The History of Globalization

1807 Words4 Pages

Globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of people, places, and cultures throughout the world today. The effects of this homogenizing process that we call globalization can be seen in all aspects of life. From McDonalds being in almost every country, to the majority of North American clothes being made in periphery countries, to the technological ability that allows us to instantly communicate with people anywhere in the world, the effects are everywhere. Economically today, globalization has had both positive and negative effects around the world, with many similarities to colonization. Globalization has also led to increased poverty amongst the global periphery, and a specific group of winners and losers within this process of globalization. The start of globalization as we know it today came about in the 1980's, when Nestle decided to push its baby formula product in the global periphery. This led to improper nutrition for babies, as it was expensive and had to be watered down with un-sterile water, causing many deaths. Eventually Nestle was boycotted, because it cared only about making profits, and not the effects that it had upon the global periphery. It was now too late though, and the birth of globalization, headed by the trans-national corporations (TNC's) was in full swing. After the 1970's, when our world become more interdependent, the 1980's allowed for more intensification, and the driving factors of technology, international trade, and finance were facilitating globalization. The way in which globalization now operated economically was for the core countries to go into the periphery and exploit these countries for their cheap labor, abundance of primary goods, and lack of regulations. The TNC's would now ... ... middle of paper ... ...l. When there is such an uneven balance of wealth amongst the world, there is sure to be winners, but sure to be many more losers. References: Sevket Pamuk and Jeffrey G. Williamson, editors, The Mediterranean Response to Globalization before 1950. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. xvi + 430 pp. $115 (cloth), ISBN 0-415-22425-X. http://hbswk.hbs.edu, Globalization: Little Impact on the Continent, Published March 24, 2003, Author: Julie Jette Stiglitz, Joseph E. Making Globalization Work W. W. Norton & Company; September 17, 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/oct/31/globalisation.lewiswilliamson Charlick, R. (2000) "Popular participation and Local Government Reforms" New York: Cornell University, (April) pp1-5

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