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By Tasawor Hussain B.Sc A

Globalization

1 Introduction
Globalization is defined by the spread and integration of people, goods, finance, knowledge and
culture across the planet and aims to expand business operations on a worldwide level. Each of
these dimensions of globalization has advanced since the dawn of civilization, at a pace
determined by the available technologies for transport and communications.
It is generally used to refer to economic globalization: the global distribution of the production of
goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export
fees, and import quotas and the reduction of restrictions on the movement of capital and on
investment. Globalization may contribute to economic growth in developed and developing
countries through increased specialization and the principle of comparative advantage.The term
can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, and popular culture.
2 History of Globalization and Current
There are as many beginning points of globalization as there are definitions of it, in part due to
the fact that different definitions have different starting points. Nayan Chanda from the Yale
Center of the Study of Globalization estimates globalization began 8000 years ago, because at
that time all the forces that would push globalization forward was already in place. Chanda wrote
the following in his 2007 book Bound Together: "Essentially, the basic motivations that
propelled humans to connect with others - the urge to profit by trading, the drive to spread
religious belief, the desire to exploit new lands, and the ambition to dominate other by armed
might - all had been assembled by 6000 BCE to start the process we now call globalization".
The World Bank states that there have been three 'waves' of globalization. The first began in
1870 and ended at the beginning of World War I in 1914. It was characterized by a reduction in
trade barriers and and improvement in transportation technologies, which resulted in major
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migration of about 10% of the world's population. The next wave occurred from 1950 to 1980
during which multiple trade agreements occurred between developed nations which left out the
developing world. The final(and current) wave of globalization(beginning 1980) in contrast has
been characterized by the willingness of developed nations to remove trade barriers in order to
attract foreign capital.
In a 2002 article in European Review of Economic History, Kevin H. O'Rourke and Jeffrey G.
Williamson calculated a starting date for globalization by analyzing four centuries of data. Their
theory was that globalization would be characterized by the fact that the prices of goods and
services are determined by global supply and demand. Therefor price levels in different countries
should be similar as globalization progressed. O'Rourke and Williamson used data from 1565 to
1936, and found that price convergence started around 1820.
3 Opponents of Globalization
Opponents of globalization point out to its negative effects. Some of them are listed below.
Developed nations have outsourced manufacturing and white collar jobs. That means less
jobs for their people. This has happened because manufacturing work is outsourced to
developing nations like China where the cost of manufacturing goods and wages are
lower. Programmers, editors, scientists and accountants have lost their jobs due to
outsourcing to cheaper locations like India.
Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to
work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods.
Job insecurity. Earlier people had stable, permanent jobs. Now people live in constant
dread of losing their jobs to competition. Increased job competition has led to reduction
in wages and consequently lower standards of living.
Terrorists have access to sophisticated weapons enhancing their ability to inflict damage.
Terrorists use the Internet for communicating among themselves.
Companies have set up industries causing pollution in countries with poor regulation of
pollution.
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Fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC are spreading in the developing world. People
are consuming more junk food from these joints which has an adverse impact on their
health.
The benefits of globalization are not universal. The rich are getting richer and the poor
are becoming poorer.
Bad aspects of foreign cultures are affecting the local cultures through TV and the
Internet.
Enemy nations can spread propaganda through the Internet.
Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of
the globe.
Local industries are being taken over by foreign multinationals.
The increase in prices has reduced the government's ability to sustain social welfare
schemes in developed countries.
There is increase in human trafficking.
Multinational Companies and corporations which were previously restricted to
commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions.
References
Globalization and Development guide http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/globalisation
Resistance to Globalization: Cycles and Evolutions in the Globalization Protest Movement, p. 2.
http://yourknowledge.hubpages.com/
http://wiki.answers.com