Critically discuss the relationship between uneven geographic development and globalization - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages As a result of the geographical inequalities manifested in different places of the world, it can be argued that contrary to the popular belief that the globalisation is bridging the economic, social and cultural gap between different regions, it is actually increasing the social, cultural and economic inequality; hence, uneven geographic development. The term globalisation can be traced back to the late 1980s when globalisation became fashionable idea that described contexts related to historical processes where world economic and societal integration was taking place rapidly commonly referred to as structural globalisation in addition to contexts related to policies underlying the historical processes which represents ideological globalisation (Kacowicz 2013). This social and economic integration has had different repercussions for different world’s geographical regions and countries at least in its initial stages. Due to globalisation in the current situation, the increased competition among countries has affected more negatively the Northern countries especially the US compared to the effect it has had on some of the Southern countries. The reason for this imbalance can be argued in terms of exchanges in trade where during the 1970s many developing countries benefited from the higher prices for natural resources like oil in addition to the plentiful supply of credit and investments at highly favourable conditions due to the increased competition among Northern countries (Arrighi 2002). In order to effectively explore the different views on how globalisation impacted on geographic development, it is necessary that different perspectives on globalisation can be identified. Superficially, globalisation can be considered as the deepening, expanding and accelerating international interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life, which covers such diverse contexts as cultural to the criminal and from the financial to the spiritual undertakings (Saxena 2010). A computer programmer located in India is in a position to offer services to an employer in Europe or USA in real time. In addition to the fact that farming of poppies in Burma can have a connection with drug abuse in Berlin is a good enough example of how globalisation links one geographical location to another in a different continent. However, away from the broad perception of the continued escalation of global interconnectedness there is considerable divergent view as to how globalisation is best conceptualized, how its causal dynamics works, and how its structural impact should be characterized. Therefore, due to issues raised by the question of what globalisation represents, three broad schools of thought have developed each having a different perspective of globalisation but all endeavour to comprehend and elucidate this phenomenon. Firstly, there are those who see globalisation as representing a new epoch where people from different geographical regions are progressively being subjected to the controls of the global market. Secondly, there are those who conceptualize globalisation as a myth, which obscure the truth about international economy, which is in reality segmented into geographical blocs characterized by a powerful ...Download file to see next pagesRead More