The most important connection of globalisation is how it may improve people’s lives. Engagement with the rest of the world facilitates growth. Growth in turn reduces poverty and promotes prosperity.
On the other hand globalisation is charged with losing jobs for this country to global competition. The flood of cheap clothes and food imported into the developed world in turn reduces need of the unskilled workforce as they have to compete with inexpensive labour in the developing world. Globalisation brings risk by manifesting itself in the spread of disease such as Aids or TB. Terrorists can use globalisation as a tool, using fund raising in other countries and transfer of money, communications and the travel networks Globalisation can be seen promoting integration of the world subsequently diluting national culture. (K Woodward 2004).
In order to understand globalisation I will begin by assessing the Globalist account, globalists believe that globalisation is a real and evident process; they argue that examples of a significant shift in the geography of social relations can be seen in terms of economics, culture and politics and media for example Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, News Corporation which operates in within nine different media channels on six continents.. Culturally we can see everyday examples of what globalists would call globalisation; in Britain we eat McDonalds and sushi, wear
Issey Miyake perfume, watch Manga films and play Sony play station games. Globalists generally fall into two categories; pessimists and Optimists.The optimist suggests in terms of cultural globalisation that the worlds is moving towards a ‘global village’ and in terms of economic globalisation that poor people of the world can only benefit from globalisation and that it brings them all the trimmings and privileges of a western lifestyle and it is better that current of past conditions. The optimist has a clear and positive take on what globalisation is and what effect it will have on the organisations and citizens of the world. They suggest that globalisation offers an improved quality of life, living standards and a chance to bring people together through improved connectivity through out the world. The internet is one medium through which many theorists see stretched social relations and opportunities for sharing cultures and understanding different nations making us all ‘world citizens’.
Thank to the internet the physical place no longer gets in the way of creating communities.
However pessimists believe that rather than equalising the growth of global communications cultural flows have exacerbated division between the information rich and the information poor who lack electricity , hardware, software or knowledge.
The way media power is owned has a dramatic effect on how information is controlled and how the media power is used. Elitist companies dominate an increasingly homogenised media. Pessimists argue that Cultural imperialism is one theory behind what globalisation is and what the principle player’s motives are Cultural goods are seen as flowing to the rest of the world from America or the west as a whole, cultivating Western or Us values in the recipient nations and making way for even more goods to arrive therefore more capital flows back to the US or west as a whole. Cultural flows are imbalanced where dominant cultures overpower the more vulnerable cultures e.g. Russian culture. An example of Cultural Imperialism is the structure of the world news. Here the dominant culture is focussed on and given precedence over weaker cultures. (Dorfman and Matterlart 1975)
In contrast Internationalists would argue that the term ‘globalisation’ itself is merely a buzzword to describe a process that has occurred throughout history. In particular they argue that the passage of goods and capital across national boundaries has happened for centuries, bringing with it the spread of cultures and knowledge. Examples of this can be found e.g. tobacco, paper, religion and medical beliefs and techniques. In the 19th century open trading and liberal economic relations were the norm and Globalisation can be seen as an expansion of those ideas. Internationalists argue against the pessimistic view of cultural imperialism, suggesting that although mass media is controlled by a limited group, spreading predominantly male white capital views.
Internationalists are also ready to point out that not all economic and social activity has been handed over to global channels. The European Union is an example of the increased importance of regionalisation and not globalisation. Therefore it would seem Internationalists believe that there is still scope for national politics, self government of nation’s states and for national government to not lose post war welfare states in the pursuit of a globalised society
The third argument is the Transformationalists, a combination of Globalist and Internationalist positions. Transformationalists like Giddens see globalisation in a wider context than global economics alone. It is their understanding that globalisation is a central driving force behind the rapid social, political and economic changes that are reshaping modern societies and world order.. Like the internationalists, Transformationalists believe that globaslist’s have exaggerated their case and that nation states still have military, economic and political power. But they also believe that globalisation is not a process to dismiss wholly, it still carries possible dangers and impacts.
To conclude whether you believe in the term Globalisation or not, the local community is widening through air travel, allowing every part of the world to be reached with relative ease. Telecommunication and internet access, allowing communication to people all over the world as though they were just next door.
Also from the dominance of certain markets throughout the world such as Microsoft or McDonalds who trade throughout the world also shows a move towards globalisation. However the EU shows us that we are merely nationalising not globalising. We are keeping the economics and the politics within the boundaries of our national identities. (A cosmopolitan identity). This shift will hopefully lead to fewer disagreements between nations. The next most important connection of globalisation is how it may improve people’s lives. Engagement with the rest of the world facilitates growth. Growth in turn reduces poverty and promotes prosperity. This is definitely a benefit to humankind.
On the other hand globalisation is making our workforce compete with other countries for their cheap labour when work is sent abroad; this is negative to some but god for others. Negative to humankind is the spread of disease for developing countries to developed countries, although help is at hand in the developed country to treat the disease. Also a negative affect to all humankind is the move of the terrorist who use the globalisation as a tool for their war.
So globalisation has many positive and negative effects on humankind as a whole.
The differing view all have valid points in their arguments and can all be applied to the idea of a single global community.
Reference
Kath Woodward, The open university (2004) An introduction to the social sciences: Understanding social change, questioning identity: Gender Class, Ethnicity. Milton Keynes
David Held, the open university 2004, An introduction to the social sciences: a globalizing world? Culture, economics, politics. Milton Keynes
Diane Sharman Page 13/05/2008
