Globalization and Social Change - Essay Example

GLOBALIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE ID 12040339 Bethan Lewis 22nd March 22, Globalization and SocialChange Introduction Globalization is defined as the process in which the world has become a global village due to increased integration and interaction. The interdependence of various countries in the world through trade, political, and social activities has increased tremendously in the recent decades due to the increase in technological advancement. Travelling has become easy and fast, while communication has revolutionized as information is sent from various platforms, and reaches the intended audience instantly. Globalization has either positively or negatively impacted on political, social and economic aspects of life. Technology is deemed as the core facilitator of globalization process by increasing the speed of sending and sharing information, revolutionizing trade, and positively contributing to increased democracy. However, it can be argued that the increase in global crime and terrorism, cyber-crime and spread of contagious diseases can be attributed to globalization. The major focus of this paper is the social impacts of globalization and how it has influenced religion, poverty, education, economy and the society in general. The New Economy Globalization has been the backbone of the emergence and growth of a new economy, which is the global economy. Trading on the global platform has become easy and simple, with large volumes of business transactions being carried out in a single day. In contrast to the previous years when business was tedious and took ages for a single transaction to take place, today, a person can buy and sell goods without having to travel, or even leaving the comfort of their homes or offices, thanks to globalization. As the volume of business increases, competition has increased tremendously, while new products and services are being developed. The world economy is growing at a very high speed due to technological advancement. With the advent of technology, production process has revolutionized to increase volume, speed and quality of products (Perrons 2004, p. 175-189). Globalization has helped in the creation as well as the discovery of new markets. It is through globalization that firms and companies started thinking of international markets and diversification. Countries started carrying out research on international trade and its benefits to the economy. International trade came along with new cultures of consumption spread across the world creating more business (Yaprak 2002, p. 297-302). The ease of information sharing has helped many companies share information about their products and thus creating new markets and new economies in the world. Global Inequalities The overwhelming excitement brought by globalization swept across the globe that its negative impacts were not considered until much later. Globalization brought about global inequalities, creating disparities and rifts in global populations. While some populations are highly integrated into the world of technology, other areas are yet to experience technology and global village. It is believed that a majority of people who live in developing countries have no access to modern infrastructure and amenities. While town dwellers of these nations are connected to internet and use satellites, the marginalized have no access even to telecommunication signals (Wood 2002, p. 54-82). The effect of this trend has given birth to economic inequality problem due to increase in uptake of technology has increased the use need for industrialization. While the industrial countries emit huge smokes and industrial affluent into the environment, the developing and less industrial countries emit little pollutants. However, the environment suffers equally, without an exception of any country (Perrons 2004, p. 47). Global inequalities between nations are complex, with the differences in growth patterns in various nations. This can be attributed to the direct contribution of technology and difference in technological advancement by different countries. Sernau (2006, p.46) on technology differences between countries observes that, “those who control and manage productive technology reap up profits as a result of greater productivity and technology affords. Workers lose their jobs due to uptake of new technology.” This shows how the disparities between different classes of people are brought about by globalization within nations. As the rich people who own the means of production keep on getting richer and richer, the poor, who are employed in these firms, get poorer in the event of losing their jobs. Internationally, the impacts of inequalities between nations are even greater, with the shift of productive labour and technological expertise being an example of this trend. Talented workers in third world countries leave their countries to seek better jobs in the developed countries. Labour immigrations have been rampant and the shift has been a major blow to the developing countries’ productivity (Kull 2001, p. 18-21). The talents of the immigrants are crucial in developing the economies of these countries in order to increase their rate of development. Sometimes it is cheaper to move people than products and the countries take advantage of this phenomenon to increase their firms. Exerts in various fields like technology, medicine, science, engineering and construction when they leave their countries to work for countries where remuneration is better creates an inequality situation since their mother countries need them more. The Change in Education Globalization has been a major cause of change in the global education system. Worldwide, the education system changes with the flow of information and economic advancement. The culture of education in the world is like a thread in the global flow that takes the shape of colonialism, global contacts, and international economic planning. This requirement supposes that students should have life learning skills whereby they keep pace with the ever-changing education standards. With the advent of technology and globalization, education standards have risen, as Sorondo, Malinvaud and Lena (2007, p.32) point out, “the new globalised economy calls for professionalized professionals.” The result of this has been increased investment in education by both individuals and nations. This has caused a significant change from old-fashioned university system of general learning to specialization in professions like engineering, agriculture, medicine, science, finance, law, and other areas. What is keen to note from the new developments however, is the dynamics with which career professionalism has been changing. Careers that previously were seen to be less paying such as education, professionals are leaping more returns and increased opportunities (Stormiest 2000, p. 11-15). The Influences of Social Change Social changes of globalization have been felt more in developing countries than the developed countries. Not a single corner of the world which, has been spared by the wave of technological change, has not felt the impact of globalization, whose evidence can be attributed to the changes in consumer products, ideas, lifestyles and people’s ambitions. The intensity with which people from different cultural and social backgrounds have interacted has increased the exposure of individuals to new ways of thinking, cultural values, and new family setting. Women empowerment could arguably be one of the key impacts of globalization on social change (Irani & Noruzi 2011, p. 1344-1347). The various women empowerment programs and women rights activists, with their strong messages of empowering the modern woman has seen the dynamic shift of women from housewives and taking care of the children to being career