Meaning, Objectives, Features and Benefits of Globalization

Globalization Meaning 

Globalization is a process, whereas a globalized world is a goal, to be achieved. Generally, it is an economic concept but it also has political, cultural, & technological dimensions. 

Globalization refers to the absence of geographical boundaries and the removal of geographical extents. That is, there is a decreasing distance and exchange between ideas, technologies, cultures and economies belonging to different nations (countries) and individuals.

In the general sense, it means to complete the process of integration of human society by eroding its geographical, economic, political and social distances by integrating the whole world as one family. Globalization has reduced geographical distances. Simultaneously, the importance of territorial boundaries has also started decreasing continuously.

According to Pro. T.K. Raghavan, “The development and social development of the world economy takes place under the limits of the control of the state, this process is termed as globalization.”

Globalization is a complex political, economic, cultural and social process. In the view of social experts, globalization is a means of time and distance beyond the nation-state. It is arising along with modernization, nation-building and alliance between nations through technology, capital, product, labour, and information. It emphasizes the rapid idea of ​​global interconnectedness, relationships and contacts, and enduring cultural interactions & exchanges. There is potential for progress through the competition, efficiency, better productivity and the development of technology.

 Reasons behind Globalization 

There are many reasons for this decreasing gap between the countries and peoples of the world, such as: • Flexibility of production, industrial structure and management. 

• Development of Science and Technology.

• Interdependence between countries.

• Mass production and exploration of new markets.

• Worldwide impact of events. 

• International financial and commercial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization)

Objectives of Globalization

1) New Partnership for Development – Cooperation of various types of organizations and new treaties for development in globalization are leading the developing countries on the path of development everywhere, due to which a very new and developed structure of the world is visible.

2) Economic equality – The main objective of globalization is to make developing countries developed countries while removing economic inequality.

3) International Cooperation – The continuous stream of international cooperation which is flowing in the world as a result of globalization. A classic example of the spirit of internal national cooperation is Pakistan allowing gas pipelines to pass through its territory. It is a result of globalization itself.

4) Feeling of universal brotherhood – The feeling of universal brotherhood develops through globalization. In the present time, to deal with various problems, all the countries unite and solve the problem, this is the effect of globalization. Providing abundant funds and providing humanitarian assistance for the reconstruction and rescue work in the earthquake in Gujarat is an important example of this.

Features of Globalization

1) Interdependence – 

Globalization is an effort toward the state. Globalization is the process of cooperation, interdependence and transformation of mutual relations into practice. International assistance is based on cooperation in times of divine calamities like earthquakes, floods and tsunamis etc.

2) Control of developed countries – 

It is a process whose nature is multifaceted, such as social, cultural, intellectual and technical etc. Globalization is a process of bringing the economies of the states closer. It provides an opportunity for developing countries to improve their economy. At present, the influence of developed countries like America is increasing day by day.

3) Development of Humanity –

Globalization is a process of reducing distances. It works for the exchange of cultures, linking lifestyles and building world civilization. Under this, importance is given to the humanistic ideology. Many international institutions are being made effective for human welfare. For example, UNICEF.

4) Development of technical education – 

There is a rapid development of technical education in globalization because it is an attempt to solve the problems of the world with the cooperation of the world. In various types of political, social and economic events, different ideologies are heard on one platform and importance is also given to them according to the need. Technical education in globalization solves the incidents like dreadful diseases, tsunamis and terrorism with the cooperation of the state at the world level.

Factors of Globalization

1) Trade, system and exchange of economic resources through the rapid development of current economic changes.

2) Relationship of proximity through information and communication between different countries through development in communication tools.

3) Growth in globalization culture by development in the tourism sector through political liberalization.

4) Establishment of uniformity by increasing harmonious, activities among countries.

5) Compression of time and speed by the development of transport and other means.

6) Development and utility of global politics.

Benefits of Globalization

1) Development of human approach – 

Globalization is a situation where almost all nations try to solve international problems. Today, be it the human problem of any country, whether it is malnutrition or starvation, all countries face it together. For example, the earthquake in Iran was not only Iran’s problem but all countries’ problems and all countries helped Iran.

2) Development of the spirit of human welfare – 

Today, only one ideology is being emphasized in the world, which is, the spirit of human welfare. Human rights organizations have been formed at the state level and central levels in every country. Human rights are discussed at the international level also.

3) Dealing with problems together – 

Globalization is a situation where almost all nations try to solve international problems. Such as the problem of terrorism and the problem of environmental pollution. In this way, these problems can be solved only by forgetting mutual differences. Thus in globalization, all nations share each other’s problems. With this, the world becomes like a family where human values develop through mutual coordination.

4) Barrierless trade – 

Due to globalization, different nations come closer to each other. Through this, trade and cultural works are shared and the spirit of mutual competition is strengthened. Through globalization, the business activities of different nations are conducted. Different companies establish their branches in different countries. With this, the citizens of that nation get employment opportunities easily.

Limitations of Globalization

1) Decline of moral values – 

This process leads to the decline of moral values. Through this process, goods are produced at the international level. As a result, citizens depend on the goods of other countries instead of consuming national goods. In this way, it destroys moral values.

2) Challenging to adopt a good teaching process – 

All nations create conditions for exchange with each other in various fields. Developing nations follow developed nations as a result of which developed nations adopt strong educational processes but it is costly and challenging for developing nations to adopt this education process.

3) Dictatorship – 

Due to the dominance of America and its allies at the world level, dictatorial behaviour is present in front of everyone. America and its allies are demonstrating their sovereignty to the world by their arbitrariness in all areas, which is not appropriate for globalization.

4) Dependence of one country on another – 

Due to globalization, one country has become dependent on another country because, in the aid for development works, foreign capital investment and international trade rules, the economy of their country is dependent on the economy of another country. has made it. Too much dependence on another country is harmful to the sovereignty of one’s own country.

History of Globalization

Some scholars think that globalization is the result of the twentieth century, but we should also keep in mind that globalization did not suddenly arise in the twentieth century like Aladdin’s lamp. Rather, its form has been developing since ancient times. Historians, monks and kings then used to travel far and wide in search of new routes in search of wealth, power and knowledge. 

For example, the Silk Road, which stretched from China to Europe, interconnected a large part of the world and was economically affecting people’s lives.

Even in the medieval period, the empires of Genghis Khan and Timur Lung added a large part of the world to what can be considered a rudimentary form of modern globalization. But real globalization started in the modern period, especially after industrialization. Which tried to cover the world and give it the form of a global village.

Some scholars believe that before World War I, globalization was led by Britain and after World War II it was led by America. The term globalization became popular in the last two decades of the twentieth century, i.e. in the 1980s and 1990s, after the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. In this process, the whole world is called a global village. In the context of globalization, economists believe that globalization has four parts…

According to economists, there are 4 parts to globalization…

•  Reducing trade barriers so that products and goods can be exchanged between different countries without any hindrance.
• To create a situation in which there can be a free flow of capital/money between different countries.
• To create an environment in which technology can flow freely between different countries.
• To create such an environment in which there can be a continuous flow of labour between different countries.

Thus globalization has four parts, but developed nations like America and France limits the definition of globalization to the first three parts and through strict visa policies on workers coming to their countries from developing and underdeveloped countries. imposes strict restrictions. For this reason, globalization has also been criticized a lot.

Thus, we can say that only the expansion of openness, mutual interaction and interdependence that has come at the global level can be called globalization.

Dimensions of Globalisation

Globalization is a multidimensional method, which has economic, political, cultural and technological dimensions. Following is the analysis of various dimensions:-

1. Economic Dimensions

The most important dimension of globalization is the economic dimension. It covers the market, investment, production and flow of capital. Almost all the developing and underdeveloped countries of the world lack capital for investment. To meet the shortfall of this investment, the desire for foreign capital i.e. foreign direct investment was increasing continuously in these countries, so that they could develop their nation. Taking advantage of such situations, the process of globalization dragged the whole world under the ambit of world trade. 

We can understand the economic dimension of globalization as follows.

Positive impact

Due to globalization, trade between the countries of the world has improved significantly, due to which the relationship between the nations involved in globalization has also raised considerably. There is an increasing link between the people, businesses and governments of different nations. Due to this openness, the prosperity of most of the world’s population has increased. For this reason, the supporters of globalization consider it a boon for the world.

Today globalization has increased the trade of commodities all over the world. Earlier, different countries used to impose restrictions and heavy taxes on imports from other countries, but now these restrictions have been reduced. The benefit of which is that investors from rich nations can invest their money in poor nations, especially in developing and underdeveloped nations where profits will be high. This investment leads to increased infrastructural development, technology and employment opportunities in these backward nations. Due to this the standard of living of the people of the particular nation also rises.

In this process of globalization, organizations like WTO have played an important role in international trade policymaking. Earlier international trade had conditions of ‘whose stick is his buffalo’, but today all nations are bound by trade and labour laws. Violation of this can lead to the imposition of economic sanctions on that particular nation by the world community.

Negative impact

The global capitalist system is based on free trade and an open market. Where the policy of free trade and the open market opened up avenues for trade, the same way Since then, multinational companies from developed countries like America, England, and France have established their feet in developing countries, where the nation is mainly responsible for the loss, while the profit is taken away by the big multinational companies. 

For example, you can see the incident of the Bhopal gas tragedy that happened in India.

Due to globalization, where big companies come to the nation, small indigenous companies and small cottage industries at the local level are slowly getting lost in the race for technology and quality. In the process of globalization, production is being done on a large scale by big machines. The work which earlier used to be done by many people together, today these machines can do those work easily at less time and cost. 

Due to this, the problem of unemployment is increasing continuously in front of a large population in developing countries. Due to the process of globalization, employment opportunities in the organized sector have decreased. That is why most people in poor countries are compelled to work in unorganized sectors. 

Where productivity and standard of living are also very low. There is also a fact related to employment here that globalization is mainly based on the independent influence of goods, capital, technology and labour. But the developed nations ignore the policy of free flow of labour, the fourth part of globalization, adopt a negative attitude towards migrants from other countries in search of employment and control them through their rigid visa policy.

2. Political Dimensions

Globalization has brought about an immense change in the work done by the nation. The governments involved in this blind race of globalization have reduced the right to decide what is good and what is bad for their citizens. This situation has created a strange situation within the nations. 

Governments seem to be succumbing to globalization. In every nation, the people sitting on the chair are strongly criticized by the people, but even after changing the government, there is no significant change in the current situation. We can understand the political dimension of globalization as follows.

Positive impact

Supporters of globalization believe that due to globalization, nations have become more powerful than before. The development of technology and the rapid mobility of information and ideas have increased the capacity of nations and they can perform their essential tasks, for example, maintaining law and order, and protecting the nation from external attacks, in a better and better way than ever before. can do. 

Today production is being done globally. All the countries of the world are interdependent. In such a situation, no nation wants to take the risk of war by doing its economic loss. All nations want to resolve their mutual disputes through diplomatic relations. At the same time, this economic engagement has encouraged joint action to tackle global problems such as terrorism and more recently, global pandemics such as the corona.

Negative impact

Critics of globalization believe that it has reduced the ability of nations to function. Now the sovereignty i.e. decision-making power of different nations has weakened. The welfare policies of the welfare nation have been affected all over the world. 

Now the notion of a minimally interventionist nation is expanding. In today’s time, nations are limiting themselves to some important tasks only. In this era of liberalization, privatization and globalization, nations have adopted capitalist economies. In which they have to adopt a policy of non-intervention. Due to this, the reform work done for the poor and weaker sections has been affected.

In today’s era, almost all nations are not able to decide their foreign policy according to their wish. The main reason for this is believed to be the decreasing power of these nations. Multinational companies in developed countries have spread their feet all over the world. 

All these multinational companies are influencing the governments in developing countries and getting the policies of the nation changed for their benefit. Due to this, the ability of governments to make their own decisions has been affected.

3. Cultural Dimensions

This storm of globalization has affected every part of the world, society and community. Cultures are no longer being spread through art or music alone but through the networking of organizations such as the WTO. We can understand the cultural dimension of globalization as follows.

Positive impact

The movement of people from one nation to another is playing an important role in the process of globalization. For example, Indian people went to Thailand, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, West Indies and took Indian culture there along with them. Keeping it safe, he kept it practical and alive. 

