Globalisation explained
How many people can live on planet Earth?
BBC Horizon – How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth? (Italian and Spanish Subtitles) from ScienceDocumentaries on Vimeo.
While-viewing tasks
- There are nearly seven billion of us living on the Earth. And the human population is increasing by more than two people every second, i.e. how many people every day?
- How many people on the planet already lack access to safe, clean drinking water?
- Is the food we grow enough to feed us people?
- What does Attenborough fear if we keep on going like this?
- Is our population still growing?
- Since when has there been a rapid increase in the world’s population?
- What did Malthus observe in the late 18th century?
- What does Attenborough mean by saying “But increasingly, we’re seeing signs of strain.”?
- How many people already lack access to safe, clean, drinking water?
- What does Attenborough mean by saying “And we know that things are going to get more difficult as the population continues to grow.”
- People do not face water scarcity, but also?
- How did the industrialised nations manage to triple their farming yields in the 20th century?
- Who was Norman Borlaug?
- What are international corporations and governments doing nowadays and why? What is the problem? What are the so-called “target countries”? What is so paradoxical about this situation?
- So how many people can the Earth sustain?
- “We’re simply living beyond the means of our environment to sustain us.” Explain!
Migration
Globalization
Globalization is the process of increased interconnectedness among countries and people most notably in the areas of economics, politics, and culture.
The idea of globalization may be simplified by identifying several key characteristics:
Improved technology in transportation and telecommunications
What makes the rest of this list possible is the ever-increasing capacity and efficiency of how people and things move and communicate. In years past, people across the globe did not have the ability to communicate and could not interact without difficulty. Nowadays, a phone, instant message, or video conference call can easily be used to connect people. Additionally, anyone with enough money can book a plane flight and travel half way across the world in a matter of hours.
Distances are lessened, and the world begins to metaphorically shrink.Movement of people and capital, refugees
Distances are lessened, and the world begins to metaphorically shrink.
Movement of people and capital, refugees
Most migration takes place within or between developing countries, possibly because of lower standards of living and lower wages. Individuals are pushed to places with a greater chance for economic success. This is also part of the refugee crisis.
Additionally, capital is being moved globally with the ease of electronic transference and a rise in perceived investment opportunities. Developing countries are a popular place for investors to place their capital because of the enormous room for growth.
Diffusion of knowledge
The word ‘diffusion’ simply means to spread out, and that is exactly what any new knowledge does. When a new invention or way of doing something pops up, it does not stay secret for long. A good example of this is the appearance of automotive farming machines in Southeast Asia, an area long home of manual agricultural labor.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and multinational corporations
As global awareness of certain issues has risen, so too has the number of organizations that aim at dealing with them. So-called non-governmental organizations bring together people unaffiliated with the government and can be nationally or globally focused. Many international NGOs deal with issues that do not pay attention to borders (such as global climate change, energy use, or child labor regulations).
Examples of NGOs include Amnesty International or Doctors without Borders.
As countries are connected to the rest of the world (through increased communication and transportation) they immediately form what a business would call a market. What this means is that a particular population represents more people to buy a particular product or service. As more and more markets are opening up, business people from around the globe are coming together to form multinational corporations in order to access these new markets. Another reason that businesses are going global is that some jobs can be done by foreign workers for a much cheaper cost than domestic workers; this is called outsourcing.
At its core globalization is an easing of borders, making them less important as countries become dependent on each other to thrive.
Some scholars claim that governments are becoming less influential in the face of an increasingly economic world. Others contest this, insisting that governments are becoming more important because of the need of regulation and order in such a complex world system.
In short:
- Globalization describes the growing global network of trade, travel, knowledge and influence
- It is possible to buy and sell products all over the world, travel to any place
- Exchange of information across the world
- Cultural definition:
– process of international integration arising from the exchange of world views, products, ideas and other aspects of culture
– can erode and universalize the characteristics of a local culture - Economic definition:
– system of integration, interaction, opening and connection of regional economies all over the world
– interconnected global network involving technological, economic, political and cultural exchanges made possible by advances in communication, transportation, trade and infrastructure
Pros and cons of Globalization
There is a heated debate about the true effects of globalization and if it really is such a good thing. Good or bad, though, there isn’t much argument as to whether or not it is happening.
