Globalisation
Globalisation has been variously defined in at least three ways:
The difference between these definitions is that the first is general, the second specific, and the third idealistic. In the first case, we can argue that the globalisation phenomenon must date back to Alexander the Great, and certainly at least to the Pax Romana. In the second case, we can cite the wave of integrative colonialisation of the 19th and early 20th century, in which the Pax Britannica with its forcible integration of a third of the world's resources was the prime suspect. The third case, however, is one for the United Nations and the very modern idea of a multicultural and multipolar world.
This last definition is very difficult to work with. Such a conviction does, of course, exist. But it is probably by far the minority view of the nations and peoples of this earth right now. Most organisations, for example, would only be able to live with the first definition, no matter how integrated their programmes are. It is laudable that educational organisations such as the International Baccalaureate Organisation seek to move education towards the last one.
- the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world (Stiglitz)
- the inexorable integration of markets, nation-states and technologies (Friedman)
- the conviction that a plurality of cultures… could be accommodated on terms of equality in a single society (Fernández-Armesto)
The difference between these definitions is that the first is general, the second specific, and the third idealistic. In the first case, we can argue that the globalisation phenomenon must date back to Alexander the Great, and certainly at least to the Pax Romana. In the second case, we can cite the wave of integrative colonialisation of the 19th and early 20th century, in which the Pax Britannica with its forcible integration of a third of the world's resources was the prime suspect. The third case, however, is one for the United Nations and the very modern idea of a multicultural and multipolar world.
This last definition is very difficult to work with. Such a conviction does, of course, exist. But it is probably by far the minority view of the nations and peoples of this earth right now. Most organisations, for example, would only be able to live with the first definition, no matter how integrated their programmes are. It is laudable that educational organisations such as the International Baccalaureate Organisation seek to move education towards the last one.
etched with acid at 8:42:00 am
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