Unit 9: Globalization and Technological Advancements in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Overview of Globalization

• Globalization is defined as the phenomenon by which trade and technology have created a politically, economically, and socially interconnected world.
• History: Trends in globalization have been observed throughout history, such as the trade routes discussed in Unit $2$, the age of Imperialism, and the World Wars in the last two centuries.
• Modern Pace: Globalization has progressed at a much faster pace in the $20^{th}$ and $21^{st}$ centuries due to the development of various new technologies.
• Impact: These technologies have transformed the world by increasing lifespans, making energy more accessible, and creating a globalized economy.
• Distribution: Technologies were not evenly distributed; they appeared first in wealthy industrialized countries and spread unevenly to other regions.

Communication Technologies Post-$1900$

• Primary Effect: The main goal of communication innovations was to solve the problem of geographical distance to facilitate a world surging with interconnectedness.
• Historical Comparison: Previously, maritime technologies (shipbuilding and navigation) and later railroads and telegraphs overcame distance; modern tools shrink this distance even further.
• Radio:     - Facilitated mass communication by allowing individuals and families to hear voices directly in their homes.     - Unlike newspapers, radio eliminated the intermediary filter (reporters/journalists) between the speaker and the listener.     - Example: American President Franklin Roosevelt used radio during the Great Depression and World War II. He broadcasted into American homes to comfort the public and provide updates on New Deal policies.
• Television:     - By the $1960s$, television replaced radio as the dominant form of mass communication and entertainment in the developed world.     - It connected people visually and emotionally to distant events, such as news broadcasts of the war in Vietnam or the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Cellular Technology:     - The telephone was invented in United States in $1876$ but was initially too expensive for anyone except the societal elites.     - The technology remained largely unchanged until the $1980s$ with the introduction of cellular technology.     - Cell phones enabled connectivity through the air, allowing global communication regardless of a person's physical location.
• The Internet:     - The first iteration was developed in the United States in the $1960s$ for sharing military and scientific data.     - By the $1990s$, the technology became affordable for average citizens, leading to the rise of personal computers and the "worldwide web."     - Historical Note: Early internet users had to wait roughly $4\,minutes$ to connect while listening to the "sweet and sultry tones" of dial-up modems.     - Turn of the Millennium: The internet accelerated global communication and commerce via email and direct business-to-customer connections.

Innovations in Transportation

• Automobiles: The widespread use of cars fundamentally changed urban landscapes by enabling the creation of suburbs.
• Air Travel:     - Replaced railroads as the chief technology for eliminating geographical distance in the middle of the $20^{th}$ century.     - Economic growth in Western nations after World War II allowed more people to afford flying for work and pleasure.
• Shipping Containers:     - Standardized metal boxes that can be stacked uniformly for shipping non-bulk cargo (food, clothing, raw materials).     - This innovation allowed major businesses to relocate manufacturing to peripheral or developing countries.     - Reason for Relocation: Labor costs and wages are cheaper in peripheral countries; standardized containers make it easy to ship finished goods back to markets.

Advances in Energy Technology

• Petroleum:     - Refined into fuel for cars and planes and used to generate electricity.     - It has been largely democratized throughout the developed world.     - Petroleum is a more efficient power source than coal ($the\,darling\,of\,the\,Industrial\,Revolution$) and replaced it as the main power source for industrial manufacturing.     - Trade-offs: Increased production to meet consumer demand came at the cost of increased pollution and pending global disaster.
• Nuclear Power:     - Scientists harnessed the power originally designed for mass destruction (bombs) and channeled it into civilian energy use.     - Championed as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels because chemical reactions emit very little pollution.     - Declining Popularity: Public opinion cooled following disasters at nuclear plants in the United States and the Soviet Union during the $1970s$ and $80s$, which caused significant human and environmental damage.

Medical Breakthroughs after $1900$

• Antibiotics:     - Substances developed to kill bacterial infections.     - Penicillin, the first antibiotic, was developed in $1928$.     - It saved countless lives, particularly soldiers in wars who previously would have died from minor infections.
• Vaccines:     - Though early forms existed in $17^{th}$ century China, the $20^{th}$ century saw a massive spike in application.     - Medical advances produced vaccines for measles, pneumonia, polio, and influenza.
• Medical Birth Control:     - Developed in the $1950s$ as a pill consisting of synthetic hormones to prevent pregnancy.     - Widespread use led to a decline in fertility rates globally.     - Demographic Shifts: Japan and several European countries are experiencing population decline; the United States is seeing a growth slowdown. Conversely, sub-Saharan Africa's population is growing rapidly.

Agricultural Innovations and the Green Revolution

• Commercial Farming:     - Shifted from subsistence farming (small-scale crops for personal consumption) to mass production for market profit.     - Requires expensive technology like motorized tractors and combines; primarily occurs in wealthier countries.
• The Green Revolution:     - Occurred in the $1950s$ and $1960s$ through the application of genetic modification to food.     - Scientists developed new strains of high-yielding grain crops.     - Impact on Developing World: Introduced to Mexico, India, and Indonesia to feed large populations with historically low yields.     - Results: Grain crops yielded $3 ext{ to } 4$ times their normal output, producing enough food for these populations.
• Environmental Concerns:     - Double Cropping: Farmers were encouraged to plant more than one crop in the same soil per year, leading to soil exhaustion and erosion.     - Chemical Usage: Increased use of synthetic chemicals for new crops resulted in agricultural runoff and significant freshwater pollution.