Eras of Globalization

26 Mar Eras of Globalization

Because there are many approaches to and conceptions of globalization the origins of it are disputed. Some say it began in modern times. Others suggest that it is a phenomenon that started centuries ago. In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman describes globalization as having three main eras. Global economic integration began in what he refers to as globalization 1.0. This started when Columbus set sail in 1492 and lasted until approximately 1800. Globalization 2.0, he says, lasted from roughly 1800 to 2000 and was only interrupted by the Great Depression and World Wars I and II. In about the year 2000, according to Friedman, globalization 3.0 began. In each wave of globalization technology was the single most important factor in opening up borders and linking economies. The most momentous innovations were those in communications and transport. They were the ones that smashed the time-and-space constraints that formerly impeded economic interdependence.