women. They now have equal competitive powers as men, changing the social set up significantly. Perhaps, what is considered as the biggest contribution of globalization on social change is the rise of online communities that has evolved people with new identities who do not take into consideration their nationality. New ideas of leadership and advanced methods of working have found an easy channel of sharing to even the most secluded places in the world. The Impact of Globalization in Society As the global societies, lifestyles, education, economies and politics have been changing with globalization, it has also has also significantly affected region. People are sharing more religious messages and information throughout the world, changing the previously cultural societies to adopt modernity in their faith. The biggest contributor to these changes however, is the various situations that face the society as a result of globalization. Mahajan, to prove the evils globalization has brought to the society, attributed the various political games politicians play by using the youth to achieve personally vested interests, at the expense of the subjects (2006, p.131). Social unrest and communism has been as a result of globalization, with the rapid spread of information, fundamentally altering the religious set up of the society. The Critical Points of the Effect of Globalization in Society Globalization has had various impacts in the society, affecting the young pupation mostly that are found on social media and fall victim of media campaigns. According to Mahajan (2006, p.135), the impact of the media on the culture of the youth is already a crisis in countries such as India, by portraying out write deviance to adult authority. This has been a key indicator of the effects of globalization and the misuse of freedom. Culturally, many changes are taking shape because of increased integration and sharing of information. The rate of cultural degradation is tremendous, which has affected social institutions and interpersonal relationships. The various fashions exhibited by other cultures have found their way into many countries. For example, the youth who are common with watching Hollywood movies and soap operas have adopted the dressing styles of the actors, while music icons’ cultures have taken toll of their behaviour. These have come along with increased drug and substance abuse, alcoholism, sex, violence and crime (Ardalan 2009, p. 513-534). The family set up has not been spared either, with increasing single parent families. More and more men and women choose not to get into marriage, owing to the increased sharing of information and rising negative criticisms of both genders. The rising rate of divorced couples is alarming, which leaves many marriages broken and suffering children. The contribution of globalization to these negative traits in the society is the sharing of misleading information and poor media campaigns (Ardalan 2009, p. 520-534). Bad news sell most, spreading faster, making more people access such information easily and impact negatively on these societies. Women now more empowered than ever, have taken the increased privileges and support they are receiving from the lobby groups to their advantage, openly causing marriage break-ups, as they compete with their husbands in running the homes. Sexuality is probably one of the biggest impacts of globalization on the society so far, with rising cases of homosexuality and lesbianism. A large number of youth have turned to homosexuality, with girls transforming to lesbianism because of the content aired on television and movies. There are no limits to what can be uploaded to the internet, as there are no rules to regulate the intended audience. Most of the content in the internet falls in the hands of the wrong audience who use it for the wrong reasons. The increasing gay publicity has made the youth networks in such a manner that they get lured into the vice which is now raising worries to the parents. Moral decay in the society is attributed to the effects of globalization, with children of tender ages engaging in sexuality. The blame of this is mostly on the content they watch in the television or from internet channels such as you tube (Mahajan 2006, p.135). Globalization has also significantly contributed to prostitution, aids, abortion, and women abuse. The increasing issues affecting women currently have been linked to globalization, as evidenced by displacement, commodification, and modern-day slavery of women in some parts of Asia. Women are trafficked and forced to work in various industries such as textile and clothing and the hotel industry. High poverty levels in the Third World Countries have significantly contributed to this, where women are leaving their countries to seek jobs in other promising countries. It is worthy notable that the governments allowing this type of migration policies indirectly allow women trafficking. These women, if they land in countries with no or poor employment laws are subjected into slavery. Prostitution is yet another result of globalization in the big cities of the world. Tourism has been at the centre of increasing this trend, with more tourists visiting countries where prostitution tourism is practiced. Increasing cases of HIV/AIDs spread have been reported in such countries. Attribution of this to globalization is the marketing of these businesses to the world through social media and other internet channels. Conclusion The contribution of globalization to the worlds’ economy and improving leadership is very significant. The manner in which information flows from one point to another has made life easy as people are more informed and receive the information first hand. Travelling has become easy, as people can move from one part to another very fast and very comfortably. Shipping of cargo from manufacturing nations to preferred markets has been revolutionized, with the use of shipping containers that do not require the expertise of a captain to sail. With globalization, living standards have gone high, as lifestyles and living conditions have improved tremendously. On the other hand, as the paper has focused in detail, globalization comes along with its disadvantages. The more the world becomes integrated with the increased sharing of information and interaction, the more the above discussed limitations keep on spreading to the society and other countries. However, it is not possible to put a stop to the process of globalization, with its benefits far outweighing the disadvantages. Globalization is here to stay with us whether the impact it brings affects us directly or the society, we cannot ignore it. What however important is to device mechanisms and methods of preventing the dangers from affecting us directly as well as our society and country. The best way of doing this is determining the type of content that can be aired or uploaded in the internet, and regulating what we ourselves read and watch. Works Cited Ardalan, K 2009, "Globalization and Culture: Four Paradigmatic Views", International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 513-534. Irani, F.N.H. A. & Noruzi, M R 2011, "Globalization And Effects; A Study On The Effects Of Globalization In The Society", Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1344-1347. Kull, S 2001, "Culture wars? How Americans and Europeans View Globalization", The Brookings Review, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 18-21. Mahajan, S 2006, Globalization and Social Change. New Delhi, Lotus Press. Perrons, D 2004, Globalization and Social Change: People and Places in a Divided World. London ;New York, NY, Routledge. Sernau, S 2006, Worlds Apart: Social Inequality in a Global Economy. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Pine Forge Press. 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