The Limits Of Globalization Essays - Cultural Geography,

The Limits Of Globalization THE LIMITS OF GLOBALIZATION Nowadays one of the most commonly used terms is globalization. But what does globalization mean? Does it mean dissappearing borders, a common trade unit, no tax in trade abroad, political awareness across the world, or, in extremes, even interfering with other countries' domestic affairs? In some ways globalization may be useful in creating a common sense of world citizenship, but useful to what extent? What are the possibilities, advantages and risks of such world citizenship? Are the United Nations and the European Union, stepping stones to globalization? Disappearing borders, in the economic meaning of the term can most clearly be seen today in Europe. The European Union restricts taxes on trade between members. Taking a step further the EU have decided on a common currency, the Euro , which became available at the beginning of 1999. This currency may economically be more functional but what aboutnational pride? All trade units display a country's well known heros or great personalities of them that the citizens respect for. How are the citizens going to respond to this kind of change time will show but nobody can say European countries are not nationalistic. There is a strong evidence on the contrary. One example is world war II, which started in the middle of Europe- -considered then the most civilized part of the world- because of Germany's belief in its national superiority. This unfortunate development took place just half a century ago.These European nation-states may seem to be getting along well for the time being because of fairly smilar economic levels but what will happen if one country's economic level drops or gets much better than the rest? Would the better ones pull up the worst to keep up with them or would those countries-having the best economy- want to carry the rest on their shoulders? Besides its economic ups and downs globalization has a tremendous effect on cultural values. World has a cultural diversity in itself. Every nation every country has its own traditions values practices of cultural activities. These create a diversity which every part of the world can be pointed out by their own characteristics. By the beginning 20th century with the effects of industrialization and common usage of communication devices and transpotation becoming faster and more comfortable economy started to play the most important role in a state's political policies. Trade became one of the main incomes of the countries and trade required close interaction between countries and decisions were started to be taken to ease traders by governments. This attitude of governments have led economic affairs to shape up cultural practices of states. As the cultures were revised by economy, stronger economies emposed their cultural practices to the weak ones. This if not stopped will continue until cultural erosion destroys cultural diversity over the world. The export of Western commodities, values, priorities, ways of life. In a process of unequal cultural encounter, 'foreign' populations have been compelled to be the subjects and subalterns of Western empire, while, no less significantly, the West has come to face with the 'alien' and exotic culture of its 'Other'. Globalization, as it dissolves the barriers of distance, makes the encounter of colonial center and colonized periphery immediate and intense (1995:108). The current century has seen a magnitude of rise and fall of political power and economical, political, social and structural changes, which without doubt have influenced any society's culture that was touched. From the imperial ages early this century, Europe in particular has seen the decline of the colonial power, the democratization and communization, the rise and fall of totalitarian, nationalistic and socialist regimes, and their decline. Europe has also experienced the fall from economic and political superpower, in a century that was for a long time been best characterized as the USSR-USA century. Equally Asia has been struck by fundamental changes: from the imperial China to the communist China, the rise of the Tiger Economies, the Vietnam war, the Korean war, the independence of India, the Iran Iraq war, the Gulf war,... to name just a few. Since economy plays the most important role or is the main criteria in a country's prestige and power; economically strong states started