| Benefits | Problems/ dangers | |
| Technology | · Advancements, breakthrough, innovation in technology/ science/ medicine/ IT
→faster exchange of information, facilitates business and transaction · global media information system accessibility/ disposability · technical progress →transport becomes easier and quicker · agricultural advancement (elimination of famine, possibility of better crops which are well-adjusted to different climates, resistant against different vermin and designed to produce a better, possible increase in production and earnings) · genetic engineering (growing organs, saving of endangered species, possible elimination of unpleasant and / or deadly diseases) |
· misuse (nuclear energy, designed humans, genetic engineering/ cloning, biotechnology/ genetic mutation, unknown long-term forecast, possible cutback in biodiversity and great risk of increase in mono-cropping)
· changes are too fast/ can be painful →people suffer from stress · dependence on foreign know-how and opportunities · few people are needed in production →unemployment · popularisation of information: – no guaranty of credibility/ authenticity/ objectivity · data privacy, anonymity, censorship, criminality |
| Infrastructure | · improved transportation infrastructure
– >international tourism – >almost no limitation to travel (elimination of borders) – >greater mobility |
|
| Culture | · Mixing of different cultures/ multiculturalism →tolerance and homogeneity (music, clothes, food, sport etc.)
· opportunity to communicate with people from all over the world in virtue of English as global language · spread of democracy around the world · greater access to foreign culture in the form of movies, music, food, clothing |
· clash of cultures →resentment, racism, xenophobia
· cultures may be destroyed completely (loss of identity/ individuality/ traditions/ languages) →Westernization |
| Economy | ·steady economic growth
→improving living standards in developing countries · expansion of trade/ worldwide, international trade – >positive impact on GDP/ growth – >investment in poorer countries – >competitive markets, price regulation – >innovation through demand · fusion of international companies →strong economic ties all around the world · higher flexibility (e.g. outsourcing) · Global competition encourages creativity and innovation and keeps prices for commodities/services in check |
· benefits of globalization cannot be shared by all (only minority really profits from it) →gap between poor and rich increases, middle class disappears
· ‘survival of the fittest’ · monopolies · mass unemployment · bad working conditions, abuse, exploitation · outsourcing, loss of local economies, takes away those jobs from another country · capitalism (risk of an economic crisis/ instability, excessive consumerism, populism, profit seeking, materialism, superficiality) |
| Politics | · global awareness, improved ability to interact and coordinate globally
· prevention of conflicts between nations (global institutions) · chances for LEDCs →subventions and help from industrialized countries · supranational/ international institutions and organisations (EU, UN, etc.) >mutual support/ international solidarity >global democracy >equal human rights >shared advantages, >supranational responsibility >collaborative projects (e.g. crime fighting, nature conservation |
– supranational/ international organisations (global governance, difficulty of finding mutual interests)
– conflicts (wars, change in world system concerning economy/ power) |
| Population | – cultural exchange
– growing wealth, growing middle class – transportation, infrastructure – foreign goods – enrichment – tourism |
· health risks (spread of diseases, infectiousness)
· greater chance of disease spreading worldwide · workforce (competition, immigrant workers, low-wage countries, migration, child labour, prostitution) · overpopulation (malnutrition, famine, lacking water, lacking living place, hygienic condition) · terrorism due to open borders |
| Ecology | – international environmental protection programs
– measures: carbon emission limits, development of alternative technologies, renewable energy (wind power/ solar power/ geothermal energy/ hydroelectric energy), changes in lifestyle, etc. |
· air, water and soil pollution
· Climate Change (global warming, natural catastrophes, rise of sea levels, forest fires) >energy consumption >high emissions through transport and burning of fossil fuels →greenhouse effect >exploitation of nature >deforestation >lack of sustainability, instability of ecological system >destruction of habitat |
Ecological issues
Consequences
- Global warming
- Natural catastrophe, e.g. flood, earthquake, hurricanes
- Melting ice caps -> rising sea level
- Drought
- Pollution of air, water and soil
- Dying coral reefs
Global warming:
- Climate change
- Increase of overall temperature of the world’s atmosphere
- Caused mainly by the greenhouse effect
Causes:
- Factories: industrial emission, exhaust gases, chemical waste, burning fossil fuels
- Private households: chemical waste, environmental lifestyle
- Tourism: infrastructure, high waste of water and energy
How many people can live on Earth?
- Each life needs food, water, energy
- Growing population means a decreasing supply of food, water and energy
- More than a billion already lack water
- Demand will outstrip supply
- Produced food is not enough to feed everyone
- Danger of reaching the limits of our environment
Solutions
- Prevent consumerism, overproduction
- Education (contraception)
- Use resources in a more sustainable way, do not waste so much
- Increase awareness
- Reduce emissions
- Raise productivity (on fields)
