Globalization. In terms of the novelty or emergence of globalisation, this essay shall adopt the transformalist view that globalization is not a new phenomenon, the processes have been around for a long time, but it is the discourse which is new (Myers,

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      It is essential that the term ‘Globalization’ is defined and explained before commencing as this has a huge effect on the view that is adopted and the claims that are made. Albrow (1990:9) defines globalization as ‘all those processes by which peoples of the world are incorporated into a single society, global society’. There are many different dimensions of globalization, these include economic, cultural and political. Cohen and Kennedy state that ‘globalization is best understood as a set of mutually reinforcing transformations that occur more or less simultaneously’ (Cohen;Kennedy,2007,p.44). Thus, all three dimensions are intrinsically linked. In this essay I shall be making slightly more reference to the economic and cultural aspects of globalization. In terms of the novelty or emergence of globalisation, this essay shall adopt the transformalist view that globalization is not a new phenomenon, the processes have been around for a long time, but it is the discourse which is new (Myers, 2004).

     This essay shall focus on what drives globalization, because what drives it is so strong that it has made globalisation an inevitable and unstoppable force. This is significant due to the fact that globalization itself has so many dimensions, and the force is shown through all three strongly which shall become more apparent throughout the essay.  

     One of the most influential changes that caused globalization to accelerate so rapidly from the 1980’s onwards has been advances in technological globalising processes. It is clear that the technological advancement of transport has contributed to the growth and speeding up of then globalization process. Before transport technology, everything was based on concrete localities, travelling was also a long and unreliable process where distance was measured according to kilometres travelled (Harvey 1989:240-54). Now, however with the advances in technology and transport, we have been able to /manipulate and control space and time, the transport of goods and people has become more efficient both cheap and quick. This has therefore made exchanges in all the dimensions of globalization speedier and also meant the fast growth of globalization. Space and time compression has created a more convenient alternative for humankind, the chances of people going back to long; unreliable means of travel due to their desire to bring globalization to an end is insane.  Furthermore, information technology has enabled public access to heaps of information from all over the world. Technology such as the internet has enabled widespread global communication through the use of social networking, blogs, and chat rooms and so on for both informal and business related interactions as these networks have also proved to be good marketing strategies in order to spread the word and advertise goods and services globally (Cohen;Kennedy,2007,p.44-46;G.Ritzer,2010,p.286-294).

       The opportunities to communicate and to travel long distances so easily and quickly has therefore caused people to become more interconnected and raised our awareness of different countries and cultures. Thus the world is becoming one place and system Robertson (1992:8,27) refers to this as the ‘compression of the world’. This thus demonstrates how tightly knit and integrated the world has become socially making it increasingly difficult to stop such global communication. With the internet there are also opportunities for individuals and collectivities of people to join groups that are meaningful to them and for them to voice their opinions and beliefs, for instance (Klein:2001) writes about how those with political radical opinions about the sweatshop conditions experienced by employees within newly industrialising countries (NICs) or fights for fair rather than free trade. Therefore, in cases such as these, the ease of communication with people all over the world can be a positive thing and again demonstrates the strength of these relations and exchange in terms of views via global communication (Cohen;Kennedy,2007,p45-46).

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     There is also the emergence of white collar work, where due to space time compression, work can actually be done via computers and thus where people are employed does not actually matter. This means that companies in developed countries are able to employ those in developing countries for the fraction of the price that they would have to pay for labour locally. In addition, it is the owners of these huge corporations in developed countries, the elites, that have power and are benefiting substantially from the technological advancements of globalization, thus it is difficult to see how this ...

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