origin of Globalization
Globalization is the process of interchange, interaction, interconnection, and combination or amalgamation among various Human beings, Companies, and Governments in the continent. A diverse group of schoolers has come up with different theories explaining the origin of Globalization, for example, O’Rourke and Williamson claim that Globalization began when intercontinental commodity retail integrated.[1] However, in their papers, Held et al., argue that Globalization began when humankind first started to travel a very long time ago.[2] Their various alternatives explaining the word “globalization” is, both options can be considered to be right because the definition of Globalization changes over time. Globalization has changed to become the definition of the world spread the use of newer technologies and ways that people connect all over the world, such as airplanes, the internet, and the flow of trade between states.
It can be argued, as O’Rourke and Williamson mentioned in their paper, that Globalization started around the 15th century when Columbus came across the Americas.[3] Globalization then could have been defined as simple as the Europeans that came to America to live because they were traveling the world and bringing their cultures with them. However, they didn’t just bring their cultures with them; they brought their knowledge of trading and created a trading system to connect the new world with the old world. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
If we fast forward to the invention of newer technology such as telephones, airplanes, and cars, which carry people and trade such as food and clothing across the world, then Globalization now means something that includes a variety of things, not just people traveling but also being able to communicate with one another in a matter of seconds even if they are thousands of miles apart.
As stated by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of Globalization is:
The development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets. [4]
This definition could not apply to other centuries like the fourteenth century because there was no real international trade back then. The Americas has not been ‘discovered,’ and although trade existed between different continents such as Asia, Europe, and Africa, those three continents do not make up the whole world. Therefore it cannot be considered truly ‘international’ trade or a “global economy,” as stated in the definition above.
According to Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser on their article “International Trade,” international trade started expanding more across the world after World War II, which was made possible by reductions in transaction costs that came from the newer technology such as commercial, civil aviation, and telephones becoming the main form of communication between people.[5] This means that once again, Globalization has taken a new meaning, taking on the forms of communication between people. After the Second World War, people were using telephones and airplanes as ways to reach one another, which is faster than sending letters or traveling by car or ships. This is part of Globalization because it shows how people are developing new forms of making travel and communication become easier to reach other parts of the world.
The second World War also brought what is considered “the second wave of globalization[6] Unlike the “first wave of globalization,” which is considered inter-industry trade, and it meant that countries exported goods that were different from the ones they imported. In the “second wave” of globalization, countries traded goods that were similar, considered intra-industry trade.[7]
Intra-industry trade changed Globalization again because now countries are not only exchanging trade with countries for things that they need but do not have, i.e., England getting spices from India, and India getting machines from England. This meant that now countries are exchanging things such as France and Germany trading cars because people want to buy them. This kind of trade happened all over the world, allowing countries to exchange intermediate goods for finished products. [8]
If we go back in history to look at how Globalization first started, we can look at our ancestors and at how they immigrated across lands, invented languages, and started traditions. According to an article published by Alok Sheel on the Economic Times, Globalization has been around since the end of the Middle Ages.[9] People born in communities would never leave, and those who migrated to other places would never return. Sheel argues that even though Globalization existed back then, it was accessible to the elite because it was expensive and took longer to get around from community to community since travel relied on slow-moving animals.[10]
An online article titled “A Quick Guide to the World History of Globalization” published on Sus.Upenn.edu talks about big historical moments that have led to what Globalization is today.[11] For example, in the first century C.E., Buddhism first makes its way into China under the Han dynasty and creates links through east Asia that eventually led to the foundation of the silk road.[12] In the years between 650 and 850 the Islamic religion was introduced from the western Mediterranean to India. This form of ‘religious globalization’ is different from the type of Globalization that people associate with the 20th or 21st century. The movement of religion and new belief systems to different countries in the east made way for the start of new cultures.
Looking from when people began to travel the world long ago to now, what Globalization means has changed because of technology. Thanks to these changes in globalization people all over the world are more connected than ever, being able to travel by air, sea, or land faster than ever before. The way that technology continues to change the world leads me to ask, what will Globalization look like in one hundred years? And, what will Globalization mean then?
[1] Kevin H. O’Rourke, Jeffrey G. Williamson When Did Globalization Begin? (National Bureau Of Economic Research, 2000), [WDGB]
[2] David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt, Jonathan Perraton Globalization (Global Governance, 1999), 484
[3] O’Rourke, Williamson WDGB, 1,2
[4] Merriam-Webster Dictionary
[5] Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Max Roser, International Trade (OurWorldInData.Org, 2018), [I.T.]
[6].” Ortiz-Ospina, Roser, IT
[7] Ortiz-Ospina, Roser, IT
[8] Ortiz-Ospina, Roser, IT
[9] Alok Sheel, A Brief History of Globalization (Economictimes,indiatimes.com, 2008) [ABHG]
[10] Sheel, ABHG
[11] A Quick Guide to the World History of Globalization (Sus.Upenn.edu)
[12] A Quick Guide to the World History of Globalization (Sus.Upenn.edu)