Student sample for assessment
Written by a Year 10 student in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.
Globalisation refers to the increasing interconnection of the world’s economies, societies and cultures through trade, communication, movement of people and the exchange of ideas. It is not a new process — trade across long distances has existed for centuries — but its pace and scope have accelerated dramatically since the late twentieth century, driven by advances in transport technology, digital communication and the liberalisation of trade under agreements such as those administered by the World Trade Organization. The defining feature of contemporary globalisation is the degree to which economic activity has become organised across national boundaries rather than within them. The economic and cultural effects of globalisation are significant and unevenly distributed. Economically, globalisation has contributed to substantial reductions in poverty in countries that have participated actively in global trade, particularly in East and South Asia. At the same time, it has displaced manufacturing industries in wealthier countries, creating economic dislocation in communities whose livelihoods depended on industries that relocated to lower-wage economies. Culturally, globalisation has facilitated the spread of ideas, artistic forms, languages and consumer products across national boundaries, enabling cultural exchange and innovation. It has also raised concerns about the dominance of certain cultural forms — particularly those originating in the United States — and the pressure this creates on smaller cultural traditions. The key criticisms of globalisation concern its distributive effects, its environmental consequences and its implications for national sovereignty. Critics argue that the benefits of globalisation have disproportionately accrued to those who already held capital and the flexibility to deploy it globally, while the costs — job displacement, wage pressure and environmental degradation — have been concentrated among those with less power to manage them. A further criticism concerns environmental costs: globalisation has expanded global production and consumption in ways that have contributed to carbon emissions, resource depletion and supply chain opacity. Defenders of globalisation respond that the alternative — economic nationalism and restricted trade — has historically produced poverty, conflict and reduced innovation.