GLOBALIZATION

Culture

Environment

Society

Economy

Politics

Globalization describes the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of political ideas through communication, transportation, and trade.

Pronunciation:

Task 1

Memorize the pronunciation of the following words.

upheaval [ʌp'hiːv(ə)l], lingering['lɪŋg(ə)rɪŋ] arrogance ['ærəgən(t)s] virtue ['vɜːʧuː], [-tju-] supranational [ˌs(j)uːprə'næʃ(ə)n(ə)l] leverage ['liːv(ə)rɪʤ] equitable [ˈɛkwɪtəbl ]	laisser-faire [lesefɛʀ] sophisticated [sə'fɪstɪkeɪtɪd] identity [aɪ'dentətɪ] consciousness ['kɔn(t)ʃəsnəs] sacrifice [sækrɪfaɪs] emerging [ɪˈmɜːʤɪŋ] disruptive [dɪsˈrʌptɪv]
Word study:

Task 2

Form the necessary parts of speech.

noun	verb	adjective
absorption
	remove
protection
distribution
	entertain
		sophisticated
	effect
	prefer

Pre-reading:

Task 3

Befo re reading the text answer the following questions.

1. What comes to mind when you hear the word globalization?

2. Is globalization good for the world? Has globalization improved people’s lives?

3. Do you think it’s possible to ignore globalization?

4. Could globalization have happened without the Internet?

5. How has globalization affected your life?

Reading A

Task 4

Read the text and be ready to discuss it.

TECHNOLOGY (INTERNET)	GLOBALIZATION
TRANSPORT COSTS AND SPEED OF TRANSPORT
END OF THE COLD WAR
GLOBAL PROBLEM (CLIMATE,MIGRATION)
LIBERALIZATION

Globalization, as a concept, refers both to the "shrinking" of the world and the increased consciousness of the world as a whole. It is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that are the result of dramatically increased cross-border trade, investment, and cultural exchange. The processes and actions to which the concept of globalization now refers have been proceeding, with some interruptions, for many centuries, but only in relatively recent times has globalization become a main focus of discussion. The current or recently-past epoch of globalization has been dominated by the nation-state, national economies, and national cultural identities. The new form of globalization is an interconnected world and global mass culture, often referred to as a "global village."

In specifically economic contexts, globalization is often used in characterizing processes underway in the areas of financial markets, production, and investment. Even more narrowly, the term is used to refer almost exclusively to the effects of trade, particularly trade liberalization or "free trade."

Between 1910 and 1950, a series of political and economic upheavals dramatically reduced the volume and importance of international trade flows. Globalization trends reversed beginning with World War I and continuing until the end of World War II, when the Bretton Woods institutions were created (that is, the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, World Bank, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, later re-organized into the World Trade Organization, or WTO). In the post-World War II environment, fostered by international economic institutions and rebuilding programs, international trade and investment dramatically expanded. By the 1970s, the effects of the flow of trade and investment became increasingly visible, both in terms of the benefits and the disruptive effects.

As with all human endeavors, globalization processes are strongly affected by the values and motivation of the people involved in the process. In theory, globalization should benefit all people because it can produce greater overall economic value. Achieving an equitable distribution of the added value, however, would require the people who dominate the market to embody the virtue of sacrificing themselves to serve the higher purpose of the good of all. However, the legacy of colonialism, which causes a lingering arrogance among the powers in the Group of Eight and creates suspicion in the developing world, means that for many people, globalization is feared and resisted as a negative. Corporatist culture is seen as trampling upon local values and local economies. The Western, secular value system of the major economic actors is seen as a neo-colonial affront to people with non-Western religious and cultural values.

Thus, resistance to globalization is growing in many places, manifesting in the early twenty-first century with rise of Islamic terrorism. That al-Qaeda's target on September 11, 2001, was New York City's World Trade Center was no coincidence.

To be successful, the leaders of the globalization process need to practice the virtues of respect for religious and cultural values, and sacrifice their economic self-interest for the benefit of people suffering poverty and want. It is a challenge whose resolution requires world leaders to pay heed to the religious and cultural dimensions of life and to develop a global world view that lifts up the shared values of all cultures.

Aspects of Globalization. "Globalization" carries multiple meanings, nuances, and applications. These include the formation of a global village through closer contact between different parts of the world, with increasing possibilities of personal exchange, mutual understanding, and friendship between "world citizens," and creation of a global civilization. The World Bank defines globalization as the “Freedom and ability of individuals and firms to initiate voluntary economic transactions with residents of other countries.” Marshall McLuhan’s idea of "the global village," was introduced in his book Explorations in Communication (1960). The United Nations has coined the term “Our Global Neighborhood” to describe an emerging world-political context.

Globalization has brought forth supranational organizations and international regimes, that is, commonly accepted laws and commonly accepted practices. The loss of sovereignty by the nation state to transnational and supranational organizations is of greatest concern. A world system perspective is a world with a common political system (with a common social and cultural system), linked by a common language, cultural practices, and institutions.

In sociology and communications, globalization is understood as global mass culture dominated by the modern means of cultural production (movies, television, the Internet, mass advertising, and so on). Mass communication produces images that cross and re-cross linguistic frontiers more rapidly and easily than goods and services, and speaks across languages in an immediate way. Global mass culture is dominated by the ways in which the visual and graphic arts have entered directly into the reconstitution of popular life, of entertainment, and of leisure with the image, imagery, and styles of mass advertising. This is dominated by Western cultural values and techniques. This process is homogenizing but also enormously absorptive of techniques and practices.

Economic globalization refers to free trade and increasing relations among members of an industry in different parts of the world (globalization of an industry), with a corresponding erosion of national sovereignty in the economic sphere. The IMF defines globalization as “the growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services, freer international capital flows, and more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology” (IMF, World Economic Outlook, May 1997).

The negative effects of for-profit multinational corporations are exerted through such actions as the use of substantial and sophisticated legal and financial means to circumvent the bounds of local laws and standards, in order to leverage the labor and services of unequally-developed regions against each other.

The spread of capitalism from developed to developing nations. Globalization shares a number of characteristics with internationalization and is used interchangeably, although some prefer to use globalization to emphasize the erosion of the nation-state or national boundaries.

Globalism, if the concept is reduced to its economic aspects, can be said to contrast with economic nationalism and protectionism. It is related to laissez-faire capitalism and neoliberalism.

Word study:

Task 5

Compose word combinations matching a line in A with a line in B.

A	B
trampling upon to increase investments growing reconstitution of relatively dramatically expanded sacrifice the loss of to develop	self-interest sovereignty investment local values a global world view became increasingly visible cross-border trade popular life recent times economic interdependence

Task 6

Match the definitions.

to foster to trample arrogance affront suspicion to afford upheaval to expand identify frontier

a belief that something is true to regard as being the same; equate a sudden, often violent disruption or change; an act, instance, or condition of being raised or heaved upward a border between two countries, or the area close on either side to encourage and aid the growth or development of. to spread wide belief in one's superiority, or excessive pride to be able to do (something) without fear of serious consequences to crush, destroy, or extinguish by or as if by treading underfoot an openly insulting deed or remark

Task 7

Match the words with similar meaning.

A	B
resolution equitable endeavor to require resident disruptive concern diffusion secular apparent	effort destructive, raucous denizen, occupant, tenant affair, business, care, interest, matter decision permeation visible, plain, or clearly seen.  impartial, proper, unbiased earthly, laic, profane, temporal, worldly call for, demand, need, want

Task 8

Give the Russian equivalents to the following.

Cross-border trade, cultural identities, equitable distribution, resistance to globalization, linguistic frontiers, capital flows, pre-modern times, for the first and only time, to move safely, to facilitate the exchange of trade goods.

Task 9

Translate the following word combinations into English.

Tорговые потоки, разрушительное влияние, равное распределение, потеря суверенитета, уважение региональных и культурных ценностей, растущая экономическая независимость, взаимопонимание, неравномерно развивающиеся страны, сравнительно недавнее время, надгосударственные организации.

Task 10

Match an adjective (A) and a noun (B).

A	B
local mass linguistic recent cultural equitable financial national lingering negative multiple international economic mutual unequally developed	understanding market meanings effect arrogance transactions exchange trade values culture distribution regions frontier sovereignty times

Speaking:

Task 11

Answer the following questions.

1. What does “shrinking” of the world mean?

2. What does “global village” imply?

3. Does the term “globalization” refer only to economics?

4. Does globalization benefit all people?

5. What is “corporatist culture”? Explain how you understand it.

6. Does corporatist culture tramp upon local economics?

7. What should the leaders of the globalization do?

8. The problem of the loss of sovereignty is of greatest concern. Give pros and cons.

9. A world system perspective is a world with a common political system, language, etc. What are pluses and minuses of such perspective?

10. Is global mass culture good for humanity?

11. Can globalization be stopped?

12. Who/what makes globalization happen?

13. Why are some people against globalization?

14. Does globalization force countries to open their economies to the world?

15. How does globalization influence politics?

Task 12

Make a list of 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of globalization. Fill in the chart. Then discuss pros and cons of globalization. The 1^st one has been done for you.

GLOBALIZATION
advantages	disadvantages
Helps economics grow.

Task 13

Speak on globalization using the mind map.

Reading B

Task 14

Read the text, try to catch its essentials and be ready to do the tasks.