Globalization

Occasionally I come across passages from books that I want to expand on. One such passage comes from the book “Nonzero: The Logic Of Human Destiny” by Robert Wright. It reads, “Globalization, it seems to me, has been in the cards not just since the invention of the telegraph or the steamship, or even the written word or the wheel, but since the invention of life.”

Wright has the right idea about globalization. Generally, though, globalization is misunderstood. Many people interpret it as a contrivance of multinational corporations and big money interests. They see it as a corporate business plan rather than the natural process it is. With it corporations don’t want to take over the role of government as some think. True, big business has profited from it but only because it has presented itself as a great opportunity. The interesting thing is by taking advantage of globalization multinational corporations have made the world more globalized and homogeneous. Multinational corporations have brought together, on mass, people of many cultures that otherwise would not have come together. It’s as though corporation were invented to further and facilitated the process of globalizing and uniting the world.

In his book Wright employs game theory - the logic of “zero sum” and “non-zero-sum”, to tell us what he thinks of globalization. He believes globalization is a nonzero sum enterprise because in the long run there are no losers among the nations of the world. As he sees it, globalization is moving the world in a logical direction, to a point where “relationships among nations are growing more nonzero year by year.” Through globalization the world is becoming a more balanced place. As he suggests, this logical direction has been occurring since the invention of life. I’d like to add that the invention of life was also the beginning of Civilization. As I see it, the intensity of globalization has grown in proportion to the intensity and growth of Civilization.

According to the Wright globalization is a natural process. I agree. One thing that got it started was humanity’s inquisitive nature about what lies beyond. Christopher Columbus’ exploration for a new route to China and his discovery of the New World were acts of globalization. But his travails were also driven by an economic need. Besides being curious and adventurous Columbus also wanted to find a new trade route to China since the traditional land route had become dangerous because of obstructionists in the region. Europe had come to depend on that trade route for resources to sustain its growth and its civilization. Now it was in jeopardy and an alternative had to be found.

Civilization and globalization are related. Their relationship has been a chicken-and-egg one. As Civilization has expanded so has globalization and visa versa. They have fed off each other. Globalization implies expansion and the search for resources elsewhere to sustain local and growing populations. Venice, for instance, was born of such an outward expansion and search by the city of Istanbul. Istanbul was in need of salt which it lacked. The area around Venice was replete with salt. As Istanbul mined the salt Venice grew. In turn, Venice looked outward to expand and fine new markets for its achievements, like those in banking and manufacturing. The technology Civilization has developed, like those mentioned by Wright - the printed word, the wheel, steamships, telegraph, all have contributed to globalization. They have made the world smaller through communications and travel. A hidden reason for Europe’s desire to discover the New World is that it needed its resources. Ships for exploration the world and defending nations were built of wood. Europe’s stock of trees for lumber was dwindling. Spain was financially strapped and almost bankrupt. In the New World it discover gold which replenished in coffers. The New World also became an additional source of food and life sustain technology.

Apart from discovering much needed new sources of material to sustain itself, the Old World also used globalization to ease its growing pains. The closely knitted populations of the Old World were constantly squabbling and in the throws of wars. It needed space to get away from itself. The New World offered that space. Globalization alleviated the tensions that could have completely destroyed the Old World. The New World developed from the Old World’s experience and know-how. In turn, the New World reciprocated by being the Old World’s savior and coming to its aid in two world wars.

Developed nations like Canada and the United States have benefited greatly from globalization. Such nations, and Britain is also a good example of this, tend to grow complacent and uncompetetive in their maturity. It seems to be a natural occurrence, one that is unhealthy and corrosive to a nation’s sustaining powers. Globalization helps to turn this around and keep developed nations vital and healthy. For example, the Canadian and U.S. economies, which had become sluggish and entropic, were revitalized by competition from abroad, especially in the automotive industry. Globalization certainly helped Canada to shape up, giving it the will power to deal with the mounting debt and atrophic ways that were making it unproductive and uncompetetive in the early nineties. Globalization has brought new immigrants to these countries, helping to revitalize their economies with the infusion of “new blood”. Also, globalization has had a way of encouraging accountability and transparency throughout the world, practices that are essential for sustaining nations in the long run.

Globalization has brought the world something else that is beneficial, standardization. With a shrinking world it makes sense that interactive countries standardized there business practices so as to evade confusion and inefficiencies. Imagine banks around the world used different systems. It would be a calamity. Air travel would be dangerous if a standard system didn’t exist to dealt with planes and airports. Because we have become so interdependent it would be foolish not to have a universal monitoring system to check for such things as the quality of food and the spreading of contagious deceases .

Globalization, it seems to me, has been the salvation of humankind. Today it has united the world by engaging it in the central task of economic life. Thanks to it, we have overcome potentially destructive intransigencies such as isolation and protectionism, which in the past have lead to wars. The Cold War between Communism and Democracy would not have been cold, nor would it have ended, if it wasn’t for the restraining and containing powers of globalization. Why, without globalization and its liberating ways the expansion of Democracy would not have been possible.

In conclusion, globalization is about many things. Today, foremostly, its about economic interaction among nations. However, it is also about spreading equality throughout the world, through governance and technology. Uniting the world to make it a safer and more secure place has been one of its goals. It is the logical destiny Wright wrote about. Ironically, though, globalization has had to use perverse and coercive means like corporatism and consumerism to achieve this end.