Globalisation: An Introduction

The song Gangnam Style was released in South Korea on December 21st, 2012. By the end of 2012, it had topped the charts in more than 30 countries around the world. The British prime minister, the US president, and the United Nations Secretary-General, along with millions of others, attempted the dance. Why, and how, did this happen? When something that happens in one part of the world, spreads to an entirely different part, we are seeing globalisation at work.

For thousands of years, people in different regions and countries have been trading goods with each other, and when these goods spread around the world, power, religion, and political ideas, spread too. But when we talk about globalisation, we are usually talking about the last three decades —when the internet became widely used, and world travel became quicker and cheaper than ever. Let’s take a look at how globalisation shapes the world. It’s 5pm on Wall Street in New York. Here, portions of the ownership of companies, known as shares, are bought and sold.

This is a stock market. Right now, more people want to sell shares than buy them. Shares are falling in value. Three hours later, the stock exchange re-opens in Tokyo, Japan. Shares fall in value here, too.

If shares in the same companies are bought and sold all over the world, changes in the stock market in one city, affect the stock market in other cities, too. The fall in share price is bad news for people in Japan who own those shares! And it will be bad news for shareholders around the world, too. On the other hand, when the price of a share increases in one place, then the price increases on the other markets, too. This is economic globalisation.

No person, government, or company decided to make shares around the world, fall or increase in value. But globalisation means economic changes in one place affect individuals and companies across the world —for good or bad. But globalisation is not only about the economy [...] Today, there are more international organisations than ever before —a sign of political globalisation. International organisations can include groups of countries, like the United Nations, and the African Union, as well as charities, like Amnesty International. The many agencies of the United Nations can be thought of as their own international organisations too, like UNICEF: the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

UNICEF partners with governments around the world to save children’s lives, and provide healthcare and education. Political globalisation allows countries to cooperate to make positive changes around the world; but at the same time, some worry that international organisations can become too powerful, meaning the governments of individual countries lose their independence. Remember those Gangnam Style dancers from earlier? They showed us how a music craze can travel around the world extremely fast. It’s not just music —a TV show, sport, or fashion popular in one place, can quickly become popular in another place, and another.

This is cultural globalisation. Signs of cultural globalisation can be seen on highstreets around the world, too. You’ll find many of the same stores in different parts of the globe, and you can enjoy a burger in over 100 countries worldwide. Cultural globalisation certainly brings convenience, while some wonder if we might be losing some unique aspects of culture. Whether we like it or not, globalisation is a reality of life today, shaping the world economically, politically and culturally.

Maybe something to think about next time you’re munching on your French fries...