http://www.inosr.

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Stallings and Gwatkin
INOSR Experimental Sciences 6(1): 43-48,2020.
©INOSR PUBLICATIONS
International Network Organization for Scientific Research ISSN: 2705-1692

The Effects of Globalization on Human Life Aspects: Review

Stallings, B. and Gwatkin, D.

Department of Sociology and Psychology, Mizan Tepi University, Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT
Globalization has today become a major sort of debate among academicians, policy makers
and NGOs. Its impact is profound. Despite the continuing emphasis on promoting global
prosperity and achieving a more “just world,” negative aspects of globalization remain rife
in our globe. Poverties, inequalities, injustices, starvations, backwards and
marginalizations are all serious problems many societies are still experiencing. The
purpose of this paper is to examine the positive and negative aspects of globalization and
realize how one could successfully deal with the challenge it poses. The study shows that
though globalization is a process by which capital, goods, services and labor cross national
borders, and acquire a transnational character, it is often accompanied by the flow of
related lifestyles, tastes, ideas, and even values across boundaries which help reshape local
political institutions, cultural patterns and social relations.
Keywords: Globalization, Human life, marginalizations and boundaries

INTRODUCTION
Globalization is the word used to describe
the growing interdependence of the
world‟s economies, cultures, and
populations, brought about by cross-
border trade in goods and services,
technology, and flows of investment,
people, and information. Countries have
built economic partnerships to facilitate
these movements over many centuries.
But the term gained popularity after the
Cold War in the early 1990s, as these
cooperative arrangements shaped modern
everyday life [1]. This guide uses the term
more narrowly to refer to international
trade and some of the investment flows
among advanced economies, mostly
focusing on the United States. The wide-
ranging effects of globalization are
complex and politically charged. As with
major technological advances,
globalization benefits society as a whole,
while harming certain groups [2].
Understanding the relative costs and
benefits can pave the way for alleviating
problems while sustaining the wider
payoffs.
Before World War I, it was only the rare
observer of the international economy
who wondered about the effects on
domestic politics of soaring levels of
cross-border capital movements,
migration, foreign direct investment, and
the new transportation and
communication technologies that
accelerated movement of information and
goods among
Countries [3]. But the idea that
globalization undermines the autonomy
and leverage of the nation-state appears
in writings from this earlier period of
internationalization. Globalization
undermines the national state, these
observers claim, not only by shrinking the
resources under national control for
shaping economic and social outcomes,
but also by reducing government's
legitimacy and authority in the eyes of
the public. Across virtually all advanced
industrial countries over the past two
decades, there has been an erosion of
public confidence in central governments.
Even when analysts mention the role of
specific national causes in this loss of
trust, still they tend to emphasize the
universality of the shifts how everywhere
globalization destroys national control of
information flows, hence weakens a
government's ability to influence its

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Stallings and Gwatkin
INOSR Experimental Sciences 6(1): 43-48,2020.
public [4]. The effects of the possible for people to demonstrate
internationalization of the media, the their sympathy and compassion
marketing and export of American for the victims of natural
popular culture, and the deregulation of calamities and man-made tragedies
information all combine to weaken all over the world regardless of
national values and traditions, and in so religions, lands, languages, colors,
doing, they dry up the springs of support cultures etc [7].
for national action. The effects of changes 4. Globalization has also brought to
in the international economy are the fore issues such as the rights
experienced through the national political of women and children [8].
leaders' diminished control both over the All these aspects promote globally certain
material determinants of a country's common values such as equality, human
prosperity and over the vehicles for rights, justice, democracy and moral
reaching common public understandings values.
of national well-being. In this widely held Negative Effects of Globalization
view of the coming political order, the While there are some positive aspects of
eclipse of the national state is the central globalization, its negative effects are
fact. „overwhelming.‟ It almost affects all
Positive Effects of Globalization aspects of human life [9].
There are some positive effects brought 1. Globalization and culture:
with the process of globalization: Globalization affects human
1. In the education field, some of the cultures from various
new communication and perspectives:
information technologies, which a. Globalization represents a
are of course linked to the challenge to cultural and local
globalization process, have languages. United Nations‟
enabled students, researchers and study [10] shows that half of
young people in distant and to local languages in the world are
access ideas and information from expected to disappear. This
the best libraries in the world [5]. could lead unenthusiastically
They are able to peruse through to marginalizing many local
libraries in different countries cultures. Scientific and
without having to travel. economic superiority of the US
Globalization from this point of and the flow of information
view assists people in the technology assist in imposing
dissemination of values related to certain languages in particular
knowledge, and in the promotion English as a second language in
of values related to health care etc. some developing and
2. Globalization has made developed countries, and as a
communication much easier and first language in some others.
cheaper than before [6]. The There is no doubt that
number of subscribers and users language has significant impact
of the Internet are now increasing on cultures and, therefore, the
remarkably. dominance of English could
3. The potential for people of contribute to the emergence of
different communities, countries, a global and intercontinental
cultures and religions to know and culture which may wipe out
understand one another is greater traditions, customs, and values
than ever before. Knowing and of many societies and
understanding each others are marginalizes their cultures
very important to promote and [11].
establish common values among b. Globalization has significant
people of different communities. impact on local entities. Its
Globalization also makes it complexity takes decisive

