By Joel Garbutt
Globalisation is a process that has been underway for many centuries, indeed it is possible to argue that globalisation began with means of emergence from Africa. In more modern times globalisation has become synonymous with the breakdown between nation states. The removal or breakdown of these barriers has effectively allowed interactions between populations to increase. The world, you might say has become smaller. This is due to an ever growing exchange. Wether is be capital, employment, services, resources, information, migration, tourism and intellectual property. This process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces. The term is often used to refer to economic globalization, which is integration of national economies into international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration and the spread of technology.
Through globalisation, the economies and cultures of communities around the world are becoming increasingly integrated. For example, did you know that you can eat a McDonald’s meal in 101 countries around the world? Some of the forces that are leading towards economic and cultural integration are the growth of transnational corporations, the movement of people and capital between countries and the influence of global media networks. Within these processes, resources are not always evenly or fairly distributed. While countries with the most wealth, resources and technology are growing richer, many of the world’s poorer countries are being left behind.
Modern globalisation since World War II is largely the consequence of planning by economists, business interests, and politicians who recognised the costs connected with protectionism and declining international economic integration. Since WW2, the barriers associated with international trade have been considerably lowered