Origins and history of globalization

Question 1

Hardwired (built-in/innate)

Answer 1

According to Nayan Chanda (2007), it is because of our basic human need to make our lives better that made globalization possible. Therefore, one can trace the beginning of globalization from our ancestors in Africa who walked out from the said continent in the late Ice Age. Chanda (2007) mentioned that commerce, religion, politics, and warfare are the “urges” of people toward a better life.
e.g. Cradle of Civilization

Question 2

Cycles (repeated action/routine)

Answer 2

For some, globalization is a long-term cyclical process and thus, finding its origin will be a daunting task. Subscribing to this view will suggest adherence to the idea that other global ages have appeared. There is also the notion to suspect that this point will soon disappear and reappear.

Question 3

EPOCH (era/timeline)

Answer 3

Ritzer (2015) cited Therborn’s (2000) six great epochs of globalization. These are also called “waves” and each has its own origin. The difference of this view from the former (cycles) is that it does not treat epochs as returning. The following are the sequential occurrence of epochs:
1. Globalization of religion (4th - 7th century)
2. European colonial conquest (late 15th century)
3. Intra-European wars (late 18th – early 19th century)
4. Heyday of European imperialism (mid-19th – 1918)
5. Post World War II period (Cold war)
6. Post-Cold War

Question 4

EVENTS

Answer 4

Specific events are also considered as part of different views in explaining the origin of globalization. Gibbon (1998), for example, argued that Roman conquest centuries before Christ were its origin. Rosenthal (2007) gave premium to voyages of discovery – Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America in 1942, Vasco da Gama in Cape of Good Hope in 1498, and Ferdinand Magellan and his crews’ completed circumnavigation of the globe in 1522.

Question 5

BROADER, MORE RECENT CHANGES

Answer 5

Recent and broader changes happened in the last half of the twentieth century. Scholars today point to these three notable changes as the origin of globalization that we know today.

1. The emergence of the United States as the global power (Post World-War II)
   
   2. The emergence of multinational corporations (MNC’s)
   3. The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Question 6

Demographic Transition

Answer 6

is a singular historical period during which mortality and fertility rate decline from high to low levels in a particular country or region.

Question 7

Global Migration

Answer 7

The nuances of the movements of people around the world can be seen through categories of migrants – “vagabonds” and “tourists” (Baunan, 1998).