Globalization for Impediments towards Free Growth - Essay Example

The Impact of Globalization on Communication and Impediments towards Free Growth The most ongoing transition that the world has seen and is still going under is the globalisation. As an evolution that has been taking place in various forms has been going through the beginning of mankind. Today, there is not a single segment of human social, cultural international and domestic life that has not taken the its impact. The prime focal points of the impact of globalization are the arenas of economics, culture, international relations and politics that all blend to have given rise to a new breed of communication system. The impact of the globalization in the previous 150 years has been such wide and massive that often it seems that the global politics and relations are all set bound by the chains of communication that not a single country can take any action without affecting the global communication mechanism. the rise of technology, interdependence of states on each other, growing cultural exchange, availability of information at a press of a button and growth of international and regional organization like UNO, OPEC, SEATO, NATO and EU have over the time changed the way communication has been taken in the long past. The communication and globalization go parallel as both have a directly proportional effect on each other (Ali Mohammadi, 1997). The growth of communication around the world has strengthened the globalization and ever-growing globalization is making communication an important element of the life of countries and societies. It is a undeniable fact of our existence at the moment but the growth of communication and globalization does not go with criticism. Where the proponents of statesmanship and nationhood claim that globalization of communication and growth of organization is diminishing the existence of states the advocates of social statuses say that rise of communication dependency and globalized trade is growing the disparities that already exists between the social classes in all parts of the world. Whatever the claims may be, the growth of communication due to globalization has changed the entire outlook of the world towards mutual advantage rather than disadvantages (Ali Mohammadi, 1997). The world as we see it today is more interdependent and more progressive than before as it has been established that one simply can not reach the shores of success and prosperity without the ships of other nations sailing beside them. This has led the developing countries to make arrangements to take the developed countries along with them. The spread of communication has changed the face of information exchange which is more rapid and immediate than ever before and the world is moving even more social and cultural integration leading the whole state of affairs of the world to be imbued in a single fabric of a single globalized world. The growth of industries and merging markets around the globe has greatly facilitated the growth of international organizations and has put a great impact on globalized production methods. The abrupt change and development in the globalization that is there today is due to the development of communications methods and channels that have not evolved in the recent years but have taken years to come and develop. The globalization and international communication development is not something that happened in a one or two decades, but the process started with the first man stepping foot ahead to find new lands and opportunities (Thomas L. McPhail, 2010). Globalization of international communication has effected the international laws that govern states and the mutual relations of the states on the global level and leads the nations to devise national policies accordingly to foster concrete communication linkages for mutual development. The development of international communication over time has taken politics and national policy formulation to the international stage. Countries assist and guide each other for responsible national policy development, provision of enhanced human rights, mutual resource development, and improved industrial and technological growth therefore bringing a well-rounded change among nations (Denis McQuail, 2002). The development of international communication and globalization is no such phenomenon that took place in the recent years, in fact it goes back centuries in past. The roots of the development of international communication started when merchants and traders travelled across lands to conduct trade transactions with other people. In the course of buying and selling their products it were not just goods what they exchanged but also unconsciously exchanged customs and traditions. This exchange not only developed global cultures and traditions but laws and standards of aesthetics that developed a standard on communication amongst nations. Te travellers too played their role in the development of international communication and expanding the horizons of communication across lands and seas. The travelogues, memoirs and biographies that they wrote let their natives and the generations to come be influenced by the societies that were thousands of miles away. Nevertheless, the major development that was brought about in the global communication expansion and ultimately the globalization was the beginning of the nation state system and expansion the influence of the European countries overseas across the continents. This may be seen as the period of expansion of colonialism and international resource exploitation for industrial development of European countries but the impact in the terms of globalization of international communication is one of the major hallmarks in communication development. Flipping the coin reveals that the world may have globalized and communication may have developed, but all the development remains to the advantage of the selected few (Pradip Thomas, Zaharom Nain, 2004). The rise of colonialism is said to be the darkest moments in the annals of the world history that though developed a handful of currently developed countries but left a vast majority of countries thrown back in ages of darkness and insecurity that still haunts the development of those countries. The advocates of colonialism claim that the colonial masters made all the major development in the majority of the countries that is there even today. The aftermath of the Second World War saw the fall of colonialism but the rise of neo-colonialism and economic imperialism. The fall of colonialism resulted in the freedom of many countries across the world and was expected to give rise to free and independent media and communication but that could not happen. The recently free countries had to resort to their pervious masters to sell the produce to them and buy the required goods from them for the sustenance of their existence. The rise of imperialism led the old masters to become potential and the only business partners and controllers of trade, price mechanism and the communication channels as well. The