So…..Globalisation. The word means many different things to many different people. From the opening up of all the world’s peoples, cultures and ideas (and the endless possibilities for learning that creates), to the inevitable distillation of thousands of cultures into one overarching way of life due to modern global communication networks (and the explosive clash of religious and social viewpoints that creates), to the sinister imposition of capitalism and commercialism onto every untouched corner of our planet (and the fierce political resistance that creates).
Whichever angle you’re coming from, globalisation’s an evocative word. Because of its myriad interpretations and connotations, using the word either positively or negatively can often end in miscommunication and resistance. Let’s try to break it down and try to understand whether globalisation’s an enabler or a hurdle on the World Peace Adventure.
History of Globalisation: Although the term globalisation is relatively recent, the concept is as old as man coming out of his cave to see what was over the next hill (then trying to either kill it or trade with it). From the very earliest indications of civilization, there has been evidence of trade. It’s just what people do. The people of Ancient Sumer had contact with the Indus Valley Civilisations. The Ancient Greeks had trade networks from Egypt to Spain. The Roman Empire, the Chinese Han Dynasty, the Islamic Golden Age – all reached out to extend their influence and stir the global melting pot. The Silk Road traversed Asia, Africa and Europe leading not only to the exchange of goods and products but to exchanges of ideas, cultures, philosophies, religion, language, craft and artwork across continents. A good thing, right?
Fast forward to the 15th and 16th Centuries and the Age of Discovery: European voyages to the new world of the Americas and beyond paved the way for a further global movement of goods, people and ideas (not to mention the spread of slavery and disease). The Colonialism of the 16th-20th Centuries produced Western-European land grabs into Asia, Africa and the Americas and cynical trade and tax policies aimed at limiting trade from the occupied country to the coloniser at the expense of rival colonial powers.
Technology advanced as the years and centuries rolled by…..steamships and railroads made long-distance travel faster and easier…..trade restrictions eased up…..the telephone made long-distance communication possible in an instant…..television opened the world’s eyes…..road vehicles and airlines became commonplace and reduced travel time further…..the internet connected billions in ways unthinkable just decades earlier, new advances coming faster and faster on the heels of the last. In the 21st Century, the entire world is connected. Whether you’re talking economic globalisation or social globalisation, neither is an abstract theory or a work in progress; globalisation has happened.
Towards the end of World War 2, at the American Bretton Woods conference in 1944, the national governments of the soon-to-be-victorious Allied Powers helped lay the foundations for future international monetary policy, reduced trade barriers and international institutions to facilitate economic growth. Bretton Woods was designed to create transparency and financial order under a capitalist economic model in the post-war world and led to powerful institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) being established.
By the late 20th Century, multinational enterprises (business brands such as McDonalds, Toyota, Sony, Shell, Starbucks, BP, etc) had taken full advantage of the new opportunities created by these frameworks and expanded their businesses rapidly across the world. Bretton Woods enabled a much-accelerated economic globalisation that effectively integrated the world economy into a global marketplace where regulation has at times struggled to keep up – today, international trade occurs at all levels with ease across borders via the internet.
Impact of Globalisation: Does all this sound fine? Simply a continuation of our natural trend towards trading; albeit faster, easier and over larger geographic areas? Why then is there such a large and angry ‘Anti-Globalisation Movement’ that protests loudly and passionately whenever national governments, multinational corporations and the Bretton Woods institutions meet? Why would people resist the inevitable? Isn’t the facilitation of free interaction between all of the word’s people a good thing? Well…..it’s not so black and white.
Putting aside the fact that many people don’t buy into capitalism as the best political model to pursue full stop, the accelerated nature of system-driven economic globalisation has had ‘mixed results’, to say the least. While economic liberalisation in developing countries has, for example, led to millions of people rising out of extreme poverty in India, trade agreements almost always favour wealthy countries over poorer ones and when a country is poor and small, the effects can be disastrous. The poor countries can always get bailed out though. By the Bretton Woods institutions. With conditions.
Unrestricted international commerce, plus limited regulation, plus human nature, also equals greater instances of tax avoidance, political corruption and wealth inequality. In short, the rich get richer – because that’s what people try to do. One could ask: is more wealth being generated by the system for the already-rich really that much of a problem if there’s also more wealth being generated by the system for the poor? Surely everybody wins in that scenario? The short answer is no, but we’ll get back to Wealth Inequality later in the blog. Suffice to say for now that economic globalisation’s increase of worldwide social inequality to many outweighs any overall increase of worldwide wealth generated.
It’s not just the equality impacts of economic globalisation that upset people, either. It’s also that once-isolated communities are no longer unique, that traditional folk music is being lost to homogenised commercial output, that legitimate global environmental concerns caused by increased consumption are being routinely ignored (because to address them would not be profitable), that supra-state institutions are becoming more powerful than nation-states and forcing a Western/ American capitalist and consumerist mind-set onto every part of the world they touch – in short, that the forceful acceleration of globalisation has become nothing short of neo-colonialism by the back door.
While a lot of this Anti-Globalisation anger may be legitimate, it shouldn’t mean we should just crawl back into the cave and hope Globalisation will go away – it won’t. What it does mean is that we as a people need to start thinking of ways to make the world we now live in work equally for everyone, not just helping the few at the top stay there.
To learn more about the disquiet and resentment that Globalisation has created over recent decades (and some alternative approaches), jump to Chapter 79: Anti-Globalisation Movement – content to follow
To learn more about the conference that started all of today’s big global financial regulators (and the effects those institutions have on the world), jump to Chapter 80: Bretton Woods Conference – content to follow
To learn more about the world’s one over-riding economic system and its pros and cons, jump to Chapter 81: Capitalism – content to follow
I’m going a but link-happy but, in case I don’t have the opportunity to pick it up elsewhere, here’s as good a place as any: To learn more about Colonialism, jump to Chapter 82: Colonialism – content to follow
And finally, to get right back to brass tacks and learn more about the history and development of trade itself as a means of human interaction, jump to Chapter 83: Trade – content to follow
