Media and the History of Globalization
Introduction
Globalization is one of the major forces that is impacting the global economy today. Globalization refers to the tendency of businesses moving out of their home markets and enteringother markets resulting in the interconnectedness of markets around the world. The term globalization is not limited to businesses alone. It also refers to the interchange of ideas, products, world views, and cultural aspects. Even though the term was coined in the recent past, globalization is not a recent phenomenon. The process of globalization of economies has started some thousands of years ago. But the process gained momentum since the 18th century due to the advancements in science and technology and the invention of steam engines and wireless communications.
Modern media too has played a significant in globalization. While the advent of print media has increased the basic dissemination of information, spread of other modern media channels like Radio and Television has further accentuated the flow of information around the world. The current advancements that are seen in social media channels have made it possible to connect more number of people easily and thereby enjoy the fruit of a globalized economy. The current paper looks into the evolution of the globalization process over the time and the impact of media in increasing the globalization process around the world.
Definition of Globalization
As mentioned in the introduction section above, globalization refers to the practice where businesses start acting across the borders and satisfy the needs of the global customers. Since the time was first coined, a number of definitions were given to it by scholars. One of the standard definitions of globalization was given by the world famous economist Malcom Waters. According to Malcolm Waters Globalization refers to “A social process in which the constraints of geography on social arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding” (Lie, 1996). According to Hochschild (2006), globalization consist of two main aspects, viz. increased ‘economic and political interdependence’ and ‘cultural homogenization’. Hochschild also opines that globalization is a historical process with long routes in the history starting from the Hellenistic era.
Evolution of Globalization
As mentioned above, globalization is not a recent phenomenon, it has emerged over a long period of time I multiple stages. According to Estok and Bzdilova (2011), globalization is a historical process which cannot be associated with any single global event or time period in the history. The actual roots of globalization lie in the times when there were no sea routed discovered between the Europe and Asia. Noam Chomsky argues that the term globalization was often wrongly used to represent the neo liberal form of globalization. According to him many proponents of globalization fail to understand the long history of globalization that has started thousands of years ago. According to many researchers and historians, the process of globalization can be divided into three different stages:
- Archaic globalization
- Proto-globalization
- Modern globalization
Each of the above three stages of globalization proposed by historians are explained in detail below:
Archaic Globalization
Archaic globalization refers to one of the earliest forms of globalization when the first cross-cultural ties had emerged between the countries. One of the main advocated of archaic globalization theory is the Economist Andre Gunder Frank. Frank proposes that archaic globalization has started since the first trading links between the ancient civilizations of Indus Valley and Sumer were established millennia ago (Frank,1998). In the archaic form of globalization, it was the countries and empires that have started the process of globalization. When the ancient empires started expanding their boundaries they occupied other countries and initiated trading ties with them. Development of agriculture in the middle-east has advanced globalization as people could start trading their agricultural produce.
In archaic globalization, that prevailed during the Hellenistic Age, a number of commercial urban centres existed around the Greek city states stretching over a wide range of area from India to Spain. These city states like Athens and Alexandria used to trade between themselves both by land and sea routes. After a certain period, archaic globalization lead to the development of silk route and other famous trading routes which emerged as the global highways for the international trade. Two other factors that resulted in advancements in globalization were the Islamic Golden Age and the spread of Mongol Empire.
The Islamic Golden Age of the middle ages culminated in a number of advancements in the area of science and technology resulting in a number of production advancements. Advancements in science and technology helped in the mass production of glass and other commodities which was hitherto not possible. Kingdoms of the Middle East started trading their new inventions with others, which resulted in the expansion of global trading ties between the countries. The expansion of Mongol Empire from China in the east to Spain in the west led by Genghis Khan and his successors opened new trading routes during the stage of archaic globalization (Weatherford, 2004). Genghis Khan created one big market without the need for paying any taxes. However, globalization could not progress beyond a certain point due to the limitations of technology and long distance interaction between the empires.
Proto-Globalization
The next stage of globalization,which is commonly referred by economists as proto-globalization started with the rise of maritime European empires. The Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British empires in the 17th century have increased the global trading by setting up the famous sea based global trading routes.The giant European powers of the colonial period have set up the world’s first joint stock companies like the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company. These companies with huge financial and military ties have advanced the global trade by popularizing the sea based trading routes between Europe and Asia. After the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, the Portuguese have started establishing trading posts and factories across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These trading posts dealt with the trading of a number of local products like Gold, Spices, and wood.
The proto-globalization that was brought in by the trading powers of Europe had a lasting impression of the world. Trade and commerce were done on professional levels for the first in the history. European colonization of the Americas led to unprecedented exchange of plants, slaves, animals, culture, and communicable diseases between Europe and rest of the world. Many new crops like Potato that were exported from the Americas to the rest of the world starting from the 16th century resulted in a rise of the global population like never before.
Modern Globalization
Modern globalization is the most recent stages of globalizations when countries started to trade with each other more freely and actively. Modern globalization started with the advent of industrialization in Europe. Industrialization resulted in the mass production of a number of goods like textiles, electric equipment, and paper. Even though the globalization during the industrial revolution was open than the proto-globalization, it was shaped by the eighteenth century imperialism. European powers like UK and Spain that had a large number of colonies around the world started dumping their goods on colonies for cheaper prices to make quick profits. The conquest of India and the Opium Wars of China have made these two countries made them the largest markets for UK.