globalized international media and communication channels that were previously controlled by colonial masters went in the lap of these international industrial conglomerates and economic giants. The global communication experts over the world maintain that these elemental parts of global communication have commercialized the communication system and keep it all at their leash. This is not something of the past; in-fact the globalization of international media even today is not linearly developing in this direction but is directed towards it. This is making the entire global communication system becoming more centralized in the grip of around 25-30 multinational companies that control the media through direct investments, influence or commercial usage (Cynthia Weber, 2001). The beginning of open media and globalized international communication systems appeared with the slogans of freedom of expression and objectivity with the purpose of spread of truth with accuracy. But the commercialization of communication systems and the globalization of media for the advantage of these transnational corporations and a selected few leaders that influence the policy making processes, nationally and internationally have taken roots in the entire communication system. What exactly is meant by market economy relations and market mechanism is the permission to the selected few multinational businesses to integrate with one another and enter the national and international potential atmosphere and bring a devastating influence on the core attributes of globalized international communication systems and restructure the entire communication system to their advantage (Pradip Thomas, Zaharom Nain, 2004). The side-effect of such globalized communication system is the decapacitation of natural public opinion of the people and the build-up of a consumer oriented society primarily relying on the products of these companies ultimately leading to neo-imperialism. Apart form this, the poor and less or undeveloped countries of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, are facing a shift of political and social shift as remote states of wealthy western countries, which is against the core of globalized international communication systems (Cynthia Weber, 2001). With the passage of time it has been established that the contemporary global communication systems and the countries from where the globalization of media and communication is originating are financed and supported by organizations that regulate the world trade linkages and political scenarios. One of such prime institution is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that through its funding programs and assistance proposals facilitates the penetration of economic powers and communication channel handlers in the system of underdeveloped and developing countries. The globalized international communication systems which is handled by these organization operate their preferred mechanism around the globe which although call the entire system to be a global village but with great economic and social disparity. The effect of globalization on the international communication system is not what is envisioned by the people but the other side of it resulting in complete control of media, communication systems, trades and even national integrity into the hands of a few who dominate the entire system of the world directly or indirectly. Another factor that hinders the growth of international communication system that is free from any impure influence and produced and operated by the people of the world is the standardization of the communication system to influence the national cultures and its authenticity and the requirement of the people to counter any such measures. This may seem as the factor that actor that makes the international companies to succumb to the globalised yet controlled communication media. The fact is on the other hand is the other way around, with the majority of civilizations moving towards a marketed intercultural exchange of media and society, the overall impact of the international communication is merging the societies into one single domain of globalization. In other words, cultureless-ness is gradually growing with the loss of identity and centuries old tradition that showed the richness of diversities that the world currently has. The growth of internet based socialization and computer shopping the offshoot of such steps taken by the organizers of globalized international communication systems that is taking the entire world to new dimension of interaction and communication dependence (Helga Kotthoff; Helen Spencer-Oatey, 2008). The current media and communication system needs a needs a revision of its structure and the content to make it influential for the growth of social and human values rather that profit rations. Specifically the social and cultural characteristics of various societies need to be given its due share in the merger of communications systems. It is an undeniable estacblished fact that the position where the current globalized international communication systems stands, it is almost impossible to take the entire system way back in time, instead with the standardization and change in the policy of global communication system the change can be brought. The globalization of the world today has brought us many boons and banes as simultaneously. The countries of the world are more dependent on each other today than ever in the history for trade transactions and to fulfil the mutual needs of resource sharing. The speed of communication and logistics has reached new echelons of technology and advancement that makes the entire arrangement of globalization seem to be a blessing for the mankind, but there is still the other side of the coin which is often neglected. The world today is more bound in chains of interdependence and the freedom of choice is all time low. The fall of colonialism did not let the nations to be free but let them fall prey to the imperialism and new-imperialism where the people are sold what they are told that they need. In addition, the formulations of policies and national agendas have become the brainchild of such organizations and societies that run the entire system of globalization. The picture may seem gloomy but with a flat standardization and de-commercialization of media and communication system, the harm that can be gradually be undone with time. Works Cited Ali Mohammadi. International Communication and Globalization. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1997. Thomas L. McPhail. Global Communication. Oxford : Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Pradip Thomas, Zaharom Nain. Who Owns the Media? London;: Zed Books, Palgrave, 2004. Helga Kotthoff; Helen Spencer-Oatey. Handbook of Intercultural Communication. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008. Cynthia Weber. International Relations Theory; A Critical Introduction. London; New York: Routledge, 2001. Denis McQuail. McQuail's Mass Communication theory. London: Sage Publications, 2002 Read More