Costumes like jeans, sarees, kurta-pyjamas etc. and food and drink have also contributed significantly to cultural globalization. 

For example, you can find McDonald’s burgers in the capital of any nation in the world. This process of globalization is called burgeoning.

Negative impact

Today, in this era of globalization, the people of developing countries are so influenced by advertisements through media like TV and the Internet that they are left with no option. Through TV and the Internet, multinational companies are promoting consumerism and Western values.

Developing and underdeveloped nations are particularly prone to dominance over American culture. America is engaged in spreading its cultural values ​​through news channels like CNN. Also, products like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Reebok, and Adidas; Entertainment channels like MTV, and HBO; Fictional characters such as Mickey Mouse, Batman, and Superman; fast-food chains such as McDonald’s; Products like Amway have proved to be a means to impose American values ​​of life on the nations of the world. This has created a crisis of identity in the basic culture of developing and underdeveloped nations.

Among its negative aspects is also an important fact that Western values ​​of life have made people of developing nations especially children and youth want to get rich as soon as possible and get all the comforts of Western daily life. In this way, they can easily be taken on the wrong path and exploited.

4. Technology Dimension

We discussed above that globalization is a system that emerged due to the development in the fields of science and technology and which was used in the field of trade and commerce. From this point of view, technology has played an important role in globalization. We can understand the technological dimension of globalization as follows.

Positive impact

The revolutionary changes in the field of technology have made the world a truly global village. The revolution in the communication system has greatly accelerated worldwide connectivity. Through telephone, mobile, internet systems and websites, there was no distance between people, businessmen and politicians. Today, through video conferencing, we can actively participate in programs in any corner of the world. This saves both our time and money.

The development of technology has also increased the capacity of nations. Nations can perform their essential functions such as maintaining law and order and protecting the nation from external aggression in a better and more effective manner. 

The impact of the development of science and technology is also visible in the field of health and medicine. Today, by finding the treatment of deadly diseases, ways have been found to keep humans healthy. We get to see its effect in the form of revolutionary changes in the fields of agriculture, transport, and education also.

Negative impact

In this era of the information revolution, cybercrime or economic crime caused by information technology is a new topic of concern. The next world war could be a cyber war. The entire defence system of an enemy nation can be destroyed sitting at home. Another important negative effect of this is that it has played a major role in the spread of terrorism. Terrorists have used satellite phones, the internet, mobile phones etc. to spread terror.

The field of education has also been no exception to this. Today education is becoming one-dimensional. Today, educational institutions are giving priority to vocational education, which can provide useful skills for the market. You must have seen that today’s students are pursuing B.A., M.A. Instead of doing 10th and 12th while studying for IIT, Polytechnic, they start preparing for polytechnic and want to take admission there. 

Whereas on subjects related to social sciences like history, and political science, the government and the public seem to be indifferent. Another criticism of this is that in the globalized world, our environment has paid the heaviest price for the development of science and technology. The depletion of the ozone layer and global warming is the result of globalization. 

In this blind race for development, in the name of urbanization and industrialization, lakhs of trees are cut for Special Economic Zones. which have always been a matter of concern. Its most negative impact has been on the lives of the people of poor countries, especially farmers and tribals.

Conclusion

In short, in the above description, we learned that globalization is a multidimensional process, which has four dimensions; economic, political, cultural and technological. While these four dimensions have some positive effects and consequences, they also have some negative effects and consequences. Thus we can say that from the above discussion on globalization, we know that globalization has brought about a massive change in all the spheres of human life. 

On the one hand, the revolutionary changes in the governance, telecommunications, education, and health sector have made human life easy and convenient, while on the other hand, there have been terrible negative effects on the poor nations and especially the weaker sections of different nations. There is a decline in the quality and fulfilment of their basic needs like employment, health, education, and housing.

Questions related to globalization

• What is Globalization? Discuss its various dimensions.
• What is Globalization? Critically evaluate its various dimensions.
• What do you understand by the concept of globalization? Write an essay on the changing role of the nation in this context.
• List the developing and underdeveloped nations of globalization.
• Discuss the effects on trains.
• Write about the economic, political, cultural and technological effects of globalization.
• Throw light on the economic and political dimensions of globalization.