Module 8: Capitalism and Culture

1. What factors contributed to economic globalization in the second half of the twentieth century?

Economic globalization is one of the primary reasons our world is utterly developed to what we have today. Technology played. a big role in the economical advancement of most countries. Air express services and containerized shipping are examples of advancements that helped ease transportation costs. There also began the internet, which provided communication and access to information for people around the world. Aside from the technological aspect, there was an evident growth in population linked to growing economies and modern societies. It was also in the second half of the twentieth century that the communist world collapsed which prompted unrestricted global communism. 

2. To what extent has globalization fostered converging values and common interests among the world’s peoples? In what ways has it generated new conflicts among them?

Globalization has fostered unity among countries through economic inhibitions. Amongst such, it has also united countries against social, economic, and political issues that interest the global world. These issues include international trade and global terrorism. Although globalization has prompted unity in the global scene, it has also spiked indifference and a gap towards countries especially in terms of development. Due to the internet, more industrialized countries have become the centerfold of economic business and inspiration for those of third world countries. The gap in advancement has also brought forth economic and political disputes.  Nevertheless, globalization has brought forth numerous benefits but will always have its downside. 

3. What distinguished feminism in the industrialized countries from that in the Global South?

In industrialized countries, the concept of feminism focused more on equality and equality rights, women's liberation, racism, and poverty. Women of color took a big role in the emergence of these focuses. For the women in the Global South, they opposed the ideas of the industrialized countries as they thought that it was too "individualistic" and focused more on the concept of sexuality as opposed to issues in regards to marriage, poverty, and motherhood. Feminism in the Global South focused more on a variety of social problems and even created small associations of women who supported each other. There were also a number of feminist movements that arose at the time. A lot of these movements brought forth democracy to the country. The difference in focus industrial and Global South countries have on issues is evident in international conferences too. Industrial countries such as the United States focus more on political and civil rights of women, as opposed to countries in the Global South who would tend to more distinct women's issues such as economic justice that revolve around gender.