Globalisation, an Investigation by Looking at Its Origins and Effects

When we think of the term globalisation, we think of				instituted by Gorbachev resulted in open criticism of
it as a popular phrase that is coined by the media,				the communist regime. Without free market forces
the government and in society to describe the state				operating in Russia the economy was unable to
of affairs; in what Anthony Giddens, a renowned				develop significantly. Since the collapse of communism
British Sociologist describes as the "period of late				Russia has been integrated into the global community
modernity".				and has been seen as a valuable trading partner with
In this investigation we will firstly look at exactly				its vast oil reserves.
what globalisation is from an economic, technological				Globalisation has seen the development of
and socio-political perspective. Secondly we will look				international and regional mechanisms of government.
at the origins of globalisation and the impact				The European Union and the United Nations are the
globalisation has had upon the individual and society.				two most obvious. The European Union has seen not
We will then look at the advantages and				only political integration but economic integration with
disadvantages globalisation has had.				some member states adopting the single European
Finally we will then draw conclusions based upon the				currency. Trading tariffs do not exist for member
ramifications that globalisation has had from a social,				states and common European legislation binds
economic and political viewpoint.				members together in political unity.
Globalisation can be described as a "process by which				Globalisation has also seen the rise in IGOs and
regional economies, societies and cultures have				INGO's. An IGO is a body that is established by
become integrated through a globe-spanning network				governments to give responsibility for a given activity
of communication and trade".				or area, for example with waste disposal. INGOs
Globalisation can be thought of as the 'coming				differ as they are not related or affiliated to any
together' of nations to form a global community.				national level of government. INGOs are independent
Barriers to trade are broken down (such as with the				that work alongside government bodies in making
GATT agreement), capital controls are reduced or				policy and addressing international issues.
abolished and transportation costs are reduced such				So what has been the impact of globalisation on
as with the container based ocean shipping. Anthony				developed countries? From an economic point of
Giddens (1990: 64) has described globalisation as 'the				view the Internet has brought about a revolution in
intensification of worldwide social relations which link				how we can trade. Goods can be purchased online
distant localities in such a way that local happenings				and shipped to anywhere in the world. Small
are shaped by events occurring many miles away				businesses have more easily been able to trade online
and vice versa'. This involves a change in the way we				and promote their products and services. This ease
understand geography and experience localness.				of trade has brought about significant wealth
Globalisation also sees the creation of supranational				particularly for Internet based entrepreneurs such as
intellectual property restrictions, for example patents				the founders of Google and Hotmail to mention but a
that are recognised from country to country. The				few.
phrase the "global village" has been used to describe				There have been negative impacts though as a
the result of globalisation, where particularly through				results of globalisation. The increase in trading has
technology such as the Internet we have all become				taken its toll on the environment. Developing
inexorably linked.				countries such as China although have taken
When we look at globalisation we can, it can be				advantage of the outsourcing of work there have
argued be mislead into thinking of it as a modern				seen increased levels of pollution. According to the
phenomena. It can be said that the origins to				sources china is "opening two coal power stations per
globalisation date as far back as the industrial				week". This is to meet the ever increasing demand
revolution where the social and economic changes in				for energy needed by industry and domestic
Europe, for example the moving from an agricultural				customers alike.
and rural economy to a capitalist economy. This was				Other economic consequences as a result of
only made possible due to the technological				globalisation are the loss of jobs to developing
advancement made during the 12th and 13th				countries such as China and India, where labour costs
centuries.				are cheaper. A lot of American and British based
The development of the European economy it can				countries opt to have their products manufactured
be said during the industrial revolution was a				abroad to save money and hence increase profits.
significant factor in the development of what we				The globalisation of the world is stimulating massive
now know as Glidden's post modernity version of				amounts of investment by the transnational
globalisation.				corporations which are "acting like a dynamo to
It can be argued that there are principally three main				produce more jobs and higher profits world wide".
catalysts of globalisation they are:				Often workers rights are not agreed and working
1) Technological factors				conditions of those in developing countries
2) Economic factors				manufacturing work out sourced by that of
3) Political factors				developed countries is poor. Brands such as Nike
Let us consider the technological factors firstly. The				often portray a false image. Branded goods are
internet that was created in 1973 by the United				manufactured in the far-east in 'sweat shops' where
States defence advanced research projects agency				employees work for very low wages.
