We live in an age of intense globalization. Everything is changing incredibly fast. The future can feel uncertain. Human history provides us with both lessons learned and many unanswered questions.

In 1989, an invention called the World Wide Web (www) changed the world by connecting millions of people. The World Wide Web turned the internet from a tool for research and the U.S. military into a way for the world to learn, interact and shop.

Today’s internet connects billions in an almost instant network. With a wealth of information, it’s the ultimate tool for sharing ideas. Yet our online experiences are designed for each person, as computer algorithms send us news and advertisements designed for our individual interests. So, two people might have different experiences. In this way the internet can create isolation. Many scroll through social media feeling alone and frightened in a big unfriendly world.

However, the internet can be both a useful tool and an isolating experience. We can feel both alone and connected at the same time. The technology itself isn’t bad or good. Yet it can be put to both good use or bad use, such as with cyberbullying.

An age of intense globalization

With globalization, the world’s communities and systems of production and distribution are increasingly tied together. Because we are so connected new technology can improve the lives of millions or create great suffering. We must try to shape new technologies to benefit our world.

Since people can share ideas so quickly, societies become more culturally diverse as we grow more aware of how people far away live. Growing trade can mean people can buy many goods, often at cheap prices.

There are darker sides to globalization, though. Smaller societies and languages can be lost in a global culture. More trade can mean more pollution or exploitation of resources. People in some areas can lose jobs as companies move jobs to other countries.

Unfortunately, globalization doesn’t always spread the wealth evenly. Instead, power and money fall into the hands of the few. Today, the world is in a situation of great inequality.

Of course, globalization didn’t cause inequality. Yet it doesn’t seem to be solving it either. There appears to be enough money and resources for everyone, especially as new technologies make systems better. Still, many live in poverty. Can globalization be changed to make things better?

Social transformation

Globalization is tied to the challenges of inequality and poverty—both as part of the problem and possibly the solution. That’s because globalization isn’t just about business. It’s also about our political rights, social lives, and freedoms.

Let’s start with politics. Many historians suggest that people gained more human and civil rights in the twentieth century. Countries around the world agreed slavery should be outlawed, workers should have safe conditions, citizens should pick their leaders, women should be allowed to vote, and laws should protect everyone equally.

After the great suffering of World War II ended in 1945, almost every country in the world signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which created a human rights law for countries around the world to follow. It proposed a new globalization—protection of human rights by international treaties and agreements.

So why are people’s rights still trampled on? Why do international organizations fail to protect minority groups in so many countries? Sometimes, it even seems like international institutions are problems themselves, such as when trade agreements cause workers to lose some of their protections. Due to these failures, we now see people seeking protection only from their local communities. People find themselves torn between their roles at many levels: global, national, religious, and in their local communities.

What comes next

Globalization has also had both negative and positive effects on the environment. It has increased resource use and pollution. The rising global demand for goods has meant overuse of natural resources and habitat destruction. Globalization has increased greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and manufacturing. These activities contribute to climate change, which threatens people’s health and increases weather unpredictability.

Still, political globalization is part of the solution to these problems. We need international agreements like the Paris Agreement, which aims to fight climate change. We also need companies to share green and renewable energy technologies, like wind and solar. We also need countries to urge each other to use methods that don’t harm the environment.

We can’t simply go back to living within small communities. Most of us wouldn’t want to anyway. Yet that doesn’t mean we have to surrender to pollution or inequality. We have the power to shape how globalization happens. What kind of future would you build if you could decide?