Globalization and Modernization
Globalization can be defined as the integration of economic, political and social cultures and is related to the spreading of modernization across borders. It theorizes the development of a global economy in the sense that the world is moving in the direction of more efficient use of resources and the means of production.
Mass tourism could not have developed without air travel. Annual trans border tourist arrivals rose to 456 million by 1990 and are expected to double again, to 937 million per annum, by 2010 (Knowles, 1994: FT,7 January 1997: V11). Communication is another major area that has grown due to modernization. Communication industries have enabled capitalism to spread throughout the world. Telephony, television broadcasts, news services and online service providers have played a crucial part in globalization.
With the many apparent positive attributes to globalization there are also negative consequences. Economic development can often initially highlight the disparities between a society's rich and its poor. In major cities of developing countries there exist pockets where technologies of the modernized world—computers, cell phones and satellite television—exist right alongside stark poverty. This often begets an acute awareness of those in society initially or chronically left behind by economic progress.
Globalization has many advocates some of which are globalists, transformationalists and traditionalists. Globalists are globalization modernization theorists so are therefore very positive about the concept. They argue that globalization is good for everyone as there are benefits for all including vulnerable groups such as women and children. This is done because globalization is typically western and it's the western values which are transmitted therefore allowing women to rights they wouldn't have had before, such as reproduction rights.
Read more about this topic: Modernization Theory