Geography 106-99 - Globalization

Macey Puckett

Dr. C. Hooey

Geography 106-99

16 September 2015

Globalization

        Globalization is a very important part of today’s society. It affects many different things, even things that you may not think about. Globalization has an effect on many different areas but especially on economics and cultures. Overall, I believe that globalization is a very positive thing and I think that most people would view the results and changes caused by globalization as beneficial.

        To me, the term globalization basically means the world coming together as one. Ideas, businesses, and technologies are good examples of things that spread with the help of globalization. Economics is one area that is greatly affected by globalization. “Globalization has had the effect of markedly increasing not only international trade, but also cultural exchange” (Investopedia 2015). Globalization could be a very positive thing economically because it can help nations that aren’t as well off improve to become more like nations that are economically stable with the help of increased employment and better technology. Countries are becoming more and more interdependent on one another because of international trade, the flow of international capital and the increasingly fast spread of technologies. For example, many countries want to take advantage of the cheap labor that is available in other countries. Doing this helps to supply jobs and boost the economy in these nations that are usually underdeveloped. “With the aid of technological advances, the cost of transportation and communication has been greatly reduced, making economic globalization possible” (UN 2000). With the help of the technologies that are available today the costs of international trade and investment have been tremendously reduced. There are many goods that have parts made in several different countries and it is because of the technological advancements that this is possible. As you can see, technology is one of the main things that help with the spread of economic globalization. Much like economics, culture is greatly affected by globalization. TV is one of the main technologies that make the process of cultural globalization possible. Television shows and ads are often blamed for promoting negative behaviors like smoking and drinking. However, they can also promote positive things such as tolerance, gender equality, respect for human rights, and positive lifestyle changes. Global communications are an extremely important part of globalization. The increasing popularity of the Internet, cell phones, social media and other technologies have made it much easier to communicate globally. “Despite advances in global communications, a massive information gap remains between developed and developing countries. Over 70% of Africans will not make a telephone call in their lifetime, nor use the Internet. Although culture is affected by technologies a society’s culture can be expressed and influenced in many different ways” (WHO 2015). With all of the technological advances being made, the ease of interaction between cultures has definitely been increased. It goes without saying that many changes are happening because of these technologies.

        There have been many changes that have occurred because of globalization. I would say that most of these changes are positive, but not all of them. As I mentioned earlier, many companies have decided to outsource their labor to areas where it is much cheaper. Doing this has helped more than a billion people out of poverty and has brought together nations, people and cultures. However, it’s becoming more evident that the globalization is causing the wages in the United States to lower or reach a plateau. In the early 2000’s during the recession, many Americans didn’t see the connection between consumer spending and the U.S GDP growth. Many people thought that globalization and free trade were good and didn’t see any negative aspects of it. International trade was bringing in lots of revenue so who wouldn’t think that this was a good thing? Even though all of this was happening, the wages in America were still not increasing. Nobody seemed too concerned about this but then the housing bubble burst and the economy suffered greatly. As a result of the recession in the United States, some of the companies that were during really well because of globalization suffered as well. All of this caused a huge global recession. Not only have there been changes because of economic globalization, but also because of cultural globalization. The increasing use of television and the Internet has given people access to more information and allowed them to see more of what’s going on in the world. Television and the Internet have a big influence in the way some people think. If something is shown to be popular online or on television, it often becomes more widely accepted by others. Recently there has been a lot of talk online and in on TV about the LGBTQ community. Years ago issues such as these were never discussed, especially not publicly. With the rise of social media and popular culture, the LGBTQ community has become more widely accepted and is talked about all over the world today. However, I don’t believe that everyone is benefiting equally from globalization because international trade naturally favors larger economies. This creates a big gap between the rich and the poor. Those who are in areas of extreme poverty will not see the benefits of globalization like those who live in more developed countries will.