Globalization Understood by Geography

By Keith M. Bell -- Tennessee Geographic Alliance Newsletter -- Fall 2001 (updated)

Prague, Czech Republic. Seattle, USA. Genoa, Italy. No, this isn't a test of your geographic acumen. These cities are mentioned because they all have one thing in common: they have been the sites of recent meetings of the world's most economically powerful states and organizations, and sites of the destructive backlash against globalization.

Globalization is a term thrown about with regularity these days. It is used often to explain the rapidly changing face of our planet, the increasing integration among the world's political entities, and the immense wealth collected in some countries versus the crushing poverty felt in others.

So just what is globalization? Is it like the Genoa protesters advocate, that the G-7 countries keep the Third World in perpetual poverty? Or is it the opposite, where low-interest loans from the IMF and World Bank bring much needed capital for improvements in health services and education to the lesser-developed countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America? Or is it simply the interaction of the world's people on an increasingly smaller plane of economics, politics, and culture?

Well, the funny thing is that it's all of these things and more. McDonald's, the world's largest consumer of beef, has moved into India, a country that finds beef consumption a cultural taboo. Starbucks Coffee invaded China's Forbidden City last year. Japanese automobiles are crafted in Smyrna, Tennessee, as well as in many heartland cities. The Internet disseminated the Philippine "Love-bug" virus to Uruguay, Canada, and the world. Cheap clothing sewn in Guatemalan sweatshops makes it to Wal-Mart's dump bin in record time. Wheat from America's Breadbasket is shipped to Bangladesh, Somalia, and North Korea. And the European Union may very well be the supranationalistic model for the future - a true world government, with fifteen member-states and growing.

It would seem a difficult task to analyze and interpret all these uncommon aspects. One would need to be a political scientist to dissect the minutia of global treaties and trading practices, a plant biologist to deal with the ramifications of the growing biotech revolution, a historian to contemplate the inertia of colonialism, an economist to conjure debt forgiveness, donor fatigue, and global capitalism, and a sociologist to understand why Malians still practice female circumcision while bedecked in Nike paraphernalia.

Or one could simply employ geography as a means to understanding these complex issues. That's right, geography is the one discipline capable of coping with such a wide range of topics. Geography understands the global latticework of people, places, and environments. It seamlessly slips from one subject matter to the next. And when people are educated in the geographic sciences they quickly understand the components of issues that develop all around the world, like globalization. Geographic education quells rising fears when something like Sept. 11 occurs. Information, not gut reaction, is vitally important when such infamously historic times transpire. That knowledge can sooth the pain, anger, and sadness, which in its absence can leave one empty, addled, and despondent. It can lead to informed discussion and solution. Education, specifically geographic education, will provide all the necessary answers.

Now, if we could just get the people in Genoa to follow in our footsteps there would be no need for all the destruction.