What Are the Main Characteristics of Globalization as It Has Developed over the Last 40 Years or So?

What are the main characteristics of globalization as it has developed over the last 40 years or so?

“In Globalization 1.0, which began around 1492, the world went from size large to size medium. In Globalization 2.0, the era that introduced us to multinational companies, it went from size medium to size small. And then around 2000 came Globalization 3.0, in which the world went from being small to tiny” Thomas Friedman

Friedman summarises the constant and developing presence of globalization above and reminds us that it is not a new or recent concept by any means. Globalization has been present in some form since the first explorations of the world, resulting in trade routes forming such as the Asian Silk road and vast spice trade from India. The constantly changing concept is difficult to define with many differences in opinion forming. Many definitions focus on the economic significance of globalization whilst others chose to downplay this aspect, for the purpose here a simple definition of globalization as being the process whereby people and countries are becoming more connected in a greater number of ways over a larger distance (Lechner,J. 2009) will suffice. As mentioned before globalization has been present for many century’s and has had an impact and been impacted on by a number of defining moments in world history. The First and Second World War have had drastic influences on globalization, being the catalyst for the emergence of international political and trade agreements. Certain individual and groups of countries succeeding and strengthening economically have also impacted economics and cultures globally. An example of this is the emergence of the Asian Tiger economies in the late 1980’s. (maybe more history things). Mckeown, A(2007) helps to separate the seemingly constant presence of globalization by defining it as the “period in which a sense of living in the midst of unprecedented change has dominated social and personal sensibilities”

From what has been briefly discussed above it can be seen that globalization has dominant characteristics in economic, political and cultural areas and that it is a fluid concept covering an indeffinate period of time.

According to Steger(2003 pg 41) “the three most significant developments related to economic globalization have been the internationalization of trade, the increasing power of transnational corporations, and the enhanced roles of international economic institutions”

The internationalization of trade can be seen in many ways, for example in the increased mobility of capital and labour. An example of this can be seen from the increased popularity from the 70’s onward to outsource labour-intensive tasks to other countries (United Nations Staff 2002 Pg19). This had the benefits of helping company’s cut costs, in particular transport and started the process of trade regulations to be established and