Globalization and Civilization

Abstract

In this paper, globalization is defined as the geographical expansion of human interaction, and civilization is defined as the totality of physical and metaphysical facilities, including institutional facilities, for human interaction. These definitions lead to the elucidation of today’s globalization and its impact on human society in a historical perspective. The definitions also highlight the obvious: namely, if a society has physical facilities different from others, it also has different metaphysical facilities to match, and vice versa. Today’s globalization attempts to establish and homogenize the institutional framework for free-market capitalism worldwide. By doing so, it marginalizes many societies and civilizations that have not yet espoused capitalistic freedom, as some modern and affluent societies have done. For these societies and civilizations, communal cooperation for survival is more important than individual emancipation. Thus, globalization in the current form is unsustainable, unless it develops some mechanism to help promote these marginalized societies to have time and resources to adapt their civilization to globalization and its economic dynamism.