As I was analyzing the effects that globalization was having on the world we live in and trying to relate it to a paper I was writing I came to the realization that globalization is creating a heightened sense of global citizenship.
I was browsing through some Facebook groups earlier today and I found one called "Support Freedom of Media in Egypt" which is a group devoted to fighting censorship in the Egyptian media. I was interested to find that the group featured members from all across the U.S and the world. This didn't completely take me by surprise considering I had done some digging around on Facebook groups earlier this week and discovered some similar information, but it really got me thinking. This is a problem, that not too long ago would have been a problem that the Egyptians would have to solve on their own, but now, this problem that previously would have only affected Egyptians has now turned into a problem that affects EVERYONE.
This realization brought up a memory of someting I had learned in my International Politics class: that through globalization we are now witnessing the creation of a "global village" where the importance borders and cultural diffences are being muted and we are all coming together into one community. This "global village" works together to protect and work towards common goods that everyone can benefit from. This seems strikingly similar to what I witnessed within the group trying to prevent censorship in Egypt. First off, we are all coming together despite borders and cultural differences and working together. Secondly, we are all organized in an effort to protect a common good that is being encroached upon in Egypt: free media. To me this all sounds the bell that globalization is spreading and that the "global village" is more than just a theory devised by political scientists. I personally look forward to a world where we all work together as one and are all global citizens rather than citizens divided by national divides.
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2 comments:
I agree, we are most definitely a global society in these times. And it's not just through social networking (though that's a pretty interesting aspect). If you just look at any aspect of life today, any small action can have a global impact. Think about, say, the economy, or the presidential election - the effects have circled the globe several times over.
While the idea of increased understanding across the globe is laudable the only creations I see that come from and are nurtured by this "global village" of transnationals are self-serving and unaccountable organizations like the United Nations and the European Union; both of which, but especially the UN, accomplish no net positives, at the cost of billions of dollars siphoned and squandered. Give me the nation state any day, where I may vote my government out and were I have a rights that are defended by a competent police and military force that are in turn under the ultimate control of officials I elect. Who will defend my rights as a citizen of the World? A look at the actions and composition of this and previous Human Rights committees at the UN might give us a clue, I cringe at the thought.
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