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Stallings and Gwatkin
INOSR Experimental Sciences 6(1): 43-48,2020.
dimensions in particular with
regard to its effects on labor
immigration from the South to
the North [12]. In many cases
this problem not only has
political reflections, but also
social dimensions. For
example, when the Algerian
football player Zaindeen Zaidan
has appeared as a star in the
French team in World Cup
1998, French Right Wing
started to criticize the presence
of non-aboriginal French in the
national team [13]. At the same
time, Algerians in both France
and Algeria were so pleased
and looked at Zaidan as an
Algerian hero, despite the fact
that he was born in France and
still resides there. So
globalization in this sense is
reshaping the identity of many
people‟s particularly migrants.
2. Globalization and developing countries:
Globalization has serious effects on many
developing countries:
a. Although developing countries
contribute in a way or another to
this process, yet they do not yield
the benefits of this contribution.
Indeed, they remain far away from
what we might call „the impact
point‟ to influence its truck or
contribute to its direction [14]. In
contrast, the process destroys
many aspects of life in these
societies. The irresponsible
behavior of some multinational
corporations toward the
environment of those countries, or
more dangerously marketing
expired products and other illegal
goods are examples of this
destruction. So globalization in
this context changes the world to
become a “global pillage instead of
being a global village” [15].
b. The widening gap between the
North and the South at
international level, and between
haves and have-nots at national
level is another serous aspect of
globalization. In fact, the real test
45
to globalization is through its
success in reducing the gap
between the rich and the poor at
local, national and global levels.
c. Globalization has forced many
countries in various parts of this
world to regulate to a lower league
the most fundamental needs of
their peoples [16]. The equitable
distribution of food, adequate
health care facilities, and the
quality of education are no longer
priority concerns the political
agendas of the governments in
these countries.
All these indicate that poor societies in
the third world not only remain far away
from benefiting from globalization, but
also they continue to suffer from its
calamities, pitfalls and misfortunes. It
then contributes to laying the foundation
of injustices and social inequalities, and
moreover preventing the growth of new
markets in these countries because they
are unable to compete with the advanced
markets. Here, competitiveness seems to
be unequal and its result under all
circumstances remains in favor of the
strong and those who control
international markets. So instead of filling
up the gap between the rich and the poor,
globalization in its present formula
widens this gap [17].
3. Globalization and religions: Although
globalization might benefit religions
through the easier exchange of
information and different opinions about
these religions, it however represents a
source of harm to many religious and
spiritual values [18]. Globalization,
through its cultural and informational
aspects and the promotion of consuming
patterns and value corruption, challenges
religious systems [19]. In fact, it is
gradually replacing these values with
pure secular systems within which certain
religious values will lose their influence
on peoples‟ behaviors.
4. Globalization and morals: The immoral
character of globalization is becoming
even more serious and its negative
impacts in this context have different
aspects:
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Stallings and Gwatkin
INOSR Experimental Sciences 6(1): 43-48,2020.
a. Globalization has internationalized
crimes. Drug trafficking and the
trafficking of women and children
have become much more difficult
to control because of their
international character. Not only
crimes are globalized, but also
disease [20].
b. Another aspect of this problem is
that most users of Internet in
cyberspaces are adults and they
waste a lot of time using the
Internet for unnecessary purposes.
One of the most dangerous effects
of globalization on young people is
the immoral usage of the Internet.
Studies show that the number of
adults and young people who use
web sites containing immoral
materials are increasing in
particular among schools and
universities‟ students [21].
5. Globalization and international politics:
The collapse of the Soviet Union has led
