Unit 9: Globalization

Unit 9: Globalization

• Globalization Defined
    - Definition: Globalization is the phenomenon where trade and technology have created a politically, economically, and socially interconnected world.
    - Historical Trends: Globalization trends have been present from the course of historical trade routes, the Age of Imperialism, and the World Wars. However, technological advancements in the 20th and 21st centuries accelerated globalization significantly.

New Communication Technologies After 1900

• Purpose: Communication technologies aimed to solve the problem of geographical distance, facilitating stronger connections across vast distances.   

• Maritime Technologies: Early maritime technologies, such as advanced shipbuilding and navigational tools, contributed to overcoming geographical barriers.   

• Railroads and Telegraphs: Major advancements in the 19th century that significantly contributed to communication over distances.
  

• Rise of Radio:
    - Emergence as a mass form of communication.
    - Allowed listeners to hear voices directly, eliminating intermediaries like newspapers that might filter or bias information.
    - Example: Franklin Roosevelt’s use of radio during the Great Depression and WWII to communicate directly with Americans.
  

• Television:
    - Replaced radio as the dominant form of communication by the 1960s.
    - Impacted public awareness of events such as the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, fostering a sense of global connection.
  

• Cellular Technology:
    - First telephone invented in 1876 but only accessible to societal elites until the 1980s with the advent of cellular technology.
    - Enabled global connectivity, significantly reducing geographical distance.
  

• Internet:
    - First iteration developed in the 1960s for military and scientific data sharing.
    - By the 1990s, it became affordable for the average citizen, introducing the World Wide Web.
    - Turn of the Millennium: The internet facilitated global communication and commercial transactions through email and online business connections.

New Transportation Technologies

• Automobiles:
    - Revolutionized urban landscapes by enabling suburban development.
  

• Air Travel:
    - Replaced railroads as the primary transportation method in the mid-20th century, allowing wider access to different regions for work and leisure.
  

• Shipping Containers:
    - Standardized metal boxes for transporting non-bulk cargo.
    - Essential for global trade, allowing companies to relocate manufacturing to countries with cheaper labor costs.
  

New Energy Technologies

• Petroleum:
    - Became the primary fuel source for cars, planes, and electricity generation, largely replacing coal due to its effective energy output.
    - Result: Increased production to meet global consumer demand coupled with significant pollution risks.
  

• Nuclear Power:
    - Developed from military technology to civilian energy, praised for low pollution.
    - Controversies: Disasters in the 1970s and 1980s led to environmental damage and decreased public support for nuclear energy.

New Medical Technologies After 1900

• Antibiotics:
    - Penicillin, developed in 1928, was the first antibiotic, significantly reducing mortality from bacterial infections, especially among soldiers.
  

• Vaccines:
    - Application surged in the 20th century; major vaccines developed against diseases like measles, pneumonia, polio, and influenza.
  

• Medical Birth Control:
    - The development of the birth control pill in the 1950s allowed women greater control over fertility, leading to declining fertility rates in developed countries.
    - Population trends: Declines in regions such as Europe and Japan versus rapidly growing populations in sub-Saharan Africa.

New Agricultural Technologies

• Commercial Farming:
    - Shift from subsistence farming to commercial farming focused on profit maximization, primarily leveraging advanced technologies like tractors and combines.
  

• The Green Revolution:
    - Scientific application of genetic modification in the 1950s and 1960s, introducing high-yield grain strains to developing countries.
    - Results: Increased crop yields 3-4 times, alleviating food shortages in countries like Mexico and India.
    - Environmental Concerns: Intensive farming practices contributed to soil exhaustion and erosion. Increased chemical usage raised pollution issues in freshwater supplies.

Conclusion

• The developments in communication, transportation, energy, medical, and agricultural technologies have exponentially contributed to the phenomenon of globalization.

• While these advancements offer increases in connectivity and production, ethical and environmental considerations also arise, reminding us of the complexities involved in this interconnected world.