In Focus: The Drivers of Globalization

At the dawn of 21st century, information technology, communication, transportation and

even banking systems took a great leap of improvement that changed lives. Using a personal

computer, an individual could perform a number of trade and banking transactions from

anywhere, for as long as there is an Internet connection. People who were fond of traveling could

remain in contact with families and employers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Important events

could now be shared by millions of people through satellite connections and the use of the World

Wide Web. The world became a small neighborhood because of fast deliveries brought about by

international airplane travel. All of these improvements contributed to the creation of a single

thread that connected billions of people. That thread came to be known as globalization and it

greatly contributed to the development of the so-called global society.




Globalization validates the emergence of a global society in which political, economic

and cultural events could easily influence the lives of people from all parts of the world. The so

called global society also implies the idea of a global market which allows the freer movement of

goods, services, investment and capitals across the globe.1 The global market focuses on

economic globalization, a sub-field of globalization, which focuses on the change and

improvement that occurs in the sector of trade and commerce. Economic globalization suggests

diminishing national boundaries and territory to allow freer movement of goods and services.2

Tariffs and trade regulations are created to further improve and ensure that the flow of goods and

services would continue and remain safe from illegal activities.







1







Ronnie Horesh, “Globalization: What it means for agriculture and New Zealand,” MAF International Policy. 2001.

http://socialgoals.com/globalisation.html. (accessed April 26, 2008).

2

Ibid.



3


Along with these and improvements in the field of transportation, information technology

and communication, companies around the world have opened up millions of jobs and have

reduced the cost of transactions and operations. An example of this would be the significant

increase in trade and movement of capital in the form of bonds, stocks and investment. The

volume of world export level from 1950 to 2001 grew 20 times from its original level. Analysts

have also deduced that investors and shareholders nowadays are so well informed that they could

easily manipulate their shares and capitals through the Internet in order to gain more profit.




It is apparent that the consumer is an influential catalyst for change; however, there are

other elements which contribute greatly to the development, growth and spread of globalization.

There are different factors which have allowed globalization to spread quickly. It would be best

to narrow them down based on their influence and the number of changes that they have made to

the concept of globalization that we know of today. As much as possible, these factors would be

in touch with market and product globalization. The assessment of these factors would be the key

in answering why globalization has spread so fast over the past decades. It is also prudent to

examine the influence of globalization on the lives of ordinary people.