Introduction

Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Put in simple terms, globalization refers to processes that promote worldwide exchanges of national and cultural resources. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities. Globalizing processes affect and are affected by business and work organization, economics, socio-cultural resources, and the natural environment.

Impact of Globalization

Globalization has resulted in the widespread sharing of—and access to—information around the globe. Cultural trends are exchanged through music, art, industry, clothing style, and technology. People around the world are more connected than ever before through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Mobile phones and cellular networks, in addition to the Internet, allow people to communicate and connect across nations and borders. Advancements in transportation have led to more opportunities for travel across borders, especially for those with more access to wealth.

Some research indicates positives trends as the world has become more globalized, though it is unclear if these trends are directly linked to globalization. For example, some researchers have shown that in the developing world as a whole, life expectancy rose by four months each year after 1970 and infant mortality rate declined from 107 per thousand in 1970 to 58 in 2000 due to improvements in standards of living and health conditions. Adult literacy in developing countries rose from 53% in 1970 to 74% in 1998. Technological innovations such as the mobile phone are believed to benefit most developing countries.

At the same time, globalization has allowed corporations to outsource manufacturing and service jobs from high-cost locations to lower-cost locations, where they can pay workers lower salaries and provide fewer (or no) benefits; critics argue this disadvantages poorer countries. Increases in income disparity has occurred over the last 20 years. In the U.S. the income of the top 50% has risen to a much greater extent than the income of the bottom 50% of American citizens, which has risen only slightly over the last forty years.

The Debate Over Globalization

Reactions to processes contributing to globalization have varied widely, with a history as long as extraterritorial contact and trade. Philosophical differences regarding the costs and benefits of such processes give rise to a broad range of ideologies and social movements. Proponents of economic growth, expansion, and development generally view globalizing processes as desirable or necessary to the well-being of human society. Those opposed to globalization view one or more globalizing processes as detrimental to social well-being on a global or local scale. Many question the social or natural sustainability of long-term and continuous economic expansion, while others point out the social and structural inequality caused by these processes, as well as the colonial, imperialistic, or hegemonic ethnocentrism, cultural assimilation, and cultural appropriation that underlie such processes.

Proponents of Globalization

In general, corporate businesses, particularly in the area of finance, see globalization as a positive force in the world. Many economists cite statistics that seem to support such a positive impact. For example, per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth among post-1980 globalizing countries accelerated from 1.4% a year in the 1960s and 2.9% a year in the 1970s to 3.5% in the 1980s and 5.0% in the 1990s. Economic liberals generally argue that higher degrees of political and economic freedom in the form of free trade in the developed world are ends in themselves, producing higher levels of overall material wealth. Globalization is seen by these proponents as the beneficial spread of liberty and capitalism.

Critiques of Globalization

Critiques of globalization generally stem from discussions surrounding the impact of such processes on the planet and on individual nation-states, especially those in the "Third World." Economic arguments by fair trade theorists claim that unrestricted free trade benefits those with more financial leverage (i.e. the rich) at the expense of the poor. They challenge directly traditional metrics, such as GDP, and look to other measures, such as the Gini coefficient or the Happy Planet Index, pointing to evidence of social disintegration, the spread of diseases, environmental damage, breakdowns in democracy, and increasing poverty in many of the world's nations as unintended consequences of globalization. Environmental challenges such as climate change, cross-boundary water and air pollution, and over-fishing of the ocean have all been linked to globalization. Some opponents of globalization see the phenomenon as the promotion of corporate interests; they also claim that the increasing autonomy and strength of corporate entities shapes the political policy of countries. They advocate global institutions and policies that they believe better address the moral claims of poor and working classes as well as environmental concerns.

Anti-globalization, or counter-globalization, consists of a number of criticisms of globalization, but can be generally described as a criticism of the globalization of corporate capitalism. Opponents of globalization in developed countries are disproportionately middle class and college educated; this contrasts sharply with the situation in developing countries, where anti-globalization movements have been more successful in enlisting a broader group, including millions of workers and farmers. Although since the mid-2000s more emphasis has been given to the construction of grassroots alternatives to (capitalist) globalization, the movement's largest and most visible mode of organizing remains mass decentralized campaigns of direct action and civil disobedience.

The Occupy Movement

One of the most recent manifestations of the anti-global capitalism movement is the Occupy Movements. These images show protests in different cities across the United States where activists protests dominance of the banks, corporations, and organizations like NATO, the World Bank, and IMF.