Modern Sport and Olympic Games: The Problematic Complexities Raised by the Dynamics of Globalization (Essay‪)‬

Introduction The notion of globalization has become commonplace. We find it in everyday conversation, throughout news reports, within scholarly discourse--seemingly everywhere. On closer inspection, however, we observe that what is meant by globalization often differs. In some usages it seems to be shorthand for the impression that the world is a "closer place." We are linked to each other more immediately by transportation and communication. For others of us, this sense of linkage is tangible: we look at the goods we purchase (and increasingly the services as well) and note their distant place of origin. Yet, in other contexts globalization is seen simultaneously as benefit and cost. For example, Americans (and many others in the world) rely on Walmart as a source of inexpensive consumer items--clearly a marker of globalization since most of Walmart's goods emanate from the cheaper labor pools of China. About this they feel good. At the same time, immigration causes consternation the world over as the apparently "border flattening" nature of contemporary globalization promotes migration, legal and undocumented, about which strong attitudes prevail. Obviously, globalization is a many-factored 'thing,' some aspects of which may be viewed with approval, whereas others are viewed with anxiety or hostility.