Globalization
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Globalization
Globalization is a phenomenon involving the integration of economies, cultures, governmental policies, and political movements around the world. Internationalization is nothing new. Many of the large empires and religious movements represented forms of globalization. Trade and investment between countries have promoted interdependence of the world’s economies for centuries. What is now called globalization, however, represents an exponential acceleration of the integration process. As early as 1962, the Canadian visionary Marshall McLuhan wrote that the electronic age was turning all humanity into a “global tribe,” and the term global village is attributed to him (Theall, 2001).
Nowadays, larger corporations organize production on a worldwide scale. Each step in the value-added chain, from research and development to processing of raw materials, production of parts, assembly of components, and marketing of the final product, is carried out in the most advantageous geographic location, regardless of where corporate headquarters are located or where the final good is sold. The globalization of markets means increasingly that similar goods are sold around the world for similar prices. The highly integrated financial and commodity markets see price movements in one part of the world instantaneously reflected in other major markets.
As globalization proceeds, the economic welfare of individuals is increasingly impacted by global market forces beyond the control of nation-states and international institutions outside the domestic political process. Institutions such as the WTO and the IMF have become the target of criticism and protests from all sides. Some believe that too many economic decisions have been delegated to these institutions; others believe they should be given greater responsibility for solving the world’s social and environmental problems. Some complain that they are secretive and unresponsive to civil society, while others worry about the loss of national sovereignty when citizen groups influence decision making in these institutions directly rather than indirectly through national governments.
References
Theall, D. (2001). Virtual Marshall McLuhan. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP. Virtual Marshall McLuhan. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP Virtual Marshall McLuhan. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP Virtual Marshall McLuhan. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP Virtual Marshall McLuhan. McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP.