Globalization

Globalization in its literal sense is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. It can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together.

This process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces. Globalization is often used to refer to economic globalization, that is, integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology.

The term "globalization" has been used by economists since the 1980s although it was used in social sciences in the 1960s; however, its concepts did not become popular until the latter half of the 1980s and 1990s. Globalization is viewed as a century's long process, tracking the expansion of human population and the growth of civilization that has accelerated dramatically in the past 50 years. Globalization, since World War II, is largely the result of planning by politicians to breakdown borders hampering trade to increase prosperity and interdependence thereby decreasing the chance of future war. Their work led to the Bretton Woods conference, an agreement by the world's leading politicians to lay down the framework for international commerce and finance, and the founding of several international institutions intended to oversee the processes of globalization.

These institutions include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), and the International Monetary Fund. Globalization has been facilitated by advances in technology.

Cultural globalization, driven by communication technology and the worldwide marketing of Western cultural industries, was understood at first as a process of homogenization, as the global domination of American culture at the expense of traditional diversity. However, a contrasting trend soon became evident in the emergence of movements protesting against globalization and giving new momentum to the defense of local uniqueness, individuality, and identity, but largely without success.

Globalization has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways such as:

· Industrial - emergence of worldwide production markets and broader access to a range of foreign products for consumers and companies. Particularly movement of material and goods between and within national boundaries.

· Financial - emergence of worldwide financial markets and better access to external financing for borrowers. As these worldwide structures grew more quickly than any transnational regulatory regime, the instability of the global financial infrastructure dramatically increased, as evidenced by the financial crises of late 2008.

· Economic - realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital. The interconnectedness of these markets however meant that an economic collapse in any one given country could not be contained.

· Political - some use "globalization" to mean the creation of a world government, which regulate the relationships among governments and guarantees the rights arising from social and economic globalization. Politically, the United States has enjoyed a position of power among the world powers; in part because of its strong and wealthy economy.

· Informational - increase in information flows between geographically remote locations. Arguably this is a technological change with the advent of fibre optic communications, satellites, and increased availability of telephone and Internet.

· Language - the most popular language is English.

o About 75% of the world's mail, telexes, and cables are in English.

o Approximately 60% of the world's radio programs are in English.

o About 90% of all Internet traffic uses English.

· Cultural - growth of cross-cultural contacts; advent of new categories of consciousness and identities which embodies cultural diffusion, the desire to increase one's standard of living and enjoy foreign products and ideas, adopt new technology and practices, and participate in a "world culture".

· Ecological- the advent of global environmental challenges that might be solved with international cooperation, such as climate change, water and air pollution, over-fishing of the ocean, and the spread of invasive species. Since many factories are built in developing countries with less environmental regulation, globalism and free trade may increase pollution.

· Social - increased circulation by people of all nations with fewer restrictions.

o Spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity. \

o Greater international travel and tourism

o Greater immigration, including illegal immigration

o Spread of local consumer products (e.g. food) to other countries (often adapted to their culture).

o Worldwide fads and pop culture.

o Worldwide sporting events such as the Olympic Games.

· Technical

o Development of a global telecommunications infrastructure and greater transborder data flow, using such technologies as the Internet, communication satellites and wireless telephones

Globalization - the growing integration of economies and societies around the world - has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in international economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in China, India, and other countries that were poor 20 years ago, has been a positive aspect of globalization. But globalization has also generated significant international opposition over concerns that it has increased inequality and environmental degradation.