General Discussions

**Learning Newbie** · 06-02-2007, 08:44 PM

Imagine if you had a time machine, telling your grandparents ( or great grandparents if you're under 35 ) about a web forum where you can learn how to fine-tune the way you broadcast your message to thousands of people, the world over. They would have told me I'm a grown man, and shouldn't daydream about magical fantasies. And now, what skill is more practical than being able to communicate, using computers like a microphone or printing press?

Our world is different from any society that's ever existed before, and forums like this are just one way to prove it. We're better connected than ever before, and that's a really great benefit from "globalization" - we have friends here from India, Canada, the UK, Costa Rica, Turkey, and a lot more - they help each other and contribute knowledge. There are downsides, too, and we've heard it all before.

I'm not trying to set the hippies against the business owners, or anything like that. Already going on, there was a violent G8 protest in Germany today, and I personally hope for a fast recovery for the injured police. People have really strong feelings on this, but I think what's happening is what normal people like most of us see about big issues like this one, gets framed by extremists on both sides.

That's why I want to know what reasonable people from all over the globe think. On balance, is it a good thing or a bad thing that we're doing so much international trade, have the Internet, immigration, basically the free flow of goods, services, labor, and information across the globe? (I know it's not 100 % free flow, but in theory is this a good thing or a bad thing?)

I hope I'm not the only person who thinks this is fascinating. I admit I'm kind of a geek, but on the other hand, I'm SO HAPPY that I live now, and not 100 or 500 years ago. And, even if I don't have much control over any of this stuff, it's still fun to think and talk about.

**DaveMo~** · 06-02-2007, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Learning Newbie

On balance, is it a good thing or a bad thing that we're doing so much international trade, have the Internet, immigration, basically the free flow of goods, services, labor, and information across the globe? (I know it's not 100 % free flow, but in theory is this a good thing or a bad thing?)

I hope I'm not the only person who thinks this is fascinating. I admit I'm kind of a geek, but on the other hand, I'm SO HAPPY that I live now, and not 100 or 500 years ago. And, even if I don't have much control over any of this stuff, it's still fun to think and talk about.

With your definition of globalization above (bold), I'm glad! I'm also very happy to live in this time and place, and most of that is for more reasons than all the conveniences that we have today (another story).

However, sometimes I remember the simpler times when I lived with my grandparents and just providing and living was the task at hand. I'm probably older than most here, so those were times without TVs, they had a partyline telephone, outdoor privy, well water, plowing and harvesting, etc. It was simple, though sometimes hard, but yet there was a simplicity to enjoying the natural things around us, like swimming in the pond, swinging from grapevines, etc.

Ah, memory lane for some.....strangeness for others.

Dave

**ADAM Web Design** · 06-03-2007, 01:32 AM

One of the last essays I ever wrote in high school was about the concept of one world with no borders, territorial or otherwise. The teacher I wrote it for thought it was a great concept, but was a little too abstract to be implementable.

This was in either 1994 or 1995.

Fast forward to 2007, where we have most of the major elements in place from a communication standpoint. We have email, high-bandwidth fibreoptic cables to send messages, much more powerful computers, and software that even an idiot could operate.

The problem is that many of the commercial, physical and cultural barriers still exist. We can't ship hard goods across the ocean as efficiently as we would like yet; international tariffs and trade embargoes restict international commerce; safety standards affect a number of products; and last but certainly not least, the cultural differences that exist worldwide have posed a major stumbling block as it pertains to international trade (anyone who has ever had to call IBM for tech support knows exactly what I'm talking about.)

**ForrestCroce** · 06-03-2007, 02:04 AM

I think there are a lot of problems with polluting, exploitation of unfairly cheap labor, outsourcing, and plenty more, but when you include the ability for individuals to launch web sites and start a social movement, like fairtrade which addresses some of the problems, it's probably a good thing. And a lot of prosperity has reached tens or hundreds of millions of people around the world. A lot of the abuses aren't a hard-wired property of a more global world, and while the falling dollar and rising price of gas are painful to a lot of Americans, ultimately a rebalance of the global economy is probably fair. Protecting $20/hr western jobs against $3/hr competition from China and India is understandable when people in congress represent steel workers facing stiff competition, and while everyone's alliance is to themself, you have to consider the pros and cons.

I think if politicians manage to pull things off properly, a rising tide floats all ships.

**goheadtry** · 06-07-2007, 03:31 PM

I am going to have to say that it is more bad then good because in the long run it will hert your countys ecconomy because your country is no longer producing the goods the same way which it had before so there is fewer jobs in your country.

**potchie** · 06-08-2007, 04:25 AM

today here us, globalization well i think doest work.. because some of the culture are no the same with the other where i think it can affect too much..

**ChinaSearchAds.** · 07-08-2007, 10:48 AM

Globalisation is really another name for division of labour. I'm not really a fan of subsistence agriculture.