Globalization - Exploratory Essay

The term 'globalisation' has been subjected to a variety of interpretations. Though it may simply mean global interconnectedness, it includes a number of interlinked and complex economic, technological, cultural, environmental and political processes. As a student of Law in A‘levels the idea of how the future will be linked to technology and what pro’s and con’s does it hold for us caught my attention. In the beginning, it was my notion that the advancement in the technology is a result of globalisation.
Globalisation was in essence about integration. If defined in terms of integration of societies, globalisation has been around for a very long time and if defined in terms of integration of nation states, it has been around as long as nation states have been around. Globalisation is not only physical involving the movement of goods, services and people but it also virtual, involving transfer of ideas. If transfer of ideas is included in globalisation, then after the development of internet and the fibre optic in 1990s, globalisation has taken place at an exponential rate.
What has globalisation done for the world:
There has been dramatic change, economic, political and ideological, with globalisation and looking at financial, labour, trade and aid flows, on average it has done immense good. The change has nonetheless been different for different societies.
The evidence for the benefits of globalisation is overwhelming. Many countries have escaped poverty and life expectancy has increased in several countries. Looking at any indicator of development shows that globalisation has been beneficial. Some indicators have deteriorated due to the negative externalities but this extraordinary period of globalisation has brought connectivity which helps us to understand the problems and can help us to manage them.
The concern with globalisation is to do with the fact that not everyone feels that they are benefiting from it. Some of the problems globalisation brings are raising inequality globally and within the countries. Although globalisation has helped developing countries to grow faster bridging the gap between developed and developing countries leading to convergence, the gap between the developed and developing countries and the failed states has widened leading to divergence. Within the countries, the gaps in incomes between the rich and poor have widened. This is primarily because the returns to education and technology are high; the rich can afford technology and education and therefore can gain from globalisation whilst the poor who cannot afford education and technology do not gain.
The other problem related with globalisation is accountability. As everyone is connected and a tiny effect on one side of the world can lead to a huge effect on the other side, much like the butterfly effect, it is difficult to pin point exactly who is to blame for any problems. The problem of accountability is a consequence of hyper connectivity. This can be understood much easily if we look at the recent meltdown of the world’s economy. Millions of peoples lost their jobs and only few of the people and firms were prosecuted.
How globalisation affects economic sector:
The concept of globalisation is closely connected to recent changes in the world economy. The entire industrialised world was hit by an economic crisis in the 1970s. Profits fell sharply and capitalist companies were forced to expand the international nature of their production and trade.
In the 1980s and 1990s capitalist corporations of rich countries have sought to increase their share of the world market by moving capital from country to country. Multinational Companies (MNCs), controlled the world market from developed countries but doing business throughout the world and, are the dominant actors in the world economy.
These MNCs are so rich that in terms of resources they rival the state & rules of international trade as well as domestic economic policies of countries throughout the world have been dramatically changed to meet the needs of free flow of capital, technology and profit across national boundaries.
The international economy has been substantially restructured to remove restrictions on such free flow. International economic and trade organisations like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation are advocating and controlling this process of restructuring and the politics of the states are modified to meet the requirements of these organisations. The thinking, in these institutions is greatly influenced to be 'neoliberal' ideas.
Such ideas had gained popularity in countries like U.K. and U.S.A. in the 1980s and came to replace the ideas of welfare states. Neoliberalism can be interpreted as a new version of individualism. During the process of globalisation neoliberal policies are being implemented in the underdeveloped countries.
What is the role of technology in globalisation:
Information technology was necessary to enable globalisation and this technology emerged from developed countries. It changed the economic relationship between countries because it made knowledge an increasingly important component in the production of goods and services. Knowledge and high tech industries are the fastest growing in the world today and for countries to compete in these sectors they need to invest substantially in education and training. This is easier for some countries than others.
Technology has typically been introduced to developing countries by large multi-national companies doing business there and so the technology used has originated in developed countries, where most of these companies’ research and development takes place. Many argue that this is increasing the power of the MNCs in international markets and weakening the bargaining power of developing countries.
Technology has also enabled the world to become more interconnected, beyond the economic sphere, with greater access to information and communication which is having a profound impact on societies. The International Labor Organization has the following view:
The industrialized countries were the source of the technological revolution that facilitated globalization but that revolution has also had ripple effects on the rest of the global economy. At one level, the new technology changed international comparative advantage by making knowledge an important factor of production. The knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries are the fastest growing sectors in the global economy and successful economic development will eventually require that countries become able to enter and compete in these sectors. This implies that they will have to emphasize investments in education, training and the diffusion of knowledge. International Labor Organization

Globalisation and culture:
Globalisation is also viewed from a cultural perspective and has impacted culture in most parts of the world. Views on whether the overall impact is positive or negative are divided.
Conclusion:
Even though globalization may be a subject of argument, it’s highly unlikely to end any time soon. It would take mass destruction of all modern methods of communication and transport, in addition to all countries taking strong isolationist policies in order to reverse the globalization trends in the world. This doesn’t mean that some nations or people won’t resist what they view as globalization, but you could compare this trend to a runaway train. At this point, there is little to do to stop the communication of minds all over the world through vehicles like the Internet. Even teens and kids are communicating with children from “the four corners” of the globe. It’s therefore unlikely that globalization will experience a downward trend, and will likely continue to influence our world in myriad ways.