Globalization and Global inequalities in sociology

• Structural inequalities in the global economy perpetuate wealth gaps between developed and developing nations.
• Globalization is a process of increasing interconnectedness of people, products, ideas, and places
• Improvements in transportation systems and communication and information technologies are important factors contributing to globalization
• Globalization facilitates the easy movement of people, products, and ideas, leading to political, economic, social, and cultural integration
• Forces that have led to globalization

  • Improvements in transportation systems
  • Communication and information technologies
• Globalization increases interconnectedness in three main ways

  1. Material or physical connections increase

  2. Making the world feel smaller

  3. Spatio-temporal convergence
• Globalization increases interconnectedness through material or physical connections, making the movement of goods, people, and money across national borders relatively fluid
• Globalization makes the world feel smaller by allowing people to travel long distances quickly and easily, and by enabling instant communication with distant places
• Globalization leads to spatio-temporal convergence, creating a global village where international communication allows for an interconnected and unified global community
• Marshall McLuhan: 'The ease of international communication has allowed us to form an increasingly interconnected and unified global community where we can easily interact with and learn about faraway people and places'
• Globalization has implications that are complicated, and whether it is seen as promising or dangerous depends on the theoretical lens used to examine it
• Learning Objectives


  • Explain globalization and its three core components
  • Compare modernization theory, world systems theory, and world society theory in understanding globalization and global inequality
  • Describe and critically assess strategies to deal with global inequality
• The 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited a global outcry against police brutality, leading to mass protests across the US, Canada, and around the world
• Social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accelerate the speed at which we come to know about events happening beyond our city and country
• Media such as the Internet allows for easy connection with family and friends who live far away, and instant sharing of updates about our lives and world events
• McLuhan: 'believed that increased shared interaction creates a greater global responsibility for social betterment through heightened awareness'
• Global interaction


  • People retweeted #BlackLivesMatter
  • People were Facebook supporters of the protesters at Standing Rock resisting the North Dakota pipeline (#NoDAPL)
• Oil pipeline construction can have important consequences for the Canadian and world economy, the environment, and domestic and international politics
• Globalization has three main dimensions: economic, political, and cultural
• Distant wars and conflicts can have effects on daily lives such as stricter airport security and higher gas prices
• Price of gas rising


  Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
• World's oil supply is a globalized commodity market
• Canada had the world's third largest oil reserves in 2019
• Canada's oil reserves are estimated at 171 billion barrels, about 10% of global oil reserves
• International conflicts cause gas prices in Canada to fluctuate despite having enough oil to meet current use
• Globalization involves the dissemination of ideas and culture throughout the world
• Cultural models can become increasingly similar across countries due to globalization
• Spread of the concept of human rights is a positive example of the dissemination of cultural ideals
• International support for human rights has increased over time
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was signed by 91 countries and ratified in 2008
• Signing human rights treaties indicates acceptance of these ideas and can lead to changing cultural expectations
• Seeing a Starbucks abroad can be a happy surprise or a disappointment, showing the varied impact of cultural spread
• Western ideals of beauty have significant reach, affecting women and girls in other parts of the world
• Western ideals of beauty have significant reach

  Affecting many women and girls in other parts of the world
• Rise in eating disorders in Ghana partly explained by low-weight girls' desire to conform to Western beauty standards
• Introduction of Western television in Fiji

  Reported increase in eating disorders among ethnic Fijian girls
• Exposure to Western media


  Increased weight concerns and anorexia
• Globalization does not occur in one direction
• Globalization is not a process of linear evolution but involves advances and regressions
• World is generally becoming more interconnected but there are still times of isolationism