to the US control of the global system and
international relations. This provides the
US with many opportunities to defend its
own national interests globally and to
challenge international legitimacy
through marginalizing the role of the
United Nations and ignoring the
international law. Power and interests
become the main characteristics of
interstate interactions.
6. Globalization and economy:
Globalization as an economic movement
has significant effect on national and
global economies [22]. Although many
trade blocs were established and many
industrial and economic nations have
emerged as a response to this process,
the rules of this process have contributed
to the collapse of many national
economies. The emergence of what can be
called „electronic trade‟ though the
Internet is another negative aspect of
globalization. Piracy is also reinforced by
this process.
7. Globalization and science: Although
globalization contributes remarkably to
new scientific revolutions in many fields
including computer and space sciences,
these revolutions are accompanied by
new sciences that may be used for
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immoral purposes or to damage the
dignity of man whom the Almighty God
honors. Example of these sciences is
Genetic Engineering Science, which leads
to the emergence of Cloning Science.
8. Globalization and societal structures:
The free economy and the development of
technology have negative impact on
laborers. As known, twenty percent of the
world population is producing the needs
of all population in this world, while most
of the rest 80% are unable to find a
suitable source of income. This is serious
because underprivileged people are
expected to revolt against their bad
conditions. This is possible with the
growing decline of state‟s power to the
favor of private sectors, on one hand, and
to the growing decrease of the
governmental expenditures on social and
public services such as health, education
etc., on the other [23]. In this,
globalization is a source of social
instability and class disparity.
9. Globalization, motivated by economic
and technologic progress, has also
popularized a consumer culture among
people due to the flow of goods and
products. Since the desire to consume
more and more can never really be
satisfied, the consumer becomes addicted
to shopping to a point where the spiritual,
moral and intellectual dimensions of
his/her personality do not grow or
develop [24]. These are actually due to
the business corporations, which produce
the wide array of consumer goods and the
media, which advertise them. This aspect
could eventually create what is called
“homogeneous global culture” and,
therefore, lead to the decline of diversity
and variety among peoples.
10. Globalization and prosperity:
Globalization poses serious questions
about peace and prosperity: Is there any
relationship between the process and
peace or prosperity? Could the
implementation of free market principle
globally enhance international peace and
security or prevents wars, as globalists
argue? Prosperity, welfare and economic
progress which market economy is
expected to achieve could enhance or
create some opportunities for political
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Stallings and Gwatkin
INOSR Experimental Sciences 6(1): 43-48,2020.
stability; but it does not necessarily
ensure peace or social stability [25]. It is
true that market economy has contributed
to social and political stability in liberal
states and to peace among them, but it
does the opposite in many developing
countries. Asian economic crisis of 1997
is a case in point [26] [27]. The free
market forces allowed manipulators to
control stock markets and to transfer
large amount of money just to maximize
their profits, while they were destroying
the economies of many Asian countries.
Indeed these activities have destroyed the
social structures of those societies, and
furthermore, created what might be called
potential social unrests in the region [28].
That is why globalization in its current
formula does not necessarily ensure
social and political stability, and
therefore will not lead to a more peaceful
CONCLUSION
Over many centuries, human societies
across the globe have established
progressively closer contacts. Recently,
the pace of global integration has
dramatically increased. Unprecedented
changes in communications,
transportation, and computer technology
have given the process new impetus and
made the world more interdependent
than ever. Multinational corporations
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