization can’t be reversed. However, humans can still improve our lives and the lives of other people and species by working together. How can we eliminate some of the negatives while continuing to reap the rewards of working together and exchanging ideas?