Globalization, Its Causes and Effects on The World

This essay will discuss globalization which is a process that refers to international integration among countries, economies, regions, and individuals in order to create a global network. Examples of globalization which occur in real life will be given as well as what causes it and the impact it might have. There are both advantages and disadvantages as a result of globalization, however, I believe that it has been, for the most part, beneficial for the world and the people.

Globalization is a cultural, legal, political and social phenomenon which results in the expansion of international cultural, economic development, political activities. One may consider it being a cultural phenomenon since globalization represents the exchange of culture, language, ideas, knowledge, and technology, among cultures. This leads to greater interactions between different populations. Legally, globalization has impacted how international law is created, enforced, and conserved. Moreover, politics has also been affected, as a result of globalization, because it has given attention to intergovernmental organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). Countries’ economics, cultures, and societies have flourished at an exceptional level globally. This includes the global networks of communication, trade, transportation, and immigration. It becomes easier to familiarize oneself with others as goods, people, knowledge, and ideas flow easily around the globe, causing a sense of unity. Globalization is not a new concept. Traders traveled great distances in order to buy goods that were expensive and perhaps rare to find in their homelands. During the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, it brought advances in transportation and communication that eased trade across borders and have since continued to develop.

Aforementioned, globalization results in developments in various aspects, for instance, international cultural, economic development, political activities. Countries’ economics, cultures, and societies have flourished at an exceptional level globally. This includes the global networks of communication, trade, transportation, and immigration. It becomes easier to familiarize oneself with others as goods, people, knowledge, and ideas flow easily around the globe, causing a sense of unity. This can be seen in the convergence theory which states “states that as nations transition from the beginning stages of industrialization to highly industrialized nations, the same societal patterns will emerge, eventually creating a global culture”. Furthermore, globalization has lead to more people to have urbanized into cities, and with that, the job market has changed quite drastically. Seeing as people moved away from the agricultural (periphery) landscapes and workforce to cities where the division of labor is focused on more innovative jobs (core). People are now living longer due to better health care and antibiotics, more children survive after they are born, and the parents can also count on the newborn child to survive. Another important consequence of globalization is the technology which has been improved rough innovation, most notably in accordance with the space-time convergent theory - the theory that has granted nations to be brought closer through improved ease of communications and transportation.

As indicate, globalization has affected the world in several different ways, however, if one was solely looking on some positive consequences’ globalization has brought. One major point is that it allows for open lines of communication meaning that people have the ability to communicate with one another more easily. By sharing of culture, and money, and products, between countries that are happening because of international trade, and advances in transportation and communication creates a sense of unity amongst the people. Globalization also encourages free trade. For that reason, consumers can purchase more goods globally at a reduced cost. This will, in turn, lead to businesses creating more work opportunities for individuals. As a result, globalization can raise the standard of living on less developed and poorer countries, when providing opportunities such as work, modernization, with technology, and improved access to goods and services. Lastly, competition between companies will increase with free trade, causing the price of goods to decrease and more products being purchased, which will benefit the consumers and might stimulate additional growth.

There are also disadvantages to Globalization. Billions of people have not benefitted from this economic prosperity. Hans Rosling made this point “The 1 to 2 billion poorest in the world, who don't have food for the day, suffer from the worst disease: globalization deficiency. The way globalization is occurring could be much better, but the worst thing is not being part of it. For those people, we need to support good civil societies and governments.” As I mentioned earlier, job opportunities can be created through globalism, although, they tend to be created in areas where labor cost are the cheapest, which is mostly in less developed and poorer countries. Companies want to produce the cheapest goods and do not need to follow the same rules as more developed countries when they produce goods in poorer countries. Therefore, they give the workers a minimum wage and fewer benefits. One of the strongest arguments against globalization is its negative impact on the environment and its lack of sustainability. Many experts believe that the planet cannot sustain an increasingly global economy, especially if the increased living standards leads people to purchase and demand more consumer goods like clothes and technology. When production and consumption increases globally, consumers use more resources, for instance, water and fossil fuel. Combined with the constant use of airplanes, boats, cars, and other vehicles emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is the main cause of global warming. Further examples of what globalization have caused are climate change, deforestation, and pollution. This has already resulted in climate change and will only rise.

A t-shirt follows one side of globalization. The waving of cotton takes place in lower-wage countries such as China, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Vietnam etc. because it’s cheaper compared to produces the in more developed countries. The finished shirts also called blanks, are sent back to Europe or to the United States to be screen printed. The blanks are then sold to any nation globally. China and India are among the greatest examples of nations that have benefited from globalization, however, there are also many other countries which are fast-growing in Asia, such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

In conclusion, globalization can be defined as being the sharing of culture, products, services, and money among countries, by the reason for international trade and improvements in technology, transportation, and communication. Globalization leads to more affordable products which are accessible for more people, and fewer people live in poverty. However, some disadvantages with globalization are that people, and the environment often suffers. It can reduce job opportunities in more developed countries as the production of goods moves across borders to where production is cheaper leading to people working for little money in less developed countries. Ecological problems such as global warming and climate change is another disadvantage brought by globalization. The topic of globalization can be very difficult and controversial to discuss since it brings both disadvantages and advantages. However, are the advantages greater than the disadvantages? It is hard to say, however, in my opinion, I believe it has for the most part been beneficial for the world and the people at this time.

References

1. Deese, D. A. (2017). Globalization: causes and effects. Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315254050/globalization-causes-effects-david-deese)
2. Garrett, G. (2000). The causes of globalization. Comparative political studies, 33(6-7), 941-991. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/001041400003300610)
3. Gomory, R. E., & Shapiro, H. T. (2003). Globalization: Causes and effects. Issues in Science and Technology, 19(4), 18-20. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/43312343)
4. Frankel, J. A. (2000). Globalization of the Economy. (https://www.nber.org/papers/w7858)
5. Malone, T. C., & Newton, A. (2020). The globalization of cultural eutrophication in the coastal ocean: causes and consequences. Frontiers in Marine Science, 670. (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00670/full?utm_source=fweb&ut)