Defining Globalization
I spent the last week living in a church in Louisiana. The building next to the fellowship hall was the meeting place of a local Boy Scout troop, and flying above its rooftop was an obscure arrangement of flags. Curious as this was, when I first noticed it I didn't dwell on it. The next morning brought reconstruction volunteer orientation, and my little flag mystery was solved. The man told us that 37 countries had sent aid to New Orleans after Katrina, and each had a flag outside in honor of their contributions.
This is a prime example of the effects of globalization. The whole modern world knew about the damage within the day, whereas news of such a natural disaster may take weeks to reach people on the other side of the country. We are light-years beyond the pony express, kids!
Scholte boggles me, but I see globalization as a broad and far- reaching concept made up of many components, which I will list until I run out of ideas. Firstly, availability is a significant aspect that in my mind is a simple way to encompass Transplanetary Connectivity, Universalization and Internationalization. Available to me through various bits of technology are the resources to acquire a direct line of communication with anyone on the planet, leagues of information, pictures of practically anything, and basically any product in existence that I am able to afford.
As mentioned previously, availability of modes of communication has increased by leaps and bounds through time. Teleconferences make international meetings more convenient, Facebook keeps me from losing touch with anyone I've ever met, and cell phones make long distant communication ridiculously easy. The "cell phone phenomenon" has swept the world and now they are a common sight not only in the U.S. and Europe, but in South America, India, Africa, and even among the Elves and the bird people.
Moments ago, my stomach pried me from the keyboard to raid the fridge. What I discovered was a plum, covered in stickers that read "Product of Chile." It's a bit of a downer to think that a piece of fruit has traveled further than I probably will in my entire life. But more importantly, if traveling to Chile was high enough on my priority list, I could be on a plane in a couple hours with tickets reserved from the comfort of my swivel chair and arrive in time to watch the sun rise tomorrow. While there, I would be able to locate an English-speaking guide, ride in a bus down actual roads (no hacking through underbrush with a machete required), and buy souvenirs with my own currency. If I were feeling particularly global, I could even catch obscure jungle diseases and bring them home to share with my family.
Another component of globalization is the fuzziness of borders, which is connected to availability and is part of what makes it possible. This fuzziness comprises Supraterritoriality and Globality. With the right paper work and amount of money, I can physically cross all but the most militant or secretive borders, but thanks to availability I don't have to physically cross borders to enjoy another country's products and the opportunity to interact with its citizens. Human actions are no longer under the many limits of travel (and the time it entailed) that they were in previous centuries. An interesting element of this decline of absolute territorial space is the recognizablility of certain characters across countries. Instead of each nation having its own exclusive set of heroes, villians, and mascots, many such figures are shared around the world. This has shown evidence in the popularity of western stars in Japanese advertising. Here's another fun one, even though it's not Japanese (actually Iranian.) And what's a country without Mickey and Coca-Cola?
With availability and border-fuzziness comes a practically unavoidable side-effect; transmogriphying into a balanced state of semi-sameness. That's my fancy term for Cultural Homogenization and Westerization. This is hissed at by many an anthropology student, and it is to be noted that loss of culture is a tragedy, but it does have a few benefits. For example, new well-building technologies may greatly improve the lives of agricultural communities. The grand scheme of stuff-swapping is also mutual, though it tends to be the largest and most powerful countries who throw their cultures across borders.
One of the most concrete facets of globalization is the development of international organizations (which is probably a part of border fuzziness in all actuality.) The United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission are aartful examples.
As has been shown by my crisscrossing attempt at organization, the components of globalization are interconnected and overlapping no matter what names you give them. This is because, as was stated earlier if you were paying attention, globalization is a broad concept made of many wee bits of whatnot. Thusly, it cannot be shown on a graph (even if its smaller components can be), tied down into a short and simple definition, or conveyed through interpretive dance. Even pictures fall short because they usually only summarize Westernization or advances in communications technology. I may be alone on this, but I consider it nonsense to "protest" globalization, not because I support it; that would be nonsense too. Go ahead and protest the opening of a McDonald's in your little village or the child labor supported by big business, but don't waste your time protesting an idea. It isn't even an idea like love or peace, which everyone has at least a faint idea of (even if it can't be put into words- you know it when you see it.) But globalization? Bah. Go toilet paper ole Aartie's house if you want, but I doubt it will accomplish anything.
Rant aside, it is imperative that today's people (especially us young folk that are to be flung into the global marketplace in a couple years) learn about the ideas tied into globalization. Cultural competence is not just about knowing that other cultures exist, but also knowing how they interact with other cultural entities and learning from what they have to offer. In doing this, one has touched on globalization and enriched his or her knowledge and understanding in the process.