Essay Introduction - Freya

Is globalization good or bad?

Nowadays the word, “globalization”, is being talked about by everyone, also you can hear it from everywhere. Actually, it came from the two phrases “global tribe” and “global village” introduced first by Marshall McLuhan in his book “the Gutenberg Galaxy” in 1962. Since the high-speed and continuous development of communication technologies in the world, the geographic restrictions have been gradually reduced, the whole earth is just like a “classroom without walls” (McLuhan 1960, pp. 1-3). Especially, in recent years, there is an obvious rise in the level of interdependence between districts, cities and countries that contributes to the human increasing awareness of globalization (Robertson 1992). Such a word seems to already have become a dominant part of our social lives (Hirst & Grahame 1996) and hugely influenced on economy, culture and even politics. Meanwhile, it has evoked a sweeping and fierce controversy in every aspect. This essay attempts to analyze positive and negative effects impacted by globalization on three main fields mentioned above.


Reference:

Carpenter, E. & McLuhan, M. (1960) Explorations in Communication: an anthology. pp. 1-3, 125-135, 180-183, 207-208, Boston in the U.S.A., Beacon Press.

Hirst, P. & Thompson, G. (1996) Globalization in Question. Cambridge, Polity Press.

McLuhan, M. (1962) The Gutenberg Galaxy: the making of typographic man. Ch. 1, pp. 1-9, Ch. 2, pp. 28-32, Great Britain, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.

Robertson, R. (1992) Globalization: social theory and global culture. London, SAGE Publications Ltd.