Globalization is defined as “the process of international integration due to the interchange of world views, products, ideas and mutual sharing and other aspects of culture” (Albrow and King, 1990). Advances in technology, especially in transportation and communication, have helped bring about globalization. While humans have interacted over long distances for millennia, large-scale globalization could be said to have been triggered in the 19th century.
One special aspect of globalization has been the creation of the world economy. The globalization of economies across the globe means that there is now an economic interdependence among the economies of many nations. This has been facilitated by international trade, and the international economic transactions. Today, an ordinary individual residing in one country can own stock in a company in another country. Numerous agreements sanctioned by the World Trade Organization and other international economic and trade agreements have endeavored to eliminate tariffs and other obstacles to free trade such that goods and services may flow unimpeded from one country to another. An example of a country that has opened up itself and endeavored to integrate itself into the world economy is China. As early as in the 1980s, the country began to work on improving its state-owned enterprises, and also began to accept foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the country. The presence of foreign companies and their investments resulted in the improvement of the goods and services and their compliance to international standards. As a result, China is one of the world’s largest economies today (Brandt and Rawski, 2008).
Sociology and anthropology experts also state that there has been a globalization of culture. This is the process of the exchange of ideas, values and other meanings around the world such that social relations are facilitated and cultivated. This has been aided by the Internet, especially with the diffusion of pop culture ideas, and the increased affordability of international travel. An example of this phenomenon is the global presence of the American food and beverage chains McDonalds and Starbucks. Thus, people around the globe are said to have developed a taste for the lattes, macchiatos, as well as for Big Macs and French Fries (Steger, 2009). There is thus a blending of the home culture with the elements of a foreign culture in countries around the world today.
As for the physical landscape, globalization has brought about the rapid urbanization of cities, especially for coastal cities in Asia. It is stated that as of 2008, about half of the world’s population of over 6 billion people now live in highly urbanized cities. These cities lure people with the promise of an improved quality of life. However, not all cities have been able to be prepared for the influx of migrants – a severe lack of infrastructure and economic opportunities leads to the creation of slums. These slum dwellers oftentimes do not have access to water, sanitation, and even to the basic services that city governments should offer to their constituents (National Geographic, 2016).
Thus one could say that in terms of the overall landscape of the planet, globalization places more physical demands on the planet. To satisfy the needs of the growing population, and the growing needs of technology enhancements that are demanded around the world, the planet’s resources are slowly dwindling. Therefore leaders and governments around the world must work together to create and implement more sustainable practices that would ensure a consistent supply of renewable resources for the world’s population. With globalization comes the need for sustainable development (Wandemberg, 2015). There must be common goals among nations, and in the pursuit of these common goals, the practices and processes for creating renewable resources that would sustain future populations while protecting the environment must be created and utilized.
References
Albrow, M. and King, E. 1990. Globalization, Knowledge and Society. London, UK: Sage.
Brandt, L. and Rawski, T. 2008. China’s Great Economic Transformation. NY: Cambridge University Press.
National Geographic. 2016. Asia Leads a Rapid Urban Shift. Retrieved 22 February 2016 from: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse/population.html
Steger, M. 2009. Globalization. NY: Sterling Publishing.
Wandemberg, J. 2015. Economic Development and Natural Resources Use. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform
