Globalization is here to stay. The International Monetary Fund defines globalization as the growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and also through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology. The definition is a useful beginning.
Globalization is about the flow of goods, services, and money across borders.
Globalization is made possible by the increasing spread of market economies and is facilitated by the rapid spread of technology. But the IMF omits several important features of globalization. First, the process is not driven by countries but by companies. The engines of globalization are companies seeking new customers, new sources of production, and new sources of raw materials. Second, globalization is driven by but also drives the increasing standardization of the world.