(DARPA) to investigate techniques and technologies				Jobs are often moved from country to country by
for interlinking packet networks of various kinds. It				large trans national organisations so therefore
has steadily evolved since then becoming available in				employees are often only employed on a temporary
the 1980s, becoming more mainstream in the public				basis, money therefore flows from one country to
arena in the early 1990s. The Internet has resulted in				the next as factories and jobs are transferred from
an 'explosion' in global communications and information.				one to country to the next, with investment being
Through technologies such as email and instant				given and taken away.
messaging information can be transmitted around the				Globalisation has attributed to the gap between the
globe virtually instantaneously.				rich and the poor widening. Unskilled workers suffer
Information is easily accessible online and can be				mostly in developed economies, as the bargaining
shared easily. What once took days or weeks to				power of the worker has been significantly
share can be shared globally within seconds. People				decreased by globalisation. Governments are
have subsequently become more informed due to				subsequently being pressured to provide 'safety nets'
the increased availability of information.				for unskilled worker in the forms of benefits, by
The 24 hour media has also been made possible				institutions such as the organisation for economic
through satellite technology. Events happening in				co-operation and development.
other countries such as the war in Afghanistan can				In contrast underdeveloped nation states such as
be transmitted around the world on a 24 hour basis				India and China are seeing the benefits of
to people who have access to a cable or satellite TV				globalisation as transnational corporations are keen to
service or even the internet. Individuals have become				take advantage of the vast pools of cheap labour.
more aware of other news and are aware of events				China, Russia, India and Brazil account for 45% of the
happening elsewhere.				world labour supply compared to countries such as
This increased level of awareness during the post				the United States, Japan and much of Europe.
modernist era has resulted in the transformation of				So we have seen that globalisation has lead to
individuals thinking from the level of the nation state				individuals being exploited in the job markets, but
to the global stage. For example during periods of				what other impact has globalisation had apart from
natural disaster such as the earthquake in Haiti there				economic? Certainly the information revolution has
was a collective global response, as it suddenly				lead to more public awareness, global community and
became a 'problem of the world'. This is because				responsibility that can only be deemed as a positive
individuals increasingly perceive these situations as a				consequence to both the individual and society. The
collective response rather than a problem for a single				internet has emerged as the fastest growing
nation state to deal with.				communications tool ever developed. It currently has
Economic factors have also been a catalyst for				over 1 billion users. There has been a shift to the
globalisation, for example the formation of institutions				global outlook society is more aware of events in
such as the International Bank for reconstruction; and				other countries due to the increased information flow.
development of the International monetary fund				It can be argued that those with access to
which has been "on the front lines of lending to				information can potentially be more educated and
countries.				more informed.
These institutions provided the framework for				Individuals as a result of globalisation and the
internal commerce and finance to help the economies				electronic economy can purchase goods more easily.
of nation states develop.				Money can be transferred more quickly at the 'click
Economic and financial globalisation and the expansion				of a mouse', business transactions also such as the
of world trade have brought substantial benefits to				buying and selling of shares. Social media has evolved
countries around the world. The current credit crunch				around the information age to allow individuals living
as resulted in globalisation to effectively stand still				across the world to keep in touch, by sharing regular
with capital flows reversing and global trade shrinking				updates and photos with friends and loved ones.
due to the reduction in the availability of credit.				Other negative effects of globalisation are the
Manuel Castells (1996) has argued that in the last				emergence of the 'big brother state' with
twenty years or so of the twentieth century, a new				government institutions able to keep more
economy emerged around the world. He				information about individuals through use of modern
characterizes it as a new brand of capitalism that has				technology. Political unity brought about by
three main features:				globalisation such as with the European Union
1) Productivity and Competitiveness				transfers sovereignty away from the nation state
2) Management and distribution				into the hands of a central body such as the
3) Networks of production				European parliament.
Since the end of the Second World War globalisation				Developing countries such as China have unwelcomed
has largely been orchestrated by politicians. It can be				this and have seen this as a negative result of
argued that political factors have been one of the				globalisation. Google, the search engine giant was
most significant factors in the creation of globalisation.				recently asked to censor search results but refused
The motivations for creating globalisation were to				bringing it into confrontation with the country's
prevent further world conflict and to break down				authorities.
barriers to trade. In July 1944 a conference was held				To conclude we see that technology and political
known as the Bretton Woods conference where 730				orchestration have been paramount in bringing about
delegates from 44 allied national assembled. This is				globalisation. It has had a profound effect on
where the plans for the world financial framework				developed and undeveloped countries alike, with
were created. Plans were drawn up and agreed to				there being a multitude of advantages and
create the international bank for reconstruction and				disadvantages ranging from loss of political
development, the international monetary fund and				sovereignty of nation states with the political
the general agreement of tariff and trade.				integration such as the European Union, the creation
Current globalisation is related to political change				of jobs in undeveloped countries, the loss of jobs in
across the globe. For example, the collapse of the				developed countries and the explosion of information
Soviet Union. Globalisation played a significant part.				exchange.
Greater political, social and economic freedoms

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Globalisation, an Investigation by Looking at Its Origins and Effects