Globalization

According to the online dictionary Merriam-Webster Online, globalization is “the
development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free
flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets.” Globalization, however,
reaches beyond the economic scope since it “is a term that encompasses all cross-border
interactions, whether economic, political, or cultural.” (Marber 56). Within a globalized world,
everything is related and connected, constantly changing and transforming not only the economy
but also politics, culture, consumption, and telecommunications. The following paper aims at
showing how the world is becoming globalized, what advantages and disadvantages appear
throughout this process, and why globalization is an overall good thing for the world and its
citizens.
As already mentioned, globalization affects several levels of interaction. With regard to
the economy, free trade and less trade barriers enabled the forces of globalization to grow
stronger and faster than ever before in human history. Within the last twenty years, the Soviet
Union and China have integrated economically with the West while Latin America and Asia have
worked toward stable and liberal systems in order to be part of “meaningful socioeconomic
progress and […] Western standards of living.” (Marber 56).