Understanding Globalization in Relation to Human Condition

Globalization and the Human Condition
Name
Institutional Affiliate
Globalization and the Human Condition
Introduction
The interaction and integration of people across the social, cultural, political, economic, and even civic dimensions of societies around the world are characteristic of various transitions with equally diverse influences and effects on the global society as a whole. Documented in history, for instance, is the ancient economic interactions among traders from different social, political, and economic backgrounds along the Silk Road, between the 15th and 18th centuries, for individual, state, or even regional development. In essence, individuals with different political ideologies, unique religious orientations, and distinct cultural beliefs and practices interacted and integrated on a cross-border or an international platform in their business transactions. The cross-border interactions and integrations across the diverse social dimensions have since undergone various transitions in the advent of Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, whose influences functioned to promote interdependence among different nations around the world. It suffices, therefore, to state that the interaction and integration of social, cultural, political, economic, and civic characteristics defining members of a given society or group is an ancient phenomenon that undergoes continuous transitions as influenced by the evolution of human ingenuity across the said social dimensions. Advances in telecommunication technology in today’s world, for instance, account for significant improvement of the ancient phenomenon through increased or rather expansive integration and interactions across the different social dimensions on the digital platform. It is this ancient phenomenon that is commonly referred to as globalization. Globalization encompasses all the aforementioned social dimensions in today’s world, as evidenced by the increased social, cultural, political, and civic interactions and integration at the global or international level. The fact that globalization thrives on the different social dimensions creates an inevitable intersection with the human condition. In essence, globalization impacts the distinct social, cultural, political, and economic orientations characterizing societies or nations around the world. What then is this intersection, and how does it manifest in society? This research paper seeks to answer the question by analyzing different approaches or theories of globalization as dictated by the outlined social dimensions and thus creating an understanding of globalization in correlation to the human condition.
Scope of Globalization
Globalization makes for a complex concept with varied definitions as stipulated by the dominant social dimension within which it occurs. Among the common definitions of the concept emerged from the internationalization of trading activities or cross-border economic interactions and integration or interdependence among different nations. Cross-border integration has since evolved as it entails not only monetary and business transactions but also includes cross-cultural interactions and socio-political interdependence. It is a multidimensional phenomenon that calls for a ...