Globalization of the local is a concept developed by Thomas Friedman in his book “The World is Flat”. The author claims that globalization does not entail one entirely new civilization that is coming to neutralize all existing cultures. He argues that with globalization, all local cultures are getting the opportunity to become global; that is to extend their influences.
Of course, not all of the existing cultures are getting the same opportunity. Those which are more developed, and perceived by the majority of the world’s population as superior, are more likely to have greater influence in this new global culture. In addition, new forms of media are providing a chance for people to cherish their cultural origins in distant parts of the world.
This is very important because globalization is causing many people to migrate to other countries in order to pursue their careers. This way, these new technologies are contributing to the quicker flow of ideas and customs. Undoubtedly, in the near future, this will result in a complete integration of different cultures into one global culture which will be quite different from all the existing ones.
Many people oppose this idea of a transformed global culture for fear of losing their national heritage and other components of their identity. However, this view is problematic in various aspects.
Frist off, cultural transformation is not anything new. It is known that under the influence of social and economic forces, cultures have been changing tremendously throughout history. Secondly, experience has taught us that external intervention cannot stop the changes in the society that are occurring organically. A good example of this is the emancipation of Afro-Americans and women.
These two processes faced serious opposition, but they were, nonetheless, completed. Finally, globalization offers an opportunity to build up a culture which is superior to all others that we have witnessed in our past. In this effort, education is definitely going to play the crucial role, and thanks to the advent of new technologies, we now have the opportunity to make education available to everyone.
In conclusion, globalization is an unstoppable process, which if carried out in the right way, can be a great step in the development of human race.
Dell Theory
In his book “The World is Flat”, Thomas Friedman suggests an interesting theory about international relations and conflicts, which he calls “Dell Theory”. The name comes from the famous company that produces electronic equipment – Dell. Dell is widely known for its supply-demand chain, which encompasses several companies around the globe.
These companies supply Dell’s assembly lines with all the necessary parts so that the assembly line is never interrupted. Friedman argues that once countries are connected through supply chains such as this one, they develop codependency relationship in which every side has some benefits. For that reason, Friedman argues that those countries would never declare war on each other because doing so would disrupt the supply chain from which both of them benefit (Friedman, 2005, pp. 420-422).
This is a very interesting theory which has been proven right on several occasions in recent history. However, I would argue that Friedman was not the first person to notice that connecting two nations through economic bonds reduces the possibility of a major conflict.
It takes only one look at the history of Europe in past centuries to see that politics of economic isolationism always culminated in wars with devastating consequences, WWI and WWII are the most obvious examples. The politics of open borders and cooperation, which was introduced after WWII, finally brought peace to Europe.
In conclusion, the cases of Dell’s supply chain and European Union are only two of many examples where it is evident that Friedman’s theory has firm empirical grounding. Since globalization faces many challenges mirrored in ideological, religious and cultural differences, this principle of establishing economic ties is perhaps the best tool for overcoming those difficulties.
Works Cited
Friedman, Thomas L.. The world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. Print.