What is Globalization?

All Definitions of Globalization

A Simple Globalization Definition

Globalization means the speedup of movements and exchanges (of human

beings, goods, and services, capital, technologies or cultural practices) all over the
planet. One of the effects of globalization is that it promotes and increases interactions
between different regions and populations around the globe.

An Official Definition of Globalization by the World Health Organization

(WHO)

According to WHO, globalization can be defined as ” the increased

interconnectedness and interdependence of peoples and countries. It is generally
understood to include two inter-related elements: the opening of international borders to
increasingly fast flows of goods, services, finance, people and ideas; and the changes
in institutions and policies at national and international levels that facilitate or promote
such flows.”

What Is Globalization in the Economy?

According to the Committee for Development Policy (a subsidiary body of the United

Nations), from an economic point of view, globalization can be defined as:
“(…) the increasing interdependence of world economies as a result of the growing
scale of cross-border trade of commodities and services, the flow of international capital
and the wide and rapid spread of technologies. It reflects the continuing expansion and
mutual integration of market frontiers (…) and the rapid growing significance of
information in all types of productive activities and marketization are the two major
driving forces for economic globalization.”

What Is Globalization in Geography?

In geography, globalization is defined as the set of processes (economic, social,

cultural, technological, institutional) that contribute to the relationship between societies
and individuals around the world. It is a progressive process by which exchanges and
flows between different parts of the world are intensified.

Globalization and the G20: What is the G20?

The G20 is a global bloc composed by the governments and central bank governors
from 19 countries and the European Union (EU). Established in 1999, the G20 gathers
the most important industrialized and developing economies to discuss international
economic and financial stability. Together, the nations of the G20 account for around
80% of global economic output, nearly 75 percent of all global trade, and about two-
thirds of the world’s population.

G20 leaders get together in an annual summit to discuss and coordinate pressing global
issues of mutual interest. Though economics and trade are usually the centerpieces of
each summit’s agenda, issues like climate change, migration policies, terrorism, the
future of work, or global wealth are recurring focuses too. Since the G20 leaders
represent the “political backbone of the global financial architecture that secures open
markets, orderly capital flows, and a safety net for countries in difficulty”, it is often
thanks to bilateral meetings during summits that major international agreements are
achieved and that globalization is able to move forward.
The joint action of G20 leaders has unquestionably been useful to save the global
financial system in the 2008/2009 crisis, thanks to trade barriers removal and the
implementation of huge financial reforms. Nonetheless, the G20 was been struggling to
be successful at coordinating monetary and fiscal policies and unable to root out tax
evasion and corruption, among other downsides of globalization. As a result of this and
other failures from the G20 in coordinating globalization, popular, nationalist movements
across the world have been defending countries should pursue their interests alone or
form fruitful coalitions.

How Do We Make Globalization More Just?

The ability of countries to rise above narrow self-interest has brought unprecedented
economic wealth and plenty of applicable scientific progress. However, for different
reasons, not everyone has been benefiting the same from globalization and
technological change: wealth is unfairly distributed and economic growth came at huge
environmental costs. How can countries rise above narrow self-interest and act together
or designing fairer societies and a healthier planet? How do we make globalization more
just?
According to Christine Lagarde, former President of the International Monetary Fund,
“debates about trade and access to foreign goods are as old as society itself ” and
history tells us that closing borders or protectionism policies are not the way to go, as
many countries doing it have failed.

Lagarde defends we should pursue globalization policies that extend the benefits of
openness and integration while alleviating their side effects. How to make globalization
more just is a very complex question that involves redesigning economic systems. But
how? That’s the question.

Globalization is deeply connected with economic systems and markets, which, on their
turn, impact and are impacted by social issues, cultural factors that are hard to
overcome, regional specificities, timings of action and collaborative networks. All of this
requires, on one hand, global consensus and cooperation, and on the other, country-
specific solutions, apart from a good definition of the adjective “just”.
 When Did Globalization Begin? The History of
Globalization

For some people, this global phenomenon is inherent to human nature. Because of this,
some say globalization begun about 60,000 years ago, at the beginning of human
history. Throughout time, human societies’ exchanging trade has been growing. Since
the old times, different civilizations have developed commercial trade routes and
experienced cultural exchanges. And as well, the migratory phenomenon has also been
contributing to these populational exchanges. Especially nowadays, since traveling
became quicker, more comfortable, and more affordable.
This phenomenon has continued throughout history, notably through military conquests
and exploration expeditions. But it wasn’t until technological advances in transportation
and communication that globalization speeded up. It was particularly after the second
half of the 20th century that world trades accelerated in such a dimension and speed
that the term “globalization” started to be commonly used.

Examples of Globalization (Concept Map)

Because of trade developments and financial exchanges, we often think of globalization
as an economic and financial phenomenon. Nonetheless, it includes a much wider field
than just flowing of goods, services or capital. Often referred to as the globalization
concept map, some examples of globalization are:

 Economic globalization: is the development of trade systems within transnational

actors such as corporations or NGOs. Example
 Financial globalization: can be linked with the rise of a global financial system with
international financial exchanges and monetary exchanges. Stock markets, for instance,
are a great example of the financially connected global world since when one stock
market has a decline, it affects other markets negatively as well as the economy as a
whole.

 Cultural globalization: refers to the interpenetration of cultures which, as a
consequence, means nations adopt principles, beliefs, and costumes of other nations,
losing their unique culture to a unique, globalized supra-culture;

 Political globalization: the development and growing influence of international
organizations such as the UN or WHO means governmental action takes place at an
international level. There are other bodies operating a global level such as NGOs
like Doctors without borders or  Oxfam;

 Sociological globalization: information moves almost in real-time, together with the
interconnection and interdependence of events and their consequences. People move
all the time too, mixing and integrating different societies;

 Technological globalization: the phenomenon by which millions of people are
interconnected thanks to the power of the digital world via platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram, Skype or Youtube.

 Geographic globalization: is the new organization and hierarchy of different regions of
the world that is constantly changing. Moreover, with transportation and flying made so
easy and affordable, apart from a few countries with demanding visas, it is possible to
travel the world without barely any restrictions;

 Ecological globalization: accounts for the idea of considering planet Earth as a single
global entity – a common good all societies should protect since the weather affects
everyone and we are all protected by the same atmosphere. To this regard, it is often
said that the poorest countries that have been polluting the least will suffer the
most from climate change.

The Benefits of Globalization

Globalization has benefits that cover many different areas. It reciprocally developed
economies all over the world and increased cultural exchanges. It also allowed financial
exchanges between companies, changing the paradigm of work. Many people are
nowadays citizens of the world. The origin of goods became secondary and geographic
distance is no longer a barrier for many services to happen. Let’s dig deeper.

The Engine of Globalization – An Economic Example

The most visible impacts of globalization are definitely the ones affecting the economic
world. Globalization has led to a sharp increase in trade and economic exchanges, but
also to a multiplication of financial exchanges.
In the 1970s world economies opened up and the development of free trade policies
accelerated the globalization phenomenon. Between 1950 and 2010, world exports
increased 33-fold. This significantly contributed to increasing the interactions between
different regions of the world.

This acceleration of economic exchanges has led to strong global economic growth. It
fostered as well a rapid global industrial development that allowed the rapid
development of many of the technologies and commodities we have available
nowadays.

Knowledge became easily shared and international cooperation among the brightest
minds speeded things up. According to some analysts, globalization has also
contributed to improving global economic conditions, creating much economic wealth
(thas was, nevertheless, unequally distributed – more information ahead).

Globalization Benefits – A Financial Example

At the same time, finance also became globalized. From the 1980s, driven by neo-
liberal policies, the world of finance gradually opened. Many states, particularly the US
under Ronald Reagan and the UK under Margaret Thatcher introduced the famous “3D
Policy”: Disintermediation, Decommissioning, Deregulation.

The idea was to simplify finance regulations, eliminate mediators and break down the
barriers between the world’s financial centers. And the goal was to make it easier to
exchange capital between the world’s financial players. This financial globalization has
contributed to the rise of a global financial market in which contracts and capital
exchanges have multiplied.

Globalization – A Cultural Example

Together with economic and financial globalization, there has obviously also been
cultural globalization. Indeed, the multiplication of economic and financial exchanges
has been followed by an increase in human exchanges such as migration, expatriation
or traveling. These human exchanges have contributed to the development of cultural
exchanges. This means that different customs and habits shared among local
communities have been shared among communities that (used to) have different
procedures and even different beliefs.

Good examples of cultural globalization are, for instance, the trading of commodities
such as coffee or avocados. Coffee is said to be originally from Ethiopia and consumed
in the Arabid region. Nonetheless, due to commercial trades after the 11th century, it is
nowadays known as a globally consumed commodity. Avocados, for instance, grown
mostly under the tropical temperatures of Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Peru.
They started by being produced in small quantities to supply the local populations but
today guacamole or avocado toasts are common in meals all over the world.

At the same time, books, movies, and music are now instantaneously available all
around the world thanks to the development of the digital world and the power of the
internet. These are perhaps the greatest contributors to the speed at which cultural
exchanges and globalization are happening. There are also other examples of
globalization regarding traditions like Black Friday in the US, the Brazilian Carnival or
the Indian Holi Festival. They all were originally created following their countries’ local
traditions and beliefs but as the world got to know them, they are now common
traditions in other countries too.

Why Is Globalization Bad? The Negative Effects of

Globalization
Globalization is a complex phenomenon. As such, it has a considerable influence on
several areas of contemporary societies. Let’s take a look at some of the main negative
effects globalization has had so far.

The Negative Effects of Globalization on Cultural Loss

Apart from all the benefits globalization has had on allowing cultural exchanges it also
homogenized the world’s cultures. That’s why specific cultural characteristics from some
countries are disappearing. From languages to traditions or even specific industries.
That’s why according to UNESCO, the mix between the benefits of globalization and the
protection of local culture’s uniqueness requires a careful approach.

The Economic Negative Effects of Globalization

Despite its benefits, the economic growth driven by globalization has not been done
without awakening criticism. The consequences of globalization are far from
homogeneous: income inequalities, disproportional wealth and trades that benefit
parties differently. In the end, one of the criticisms is that some actors (countries,
companies, individuals) benefit more from the phenomena of globalization, while others
are sometimes perceived as the “losers” of globalization. As a matter of fact, a recent
report from Oxfam says that 82% of the world’s generated wealth goes to 1% of the
population.

The Negative Effects of Globalization on the Environment

Many critics have also pointed out that globalization has negative effects on the
environment. Thus, the massive development of transport that has been the basis of
globalization is also responsible for serious environmental problems such as
greenhouse gas emissions, global warming or air pollution.
At the same time, global economic growth and industrial productivity are both the driving
force and the major consequences of globalization. They also have big environmental
consequences as they contribute to the depletion of natural
resources, deforestation and the destruction of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.
The worldwide distribution of goods is also creating a big garbage problem, especially
on what concerns plastic pollution.

Globalization, Sustainable Development, and CSR

Globalization affects all sectors of activity to a greater or lesser extent. By doing so, its
gap with issues that have to do with sustainable development and corporate social
responsibility is short.

By promoting large-scale industrial production and the globalized circulation of goods,

globalization is sometimes opposed to concepts such as resource savings, energy
savings or the limitation of greenhouse gases. As a result, critics of globalization often
argue that it contributes to accelerating climate change and that it does not respect the
principles of ecology. At the same time, big companies that don’t give local jobs and
choose instead to use the manpower of countries with low wages (to have lower costs)
or pay taxes in countries with more favorable regulations is also opposed to the criteria
of a CSR approach. Moreover, the ideologies of economic growth and the constant
pursuit of productivity that come along with globalization, also make it difficult to design
a sustainable economy based on resilience.

On the other hand, globalization is also needed for the transitioning to a more
sustainable world, since only a global synergy would really be able to allow a real
ecological transition. Issues such as global warming indeed require a coordinated
response from all global players: fight against CO2 emissions, reduction of waste, a
transition to renewable energies. The same goes for ocean or air pollution, or ocean
acidification, problems that can’t be solved without global action. The dissemination of
green ideas also depends on the ability of committed actors to make them heard
globally.

The Road From Globalization to Regionalization

From a globalization perspective, regionalization means a world that is less
interconnected and has a stronger regional focus.

Regionalization can also be analyzed from a corporate perspective. For instance,

businesses such as McDonald’s or Starbucks don’t sell exactly the same products
everywhere. In some specific stores, they consider people’s regional habits. That’s why
the McChicken isn’t sold in India, whereas in Portugal there’s a steak sandwich menu
like the ones you can get in a typical Portuguese restaurant.
Politically speaking, when left-wing parties are in power they tend to focus on their
country’s people, goods and services. Exchanges with the outside world aren’t seen as
very valuable and importations are often left aside.

Globalization Quotes by World Influencers

Many world leaders, decision-makers and influential people have spoken about
globalization. Some stand out its positive benefits and others focus deeper on its
negative effects. Find below some of the most interesting quotes on this issue.

Politic Globalization Quotes

Globalization quote by the former U.S President Bill Clinton ??

No generation has had the opportunity, as we now have, to build a global
economy that leaves no-one behind. It is a wonderful opportunity, but also a
profound responsibility.

Globalization quote by Barack Obama, former U.S. president ??

Globalization is a fact, because of technology, because of an integrated global
supply chain, because of changes in transportation. And we’re not going to be
able to build a wall around that.
Globalization quote by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former International Monetary
Fund Managing Director ??
“We can’t speak day after day about globalization without at the same time
having in mind that…we need multilateral solutions.”
Globalization quote by Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada ??
“We have to remember we’re in a global economy. The purpose of fiscal stimulus
is not simply to sustain activity in our national economies but to help the global
economy as well, and that’s why it’s so critical that measures in those packages
avoid anything that smacks of protectionism.”
Globalization quote by Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia ??
“My guiding principle is that prosperity can be shared. We can create wealth
together. The global economy is not a zero-sum game.”
Other Globalization Quotes
Globalization quote by the spiritual leader Dalai Lama ??
“I find that because of modern technological evolution and our global economy,
and as a result of the great increase in population, our world has greatly
changed: it has become much smaller. However, our perceptions have not
evolved at the same pace; we continue to cling to old national demarcations and
the old feelings of ‘us’ and ‘them’.”

The famous German sociologist Ulrich Beck also spoke of globalization ??

“Globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the
future, but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must
first open our eyes.”

Globalization quote by Bill Gates, owner and former CEO of Microsoft ??

“The fact is that as living standards have risen around the world, world trade has
been the mechanism allowing poor countries to increasingly take care of really
basic needs, things like vaccination.”

Globalization quote by John Lennon, member of the music band The Beatles ??

Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no
religion, too. Imagine all the people. Living life in peace. You, you may say I’m a
dreamer. But I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us. And the world
will be as one

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