What is globalisation?

Zygmont Bauman (Davis and Tester, 2010) saw globalisation as a consequence of postmodernity. Perspectives shifting as technologies increased the compression of time and space, changing geography, societies and cultures, reordering even the way we express ourselves and the view the world around us.


The origins, etymology and composition of the word ‘globalisation’ is interesting. Three parts; the ‘global’, meaning the globe, the whole of Earth; and the ‘isation’, including both the ‘ise/ize’ and ‘ation’ suffixes. The ‘ation’ is noun forming, while the ‘ise’ is a transitive verb, and together the meaning takes on a ‘doing sense’.


Globalisation also has a historical dimension to its processes. Technologies are improved, and new networks and physical and mobile connections are engineered with bigger bandwidths and higher capacities. The effects are magnified.


Once it was expensive to phone other countries, now the cost of a computer, Internet connection and Skype is absorbed among our other daily utilities like power, water, and rent.


 Previously major political protests were covered by radio, television and print news with giant distribution agencies, now a story can break instantly around the world across Twitter, Google and Facebook on billions of screens.


Globalisation is acceleration, an increase in the pace of change, but it is also the lag, and the economics of politics, the failures of governance and the intensity of the military and judiciary. 


It occurs as regions rise, banks cripple economies, and billionaires challenge the Catholic church in the Vatican City, Rome over female contraception in Africa. 


Globalisation is the process of integration as national identities evolve, markets boom and bust, and borders are refashioned. 


Davis, M. and Tester, k. (2010) Bauman’s Challenge: Sociological Issues for the 21St Century, Palgrave MacMillan