Globalization is the integration of people, cultures, and economies through a global network of communication and trade. Globalization was meant to benefit both the rich and the poor, but this has changed with the new millennium. With the growth of economies, comes a rise in inflation rates, such that even if people are now earning more than they used to earn four decades ago, the value of the dollar remains the same. Consequently, the gap between the rich and poor has widened. This essay will look into the evolution of globalization, where it has come from and where it is at the moment, its benefits and the challenges that have a close association to it.
Globalization has procedurally evolved over the years. During the cold war era, globalization was characterized by the movement of commodities across nations. There was a divide between the communist countries and the capitalist giants. This resulted in conflict and as well, in inequality amongst world economies, with the first world countries that were allied to the United States making big economic gains whilst the Soviet Union and her allies lagged behind (Brown, 2007).This led to massive economic growth and globalization at the time. Globalization was also advanced by the women rights movements and additionally, by the civil rights movements in their claim for equality, justice, and inclusion. These groups made significant gains in securing economic and political opportunities for women and for people of color, and this led to increased globalization.
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Globalization has had some positive impacts in the world. One of them being that it has enhanced the movement of goods and services which in turn, has increased trade flows. Globalization has created employment opportunities for many people across the world in the form of multinationals and technology companies. It has also increased access to markets, capital, and information (Underwood, 2014). Globalization has its fair share of challenges. Firstly, it has resulted in an unbalanced distribution of benefits. Secondly, while the world per capita income has increased, most people have not benefited from this as income disparities keep rising.
Finally, globalization has led to the loss of cultural identity and increased human insecurity (Underwood, 2014). Advancement in technology has also benefited the terrorist organizations such that they are now able to spread their propaganda, recruit members, communicate internally and plan attacks without anyone noticing. The internet has especially reduced the boundaries and terrorist groups can now communicate freely from anywhere in the world making it easier for them to conduct a cyber-attack and collect all information they need.
As the computer culture continues to spread throughout the world, globalization becomes a major characteristic of the new millennium. Today, thanks to technological advancement, globalization has turned the world into a free market where movement of information, capital and commodities has been reduced to a click of a button. The United States has sure made some steps to reduce the economic gap brought about by globalization. It has established a higher education system where everyone gets an opportunity to acquire skill and knowledge which have become major components in globalization.
References
Brown, A. (2007). Perestroika and the end of the Cold War. Cold War History. Pp 1-17 Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682740701197631?src=recsys
Underwood, Ryan. (2014). The Cold War, Globalization and the Effect on First World Economies. Washington State University. Retrieved From https://history105.libraries.wsu.edu/fall2014/2014/08/29/how-did-the-cold-war-effect-the-global-economy/
