Talk on Globalization

Good afternoon everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am Richard Black and I am a visiting professor at your university. I am going to give you a short talk about globalization.

Well, ‘globalization’ has become a kind of catch-all phrase that’s used to describe a process of ever-greater economic integration – a process in which economic events in one place pretty soon have huge implications (big effect) almost everywhere else.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘globalization’ (or ‘globalisation’) was first employed in 1952 by specialists in education. It was not until the 1960s that the term began to be widely used by economists and other social scientists. The term has since then achieved widespread use in the press. Now ‘globalization’ is a commonly used term in economics. It simply means that the world has become integrated economically, socially, politically and culturally through the advances in science, technology and communication.

Globalization is not a new phenomenon. The history of capitalism has been a history of the globalization of production. However, the pace of globalization is faster and faster nowadays.

There aredifferent aspects to it. From the consumers’ point of view, it is an easy access to goods produced abroad. For example, Coca-cola is bought in many different countries of the world. The hamburger you buy in Moscow is exactly the same as the one you buy in New York.

Then, of course, there’s another aspect of it: the integration of markets and the increased volumes of international trade. You’vegot global financial institutions: the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the growth of global financial markets. Everybody has heard of the names of huge multinational companies such as Sony, Microsoft, IBM, Toyota, General Electric, etc. Besides, technological developments and the Internet have made communication and travel much easier, so that the world seems to be a smaller place.

There are also cultural aspects of globalization – such as the increasing use of English: about 35 % of the world's mail, telexes,

and cables are in English, approximately 40 % of the world's radio programs are in English. The spread of English as an international language is, of course, a significant and important consequence of globalization.

So, increasingly, it makes sense to say that everything is “globalized”, that the economic barriers between countries have broken down.

If you ask me, ‘What are the the advantages of this global integration?” I would answer your question in the following way. Well, with globalization you have greater efficiency and thus greater wealth. Globalization provided better economic opportunities for many people and many countries in the second half of the 20^th century. Some poor countries lifted themselves out of poverty because of their access to global markets.

Of course, a lot of people would say that globalization is a process in which many countries are winners. And there have been some definite winners. For example, if you’ve got very cheap labour like China, you expand enormously in areas that involve cheap labour. And yet if you’ve got very good technology, like Japan or the USA, you do very well, you are economically successful.

But you know, if there are winners, there are losers as well. National or regional economies which are not competitive or less developed technologically become losers. Globalization can often lead to the destruction of local customs and cultures. Globalization has brought very little real benefit to developing countries; poor countries have become too dependent on foreign investment. We begin to see that economic globalization has come at a heavy price.

In conclusion, I’d like to stress that globalization is inevitable. Companies and governments must use a more balanced approach to it. They should take appropriate steps to deal with matters relating to the financial or economical benefits of globalization. Of course, without forgetting about the social, political or ecological concerns of the world.

I am very happy to take any questions and to thank you very much for listening.

Exercise 1. True or false? Follow the model working in pairs.

Is this statement true/ false?

Model: Yes, it is true/ false.

No, it isn’t true/ false.

1. The concept of “globalization” means that the world is integrated politically and culturally.

2. The only idea of globalisation is an easy access to goods produced abroad.

3. The Internet has made exchange of information easier.

4. Globalisation has contributed to the world’s economies in many beneficial ways.

5. A wide spread of English as a second language is a significant result of globalisation.

6. Globalization has never led to the destruction of local customs and cultures.

7. All developing countries have benefited from a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital.