All rights reserved. Marking the symbolic close of a thousand years of history, this was a timely occasion for such a reflection on what the future held for human society and culture.
Globalization is, in fact, a very old process, in some sense as old as human civilization itself.
What so many people find striking about the present situation, however, is a perception that globalization is both accelerating and increasing in scope, its penetration of daily life now reaching all corners of the world. What is truly new, however, is the dramatic rise of a global capital market. Nothing is more closely associated with globalization than twentieth-century developments in transportation and global communications. But the twentieth century added another revolution, the jet airliner. Now, an amazingly broad segment of humanity can afford to travel to overseas destinations, not just once or twice in a lifetime, but multiple times and for relatively short stays.