Globalization  vs The Global Community concepts 
          by Germain Dufour 

Globalization in general can be described as a social process of intensifying the relations between the different parts of the world; geographical limits become less and less significant. Economic globalization is seen by the growing interaction and interdependence of the world's different nations and corporations. The major aspects of these increased interactions are capital flows, flows of material goods,  and labour. Markets, technologies and consumption patterns thus gradually let go their national or local character and become international and global. Economic globalization leads to globally more standardized sets of products.

Political globalization facilitates the spread of individualism and thus Western consumer society.

Cultural globalization is concerned with a change of the different sets of values that are connected to tradition, religion and different political systems.  Cultural globalization is fed by information passing geographical boundaries through communication systems and media, like TV, Internet, advertisement etc. Cultural globalization homogenizes the sets of value systems of different cultures via constantly evolving

The globalization of consumption can be observed. Market analyses can prove the existence and the demand of certain products worldwide and the presence of corporations in different countries of the world. A globalization of consumption is actually taking place because we observe that certain products are sold with success all over the world.

Globalization of consumption represents an environmental danger. The consumer society is blamed for causing the largest part of environmental problems through resource depletion, emissions and wastes. 

The concept of "a Global Community" gives back control on our lives to each one of us. We all have a say about what we want. We feel alive and responsible. We are moral individuals with a conscience but we also belong to The Global Community. We have an identity, a meaning, a part to play in the world.

One tends to be alarmed at the popular concept of globalization because  it is based on greed. Globalization is here to stay and is a fact of life. The world has become global. Societies throughout the world are struggling to be in step with the most powerful nations. National economies and financial markets are connected through computer link-up and are interlocked. Commercial banking and business ownership has no economic or political borders. Because of the dynamic of trade in goods and services and because of the movement in capital and technology, production in different countries has become increasingly dependent on one another.

In consequence of globalization, the new economic and political distribution of power around the world has become very different then we were used to. It has become very fluid, in perpetual motion and affected by global markets. Giant new markets are forming all over the world. Competition is hardening. National economies can no longer insure or guarantee rights of possession on any property. National borders no longer mean protection, security, cultural boundaries, resources ownership, political and economic control.

International market regulations try to control or ease the effects of globalization. The effects are often devastating. With globalization comes global problems such as:

    *    unemployment in industrial nations
    *    poverty increases world-wide ~ entire countries in a state of starvation
    *    environmental degradation
    *    national interests of a country changing and becoming more trade oriented and trying to go with the wave of global trade
    *    international interests of a country take prime importance
    *    in developing countries, national debts constrict the institutions of the national state and contribute to the destruction of the economic activity which, in turn, as the effect of creating unemployment
    *    national currencies of many countries are affected by national debts and contribute in destroying social life, creating ethnic conflicts and civil wars
    *   the large corporation is becoming larger and getting more power and control falls into the hands of a few people
    *   globalization is another way of keeping control on our lives in the hands of a few people
    *   with globalization, we have no control and no say in our future and the world becomes a game played by a few people just as it has alway been through history, leading to revolutions and war
    *   with globalization there is no sense of direction and meaning, no security for the individual, just a few people getting richer and controlling us all

Human conscience will insist all possible measures be taken to prevent the planet from becoming uninhabitable. Globalization has the effect of a giant tidal wave on all our values. The Global Community organization has the task of proposing to the world a new system of values.

Human conscience means humans have the knowledge to keep the planet healthy; it is the science of determining right and wrong. In case of the planet's survival it is:
  *   Saving one's own country from becoming an uninhabitable place
  *   Stopping the planet from becoming an uninhabitable place

Human conscience can prevent the planet from becoming uninhabitable. The need to survive can put checks and balances  on the rampantglobalization effects already raging like a virus in our world.

To survive what must be re-thought? Old ideas and values, traditions, laws, ways of doing things must be re-evaluated and some left behind.

It's your life at stake here. Your life and the lives of your children ~ there is no such thing as you taking a Spectator Sport position in the grandstands, enjoying the happenings of the time with detachment and amusement!

Men have the right to be able to provide for their families. We can help the Planet recover from wanton destruction. We can control the resources of our world with good sense. Greed and power of the few can be replaced by Community Conscience and the desperate will to survive!!

The choice is simple survival:

*    every man has the right to be able to provide for his family
*    people have the right to food
*    children have the right to be educated
*    the world has a right to clean healthy fields, streams, meadows and mountains, water and breathable air
*    resources can be helped to last indefinitely

Actions by groups that lead to revolution and war must be curtailed. Power based on greed is not in the best interest of humanity.  

Globalization is a process interaction which involves growing economic interdependence of countries worldwide with implications and impacts on social, cultural, political, environmental and familial aspects and rights. With the globalization of the economy comes now the task for defining the obligations that go with the rights.