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CIAO DATE: 09/05
About This Issue
The World Bank defines globalization as "the growing integration of economies and societies around the world." Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia, describes globalization as "the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange." The British magazine The Economist recently likened globalization to a line from a John Lennon song, "Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do." Clearly, globalization means different things to different people.
In this issue we consider these and other aspects of globalization. The experts we have chosen examine the topic from a variety of angles, yet we offer no prescriptions, no definitive answers: Our goal is for our readers to come away with a better understanding of a deep-seated, complex phenomenon that affects us all.
We begin with an exchange on where globalization is headed. Journalist James Glassman moderates the discussion between Venezuelan economist Mois és Naím and American trade expert Claude Barfield. These two knowledgeable observers delve into everything from whether globalization helps more people than it harms to its effect on religious attitudes. Next Josette Shiner, under secretary of state for economic, business, and agricultural affairs, explains the connection between liberal trade policies and a country's economic growth rate. This section closes with an interview with Daniel Pink, author of two recent influential books, Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind. Pink theorizes that globalization is changing the way we work and even the way we think.
The next section takes up a hotly debated question—the effect of American popular culture on the local cultures of countries around the world. University of Texas professor Richard Pells makes the case that American culture itself is a stew of foreign influences, that it is in a sense really world culture. German professor Jessica Gienow-Hecht answers with an analysis of how various foreign intellectuals and officials have perceived American culture over the years. A photo gallery highlights current pop musicians, film stars, and athletes from around the world.
The journal's last section considers the new threats and new opportunities raised by globalization. Daniel Griswold, of the Cato Institute, finds a connection between economic progress and a growth in freedom, human rights, and democracy in countries most affected by globalization. Louise Shelley, a professor of international relations at American University, examines a downside of globalization—the way more open borders and high tech can also make life easier for criminal and terrorist networks. Public health expert Dr. Donald Henderson reflects on the threat posed by global pandemics in an age when people and viruses can jet around the world in hours. A sidebar points out a positive side of the "global village" effect—how communications make possible better cooperation among nations after a natural catastrophe like the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Professor Stephen P. Heyneman, of Vanderbilt University, considers the common ambitions of colleges and universities in many countries.
One indisputable point through all the discussions is that globalization is here to stay. "There are all sorts of like-minded groups, interest groups, people that share interests, passions, technologies, hobbies, who get together across borders and create virtual communities that … develop all sorts of new political dynamics," says Mois és Naím about the Internet. "That is irreversible. The prior waves of globalization were institutional, were commercial, where the central actors were trading companies. Today there is a globalization of individuals, and that is a very important difference."
The Editors