Globalization: an Issue Worth Investigating

Globalization: The word is starting to dominate the world. Little by little more and more people are becoming more and more aware of the idea but instead of being able to create their own opinions and actions towards approaching it, it is being taught that it is a very bad movement that is moving us toward extinction.

In the Novel “Artist of the Floating World,” one of this issues concluded in the novel is the issue of Globalization. The artist describes globalization as the increased flow of capital (both financial and human), commodities, and creative ideas around the world in the last half of the twentieth century and early part of the twenty-first century.
On a positive side it has given us increased exposure to foreign cultures, through travel and trade as well as new technological advances such as the internet, satellite, and television. However on the other hand its negative advances have continued to cause serious disruptions to the well-being of vulnerable communities and economies, (quoted from the novel). A few facts that I derived from the conclusion indicate that ½ the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day and has no access to proper sanitation. 20% of the populations in developed nations consume 86% of the world’s goods. 0.13% of the world’s population controls 25% of its financial assets. Instead of pointing fingers the author feels that we need to frame the issue of globalization not as a good-evil paradigm instead as part of an evolving dynamics that requires choices and responsibilities for those who, willingly or not, participate in it.

When the term “Globalization” is used, it can frighten people. The media and politicians have tried to embed our thoughts and feelings towards the issue as a natural disaster that is going to kill off the world if nothing is done right now. Most people are not heavily educated about this idea. I can say that prior to my English 353 class; I was under an entirely different impression. In the class I had opportunities to learn about globalization in a different manor, both positive and negatively. I was given an opportunity to see a sustainability conference, I was shown a video by Annie Leonard, and I was given the opportunity to read the novel “Artist of the Floating World.” All of which have shown globalization in different lime lights. So it’s easy to agree with Robert Burton, (author of Artist of the Floating World) when he concludes that it’s not about pointing fingers, not as a good-evil paradigm, but instead as an evolving dynamic that requires choice.

After hearing different ideas on globalization I feel that my interpretation of this phenomenon has been educated, and I have a more informed opinion on the idea. I feel that its impossible to stop at the rate of our countries success. However there are ways that we can slow the process down, one way is education. It’s easy for these politicians and activist to jump on a band wagon and try to educate the world about globalization however I feel that they need to start educating less biased opinions. This would create opportunities for individuals to develop their own opinions and actions towards the matter instead of being frightened by the word “Globalization.”