What's new about globalisation?

Essay by snowwhiteUniversity, Bachelor'sD+, March 2004

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In 1330, a deadly disease began to spread around Asia and most of Europe. After its beginning in China, it was quickly spread by trade boats and movement of people and goods from one place to another. The bubonic plague has been blamed for the deaths of a third of the population of Europe at the time, and it is an early example of globalisation. The trade links between countries, and increasing ease of travel made the spread of the disease possible, evidence that although it is thought of as a modern process, it has many long established trends, as well as the significant number of developments seen in recent years. This essay shall attempt to identify some of the origins of globalisation, and show how they have developed to become worldwide processes affecting culture, business and the economy.

It could be argued that the creation of the Roman Empire was the beginning of globalisation.

The Roman culture was spread to parts of the world other than Rome, and the various norms involved in their societies were universalised for the countries they conquered (Egoryan). Exploration became a very important process at the end of the fifteenth century, with the discovery of America, the 'New World', which was colonised by Western men, creating a society similar to that in another part of the world. As processes were globalised, capitalism was seen to emerge, empowering a new capitalist class all over the world, with similar ideas about society. This has led Marxists to claim that globalisation has worked to increase power for capitalism, as it opens up new markets, of culture and knowledge, as well as economy. The World Wars are another example of globalisation, as states worked together for common goals, and the results affected most parts of the globe. Knowledge...