What is Globalization?

The following on globalization and the different types of government are excerpts from my book, ‘SOCI 001: The Armchair Sociologist’s Guide to Sociology.’ You can click here to learn more about it. 

Globalization

Globalization is a process in which businesses or organizations spread influence internationally. This could mean selling their products abroad or having part of their operation in a foreign country.

For example, the sportswear company Nike, which is an American company, has factories in China. There, their shoes and apparel are made. Nike also has stores in China where citizens of the nation can buy Nike products.

Additionally, globalization is also the spread of cultures and traditions across the globe. An example of this would be foreign food and snacks. If you walk through most food courts in shopping centres, you’ll notice that there’s a large variety of food from different cultures. You’ll see American food, Asian food, Middle Eastern food, etc. This is one-way cultures are spread globally.

Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism

Capitalism, socialism, and communism are three types of government and economy.

Capitalism is a form of economy and politics that encourage free trade. In this type, governments will promote the development of private companies so that they can develop products or services that will create new industries in the nation. This, in turn, will create jobs for citizens, but more importantly, will strengthen the economy as they have resources to trade with other nations.

Currently, there are no pure capitalistic economies in the world as those that claim to be capitalistic are mixed. An example of a mixed economy would be Canada. There is free enterprise in the nation, meaning citizens are allowed to start private companies, and free trade is encouraged. But there are also lots of social programs, such as universal healthcare and public education.

Socialism is similar to capitalism in that these governments also encourage the development of new services and products. However, the development and distribution of these resources will be heavily regulated by the government. The officials in power will oversee every aspect of the service or product. They will have a say in how it is made, how it is used, how it is traded, etc. They will even have a say in how much it will cost.

An example of a socialist country would be Sweden. In this nation, much of the economy is public, meaning the government runs much of the corporations. There is a lot of public social programs and public social welfare.

Communism is a form of government and economy where privatization of property does not exist. Everything is public (or in other words state-run) and all citizens have a fair share of the pie. No one, not even the state officials, will have more capital or ownership than their neighbour.

There are no pure communist nations that exist in the world. The reason being is that the nations that fly the banner of communism either trade internationally or are authoritative governments. This means that the citizens have equal power and resources, but the state officials have more power and resources than the citizens. An example of this would be North Korea.

If you want to read more about globalization, check out these blog posts:

• How does globalization affect identity?
• Identity and the Forces of Globalization
• Identity, the Media, and Communication Technology