Theories on Globalization: Comparative Analysis of Giddens and Albrow's Perspectives
Overview
This essay compares two major theoretical perspectives on globalization: Anthony Giddens' multidimensional hierarchical model and Martin Albrow's single-world-society thesis. The paper examines how each theorist views globalization's effects on societies, economies, and individual lives, using contemporary examples such as US elections and cultural shifts in Africa.
What this essay covers
- Introduction and definition of globalization
- Giddens' theory: hierarchical dimensions including military order, world economy, labor division, and nation-states
- Albrow's theory: globalization as a new unified age replacing modernity
- Comparative analysis of positive effects (entrepreneurship, international relations) versus negative effects (cultural erosion)
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Theories on Globalization
Globalization refers to the process where people, companies, and governments from different parts of the world interact and integrate (Bodislav et a., 2015). Anthony Giddens views globalization as an agent of development bringing different changes that shape society. He believes that globalization affects firms, societies, and people's personal lives. The effects of globalization, according to Giddens' argument, form a hierarchical pattern. People affect transnational corporations and local firms' value chains of the respective industry. People also belong to a society where transnational corporations influence people's quality of life through time. The multinational firms form global industry value chains to meet their set objectives that influence our global society in the long term and short term. In his theory, Gidden describes four other globalization dimensions. They include world military order, the world economy, and the international division of labor and nation-states. Gidden believes that innovations in goods and services change the quality of life of people. Similarly, Giddens says that the growth of ICT strengthens the civil society through citizen participation, which improve that further improves the some
Martin Albrow, on the other hand, believes that globalization is a new age that had supplanted modern and post-modern ages. According to Albrow (2000), globalization has brought everything in the world into a single world society. Albrow, therefore, believes that globalization has done away with modernity and other factors related to it. Unlike Giddens, Albrow does not believe in globalization having different globalization dimensions.