Text 1. Living in the Global World

Globalisation can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together.

The term "globalisation" has been used by economists since the 1980s. However, globalisation existed even during the Roman Empire, when the Silk Road started in China. The Islamic Golden Age is also an example, when Muslim traders and explorers established an early global economy across the Old World.

In the 17th century, globalisation became a business phenomenon when the British East India Company, which is often described as the first multinational corporation, was established. Because of the high risks involved with international trade, the British East India Company became the first company in the world to share risk and enable joint ownership of companies. Globalisation was achieved by the British Empire due to its size and power. British ideals and culture were imposed on other nations during this period.

Globalisation, since World War II, is largely the result of planning by economists, business interests, and politicians. Such institutions as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), and the International Monetary Fund came into existence. Globalisation has been facilitated by advances in technology which have reduced the costs of trade originally under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and t he World Trade Organisation (the WTO).

Globalisation has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways such as:

• Industrial -emergence of worldwide production markets;

• Financial -emergence of worldwide financial markets;

• Economic - realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital;

• Political - creation of a world government (the WTO, the World Bank, and the IMF) which regulates the relationships among governments;

• Informational - availability of telephony and the Internet;

• Language -About 75% of the world's mail, telexes and cables are in English. Approximately 60% of the world's radio programmes are in English. About 90% of all Internet traffic is using English;

• Competition - survival in the new global business market calls for improved productivity and increased competition;

• Cultural -thegrowth of cross-cultural contacts; the desire to increase one's standard of living and enjoy foreign products and ideas, to adopt new technology and practices, and to participate in the "world culture";

• Ecological - the advent of global environmental challenges such as climate change, water and air pollution. However, as many factories are built in developing countries with less environmental regulation, globalism and free trade may increase pollution;

• Social - international cultural exchange;

• Technical - development of a global telecommunications infrastructure using such technologies as the Internet, communication satellites and mobile phones;

• Legal/Ethical The creation of the international criminal court and international justice movements.

Globalisation is the growing integration of economies and societies around the world It is one of the most hotly-debated topics in international economics today.

Answer the Questions:

1. What is globalisation?

2. When did the early forms of globalisation appear?

3. Why was the British East India Company described as the first multinational corporation?

4. What factors facilitated globalisation?

5. How did globalisation affect the world?

6. What principals is the global market based on?

7. What international organisations regulate the relationships among governments?

8. What ecological problems does globalisation rise?

9. What technical innovations did globalisation bring?

10. What language is considered to be the language of the global world?