Globalization - An Important Step (Advantages and Disadvantages)

Process of globalization and their Advantages and Disadvantages - Michael Guanru Li Globalization is the process and phenomenon of interaction and integration among the people, countries, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade, and investment and aided by information technology.1 Before globalization happened or started, Africans only exist in Africa, Asians could only be found in Asia, and Europeans only stayed in Europe. There is hardly anyone going out of their continent, for business or national communication. Since globalization mainly positively affects culture, political systems, and physical well-being in societies globally, it could be considered the reason for a huge improvement in our society’s development.

It all begins with the explorative sea voyages made by Christopher Columbus - known as the father of globalization - beginning in the 1400s and colonization starting in the 1600s by European countries (The British Empire, The Spain Empire, etc.).

Christopher Columbus, an explorer born in Genoa in 1451, together with his team made huge contributions to globalization by giving people the idea of exploring more land and interacting with more people. He worked for the Spain Empire and made 4 astonishing trips in his life. His first voyage lasted one year, from 1492 to 1493, the second from 1493-1496, the third from 1498-1500, and the last one from 1502-1504. All destinations in these voyages are located in Central America. Through these voyages, new pieces of knowledge about sailing (routes of sailing), the continents, and the different races of humans. Therefore, this period is known as the Discovery Ages, or the Age of Discovery.

The Chinese Empire at the discovery age was at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and also at the time when the Ming Dynasty was on its way to becoming developed and completely mastering the silk road. This road connects commercial trade and cultural exchanges between Asia, Africa, and Europe. It is divided into two roads: the land Silk Road and the maritime Silk Road. More than 10 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa are involved in the transaction. The silk road map depicts the main cities and some small cities and mountains and rivers along the thousands of kilometers route from Gansu to Mecca in the Middle East and marks 211 transliterated Ming Dynasty place names in Chinese. 2 In this era, people all over the world begin trading with each other, and so do different cultures and nations. European countries made the path to big empires such as the Chinese Empire, and Indian Empire, and also to indigenous groups and societies that have just started to develop. The European countries gained a lot of useful resources through trading. These activities, in my opinion, opened the route for the development of humanity and our society toward globalization.

After getting enough experience in sailing, the European countries have then the idea of military strength and the process of development of different nations. When they discovered that their military forces could easily win battles with the African countries and the native Americans, they started the idea of turning those lands and countries into their colonies.

Through colonization, the powerful European countries would then be able to gain resources 1

Available at: https://gatedglobalization.weebly.com, accessed 08.September.2022 Wei Qi, 5.August.2005. “明代丝绸之路大地图”in ZhongGuoXinWenWang. Available at http://www.scio.gov.cn/ztk/wh/slxy/31209/Document/1443419/1443419.htm, accessed 08.September.2022 2

for social development and better living standards at low costs. Labour costs, for instance, could no longer be recognized as a cost, as the colonizer used weapons to force them to work for them. This was actually the pre-status of slaves.

Through colonization, and later, slavery, the European countries found their way to globalization by exploiting the weaker countries. They took things from the weaker cultures without giving the weaker cultures their innovation, goods, or sharing development ideas.

The Chinese culture at that time was quite strong, so they were not exploited. In this period of time, only the western European countries and the Chinese culture (up until the mid-Qing dynasty, then was also exploited) experienced globalization, while the other cultures’ development moved backwards. However, this is a sign that all countries have begun to move forward into a globally connected society.

At the beginning of the first World War, we were able to see globalization begin to work. A large number of countries allied with each other for survival, and by the time of World War II, almost all countries in the world were involved in the war. Although this has led to a great retrogression in human development, it also proves that globalization has begun to work.

After World War II, the United Nations, the largest international organization in the world, was established. There are more and more business exchanges between countries. In the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two largest military organizations in the world - the Warsaw Pact and NATO - were established. After the end of the cold war, people entered a new era – the post-industrial era, which began in 2000. In this era, globalization has become more and more important. All countries and citizens attach great importance to the development of globalization and the distribution of world patterns.

Since society develops through globalization, there must be advantages and interests that attract people to do so. On the aspect of economy and business, people do this because larger and more diverse markets will be created and opened. This then would help to increase the flow of trade, which made the choice of the same type of goods more and the price cheaper while reducing high inflation rates. This gives birth to the TNCs, which are companies that sell products all over the world.

On the other hand, through globalization, the ways of gaining information and exchanging ideas in a borderless way would be promoted. This allows people to use global resources for more innovation to solve problems that affect all populations and improve our living standards. Conservation of natural resources would be much easier since data is collected and shared with people all over the world. A bigger picture of our societies could be unveiled while making environmental protection much more convenient and essential.

Also, people’s understanding of different cultures would change positively and could strengthen their empathy and appreciation for other people, which is essential for a society to develop. Population all over the globe would have more consciousness of being a global citizen, rather than living on their own.

However, the challenge and damage of globalization to the natural environment and ecosystem are very serious at present. The development and construction of infrastructure require a lot of land and resources. And the land taken by human beings will destroy the ecological environment and lead to the loss of biodiversity. In addition, the transport of goods, whether by air, land, or sea, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and, in extreme cases, more pollution, such as oil spills. Meanwhile, if a species is introduced into a new

environment without a careful examination, it may become an alien invasive species, which will seriously affect the local ecological environment and food chain.

Cultural shock, a concept put forward by anthropologist Oberg in 1960, is also another bad influence of globalization. The cultural shock will cause a nation to lose its way of communication and customs. The local people's values, worldviews, and definitions of themselves will also be affected, resulting in negative effects on people's psychology and the health of their immune systems. The current "social awkwardness" can be seen in part as the harm brought by cultural shock. The unfamiliarity of new cultures and customs makes some people with weak psychology feel afraid when communicating with others, and they can't adapt to and cope with the local environment and some changes quickly. Social phobia can lead to mental instability, which reduces people's self-confidence and immunity. When people in society are in this kind of morbid state, it is very unfavourable for the development of society. The development of society is based on people's communication and people's health. When people are afraid to communicate with strangers, it will be difficult for society to progress.

Globalization, the concept of a global society developing together, began with Columbus' navigation and the Chinese Empire's Silk Road and has slowly developed to today. Although there will be some problems when society enters a rapid development, globalization is still necessary. People need to pay attention to the health of society, the impact on the environment, and the mental health of the people while developing, otherwise, it will not only stop the progress of society, but also it may even begin to retrogress and create a negativedeveloping society that is difficult to reverse.