Globalization and Technological Advances

Globalization

  • Definition: The process of the world becoming more connected and interdependent.

Technological Advances

Communication and Transportation
  • New modes of communication:
    • Radio
    • Cell Phones
    • Internet
  • New modes of transportation:
    • Air Travel
    • Shipping Containers
  • Impact:
    • Reduced the problem of physical distance, facilitating easier communication and the rapid movement of people and goods over long distances.
Energy Sources
  • New Energy Technologies:
    • Petroleum
    • Nuclear Power
  • Impact:
    • Raised productivity and increased material goods production.
Medicine
  • Birth Control:
    • Introduction of more effective forms (oral contraceptives, implants, injections)
    • Effect: Gave women greater control over fertility, leading to declining fertility rates worldwide.
  • Vaccines and Antibiotics:
    • Increased human survival rates and longevity.
Environment
  • Green Revolution (Third Agricultural Revolution):
    • Period: 1950s-1960s
    • Key Developments:
    • Increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
    • Mechanization of agricultural processes
    • Selection of high-yield crop varieties
    • Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
    • Impact: Enhanced agricultural productivity to support a growing population.

Reaction to Technological Advances

Diseases
  • Persistence of diseases:
    • Diseases associated with poverty:
    • Malaria
    • Tuberculosis
    • Cholera
    • New epidemic diseases:
    • 1918 Influenza Epidemic: Over 50 million deaths post-WWI.
    • Ebola
    • HIV/AIDS
  • Increased longevity related diseases:
    • Heart Disease
    • Alzheimer’s
Debates about the Environment
  • Consequences of Human Activities:
    • Deforestation, desertification, air quality decline, increasing consumption of fresh water.
    • Competition for resources intensified
    • Release of greenhouse gases and pollutants led to debates about climate change.
  • Illustration of Environmental Changes:
    • Aral Sea: Comparison of 1989 vs. 2014.
Climate Change Data
  • Temperature Anomaly (°C):
    • Data representing climate change trends from 1880 to 2020, showcasing rising temperature anomalies.

Global Economy

  • Post-Cold War Shifts:
    • Movement towards free-market economics:
    • U.S. under Ronald Reagan
    • Britain under Margaret Thatcher
  • Emergence of Knowledge Economy:
    • Developed in places like Japan, the U.S., and Finland, while manufacturing shifted to Asia and Latin America (e.g., Vietnam, Bangladesh).
  • Evidence of Free-Market Emphasis:
    • Formation of regional trade agreements and rise of multinational corporations:
    • World Trade Organization (WTO)
    • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
    • Example Corporations: Nestle, Nissan.

Calls for Reform

  • Rights-Based Discourses:
    • Challenged assumptions about race, class, gender, and religion.
    • Key Document: United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
  • Political Participation Movements:
    • Women’s suffrage globally:
    • U.S. (1920), Brazil (1932), Japan (1945), India (1947).
    • U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1965, End of Apartheid.
  • Anti-Globalization Movements:
    • Organizations like World Fair Trade Organization, Greenpeace campaigning against inequality and environmental damage of globalization.

Globalized Culture

  • Expansion of Arts and Entertainment:
    • Global reach of music: Example of BTS achieving international fame.
    • Popular albums worldwide.
  • Influence of Social Media:
    • Platforms include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
  • Cross-Border Consumerism:
    • Global brands (e.g., Coca-Cola, Toyota) and online shopping platforms (e.g., eBay, Amazon).

Reactions Against Globalization

  • Anti-IMF/Anti-World Bank:
    • Emergence of localized social media platforms, e.g., Weibo in China.