The History of Globalization
April 13, 2010The year is 1400...
There once existed a planet with many names that was perceived as a flat piece of land (earth). It was as though this land was the only reality in existence, fortunate enough to have the heavens looking down upon her every move in perfect order. The same stars and the same planets would appear each and every night. The identical, yet brilliant, ball of light would rise every morning. What we now call North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America were are simultaneously inhabited and connected, living on the same small planet, but with no conception of life beyond their own land.
Ocean-going ships were yet to be perfected, but magnetic compasses were just beginning to replace the old system of sailing according to the stars. China, Rome, Greece, and Egypt were in many respects at the forefront of new technology. For example, China had invented s functional magnetic compass, Rome had built up the Holy Roman Empire, which had one point controlled England, Greece had always been a "scientific" (aka: philosophical) empire, and Egypt had certainly produced the greatest structures of the modern era in the Great Pyramids of Giza. As Europe, Asia, and Africa became known lands and known cultures, it was clear that exploration, trade, and exploitation would be integral components of the wealth creation in the future. As soon as Ocean going ships had been invented, the hunt was on to colonize more land. Britain occupied India until 1947, Portugal claimed Brazil until 1822, and to this very day it can be said the Britain occupies Northern Ireland, and the British Empire was the reason for all of Ireland's catholic versus protestant battles.
Historically, control of land and people has been central to the building and rebuilding of structures. While the native indians, Mayans, and Aztecs of North and South America were perfectly fine with canoes, throughout the 1500s and 1600s they had essentially released their sovereignty to the French, British, Portuguese, and Spanish. Each of these nations could have been classified as global empires of their time, and can be credited with the origin of globalization.
Welcome to the future, 2010...
Today it is easy to point out the most powerful empires of the world because they haven't changed since the dawn of empires. The world's largest (and cheapest) manufacturer is China, who participated in pre-1000 AD trade with the Romans, yet held their own ground, which to this very day remains astonishing. The United Kingdom was once the largest empire in the world, and to this day holds the strongest currency. Rome continues to be a Holy Empire, and the Vatican is one of the world's wealthiest states due to their rapid control and expansion of old Europe and eventually the rest of the world. Egypt, along with the United Arab Emirates is often unheard and ignored, unless Americans are looking for someone to blame for terrorism. However, people always forget how much power presently lies within the United Arab Emirates (OPEC), collectively controlling an overwhelming majority of the world's oil reserve supply, and presently controlling and manipulating the cost of oil for all companies globally. Finally, the youngest empire of them all, Corporate America. But, we all know that America's real power didn't come from a few boxes of tea at the Boston Tea Party, it came from Great Britain partially agreeing to release some control.
Your very own government officials are proponents of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, which would be a huge plateau attained in the practice of globalization. In fact, your very own government are already members of the United Nations and a broad group called the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). (More on these two organizations/links in the future...) Globalization seeks to implement one plan for one world and one people. The focus is on control and on oneness. Part of this is restructuring and rebuilding the global financial system. Another part of this is introducing global politics for collaboration and power. One plus one equals control of the world and globalization, on an advanced level, is achieved. But will the masses agree? To this point in time, we have no choice. The line between the developed world and the developing world has not changed in 300 years. Four billion people live on two dollars a day or less. Education is, in some cases, limited to a potentially biased and inadequate curriculum. In other cases, like Canada, the value of education (i.e.: a Bachelor's Degree or a Master's Degree) has severely diminished due to an influx in degree graduates. Can you imagine that? People with University Master's Degrees and Bachelor's Degrees are working for minimum wage because they cannot find employment elsewhere. Experience not available. It really is a shame to see the world in the shape it is in today, especially when we look around and all we perceive is progress. Pollution ravages the Earth, and urbanization adds fuel to the poverty and contamination issue.
To really help you understand what we're speaking of, let us introduce you to the modern definitions of globalization, which clearly supply you with an improved understanding of just how massive and vast the term "globalization" is:
Oxford
defines "globalization" as:
Globalization is “the act of globalizing“; from the noun “global“ meaning
“pertaining to or involving the whole world“, “worldwide“; “universal“
The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) defines
"globalization" as:
“Globalization is the present worldwide drive toward a globalized economic
system dominated by supranational corporate trade and banking institutions
that are not accountable to democratic processes or national governments“
Mr. Pascal Lamy,
Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) defines
"globalization" as:
“Globalization can be defined as a historical stage of accelerated
expansion of market capitalism, like the one experienced in the 19th century
with the industrial revolution. It is a fundamental transformation in societies
because of the recent technological revolution which has led to a recombining
of the economic and social forces on a new territorial dimension“
The World Bank, Switzerland, defines
"globalization" as:
“Globalization - the growing integration of
economies and societies around the world...“
The United Nations Poverty and Development Division
defines "globalization" as:
“While the definition of globalization varies with
the context of analysis, it generally refers to an increasing interaction
across national boundaries that affects many aspects of life: economic, social,
cultural and political. In the context of this study, in order to keep the
analysis within reasonable bounds, the focus is only on the economic aspects,
with particular emphasis on the role of ICT [information and communications
technologies]. As such, globalization narrowly refers to the growing economic
interdependence of countries worldwide. This includes increases in the
international division of labour caused by swelling international flows of FBI
[foreign-based investment], accompanied by an increasing volume and variety
of cross-border transactions in goods and services, international capital
flows, international migration and the more rapid and widespread diffusion
of technology. This should not be construed to imply that social, cultural and
other forms of globalization are unimportant, only that they are less germane
to discussions of economic security and development“
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines
"globalization" as:
“Globalization, or the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of
people and countries, is generally understood to include two interrelated
elements: the opening of borders to increasingly fast flows of
goods, services, finance, people and ideas across international borders; and
the changes in institutional and policy regimes at the international and
national levels that facilitate or promote such flows. It is recognized
that globalization has both positive and negative impacts on development"
Posted by Genuine Opinions. Posted In : 1400 to 2010