Inventions like the steam ships and wireless communications have given a further boost to globalization by making it easy for countries to transport goods from one place to the other andcommunicate with each other. The first and second world wars have put temporary breaks on globalization as countries could not trade with each other freely. Aspiring colonial powers like Germany and Japan have occupied a number of countries in Europe and Asia. They also controlled some of the world’s most important trading routes for a brief time in history. All these factors resulted in a temporary slowdown of globalization during the war years. The end of the Second World War had again freed up the global trading routes and resulted in the spread of free trade across the world.
The end of western imperialism during the mid-twentieth century was another decisive point in the evolution of globalization. Countries which got independence from the European powers entered the global trade and increased the total trading volumes. The international trading agreements entered between countries after the end of the Second World War like North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and European Union (EU) have given a further boost to globalization during the second part of the twentieth century. The constitution of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is now resulting in a further lowering of trade barriers between the countries. The next leg of globalization between the countries of the world is expected to be led by the spread of Internet and Ecommerce firms like Amazon and Alibaba around the world.
Impact of the Globalization’s three Stages on the World
The different stages of globalization had a tremendous impact on the way people live around the world and the political environment. Impact of globalization was not just limited to the wealth and prosperity of the people in the world. Right from the first archaic stage of globalization, it has impacted the culture, prosperity, and politics of the world. During the first stage of globalization, the impact of globalization was mostly limited to increasing the contacts between people living in different parts of the world and in facilitating the exchange of goods from one place to the other. As very few traders could move from one place to the other, globalization could not impact the political and cultural environments of countries around the world. During the archaic globalization stage, very few countries with the capacity to manufacture unique goods and rare raw materials could export goods to other countries and get prosperous.
However, during the second proto-globalization stage, globalization was mostly spearheaded by big companies backed by their respective royal charters. Unlike in the first stage of globalization, the proto-globalization had a tremendous impact on the cultural, political, and social life of people around the world. The companies that led the second stage of globalization had huge armies at their disposal (The Economist, 2011). They focused on expanding their trade around the world by occupying countries and converting them into their colonies. The East Indian Company had its own civil service and ruled big countries like India by appointing its viceroys. One of the major economic impacts of the second stage of globalization was the transfer of wealth from some of the most prosperous places in the East to the western countries. For example, it is argued that the plunder of Bengal has funded the industrial revolution in Britain (Nehru, 1946).
As the big royal chartered companies ruled the colonies, it also had a tremendous impact on the social cultural life of people around the world. English and French have grown to be the global languages spoken by a number of people. Proto Globalization has also led to the spread of western values and the western education system to places like Latin America and India. The cultural lives of people too were deeply impacted due to the advancing globalizing forces. For example, the caste system of India, which segregated the people depending upon their occupations, was uprooted due to the spread of western culture and civilization. Many people who were ruled by the western powers during the times of globalization, started adopting western clothing and dining habits that had a significant impact on the social fabric of their countries.
Despite being the most recent one, it is the last modern globalization that had the most significant influence on people living around the world. Modern globalization has impacted every walk of people’s life. However, the most significant impacts of globalization had been economic. Unlike the first two stages of globalization where the key beneficiaries were a few western countries, the final stage of globalization had brought benefits to both the eastern and western countries of the world. Globalization helped many small countries to access global markets freely and increase their trading revenues. As a result of globalization, the incomes and standard of living of people living in many poor parts of the world had improved significantly. For example, China’s rise to the status of a global power has been mostly attributed to the increase in its income levels due to globalization. China, which had the world’s highest number of poor people in the year 1980 had successfully lifted 680 million of its citizens out of poverty by the year 2010 (The Economist, 2013). The final stage of globalization has brought prosperity to people living in many other countries of the world like India and Africa.
The last stage of globalization also has a significant on the political, social, and cultural lives of people living around the world. As people became more prosperous they started demanding for democracy and more accountable governments. Democracy had spread to many places like India and Latin America due to the increased demands and expectations of the people. People around the world have also started adopting western style consumption habits.
Globalization and Media
One of the dominant forces that had spearheaded the spread of globalization around the world was media. A number of media channels like starting with newspapers have made it easier for people to trace into the matters related to globalization (Fiss & Hirsch, 2005). Mass media channels like Newspapers and TV are perceived to be playing key role in increasing the pace of globalization (Carolina, 2012). Mass media channels make the people aware regarding the benefits of globalization and make them demand their governments to open up their economies to foreign participation.
The recent general elections that were held in India were a clear manifestation of the positive impact that media can have on globalization. Young voters who were fed up with the slow growth rates that the economy has witnessed for one decade preceding 2014, demanded a more open economy by electing a new pro growth BJP party led by the reform oriented Narendra Modi as the prime minister.
More than the conventional media channels, it is the modern social media channels that are spearheading a change among the people and have a positive effect on globalization. Unlike the conventional media channels, the flow of information through social media cannot be obstructed by governments in the world. This has made the flow of information seamless across the borders.
Conclusion
Globalization is an economic force that has touched the lives of each and every person on the planet in the recent past. While some critics argue about the ill effects of globalization, it is beyond doubt that it has brought peace and prosperity to a number of people around the world. As specified in the current paper, globalization is not a recent phenomenon, but had its origins thousands of years back when the first civilizations in the world were taking their shape. The current technological advancements like Internet and social media have just increased the pace of globalization.
Ecommerce companies like Alibaba have made it easier for businesses to procure their components from around the world. Governments need to work together to lessen the ill effects of globalization while ensuring that its fruits reach all sections of people. It is beyond doubt that some of the more modern technological advancements like project loon from Google will make it easier for people to connect with the outside world and get integrated into the global economy. More than the globalization of countries and the globalization of businesses, it is the globalization of people that will decide the future of globalization. It is the ability and freedom for people to interact with each other that will form the fourth stage of globalization.
References
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