Nowadays “Globalization” is the most popular word in the media. People define globalization in different ways. Everyone should be aware of the idea of globalization because it is an influential process for all the human beings in the present as well as future and future human beings are also being influenced. Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology (Hasan, 2014).
In world history globalization is present. It is proved through the Roman Empire which was globalized, the Arab empire that brought in scientific things together and the social and economic effects that spread from Italy during the Renaissance which is called as “the early modern period” by historians (Madhuwanthi, 2013). Globalization has integrated the world economically, socially, politically and culturally through the advances in technology, transportation, and communication. Nowadays people can have connections with different parts of the world which helps people around the world to join their hands together.
There many of advantages and disadvantages of globalization. Increase in free trade, reduction of war, removal of cultural barriers are some advantages noted by Collins (2010). Globalization has affected the education as it spreads across the globe and it has become effortless to get the best education qualifications. Because of globalization in education, non-speaking English countries are able to learn and speak English. Employment opportunities are considered as one of the major benefits of globalization. International trade has become more competitive and it is leading towards the production of high-quality products.
Disadvantages of globalization are the reduction of labor cost and dominance of developed countries in undeveloped countries according to Collins (2010). Developed countries can take advantage of underdeveloped countries’ weak regulatory laws in terms of environmental protection. Yashwant Sinha said “We need to wake up to the dangers of global warming, the disastrous results of its which are staring us in the face. If the polar ice melts and so do the mountain glaciers, can we still pretend that we are safe on this planet? It is a well-known fact that the highly globalized nations discharge more carbon dioxide per capita than the less globalized countries” (Sinha, 2010). Some other disadvantages are the decrease of environmental integrity, impact on the environment and increase of the free trade between countries. Free trade has allowed investors in well-developed nations to invest in developing countries and gain benefits in terms of capital. Huge companies from developed nations have great flexibility to operate in other countries.
Globalization has effected Sri Lanka in many ways. When comparing past and the present of Sri Lankan economy, culture, society, technology, and education sectors, there is a huge variation that can be seen clearly. Globalization of Sri Lanka, sometimes it has good effects as well as bad effects that have caused various problems. When we are taking the historical background of globalization, it is explained how the information technology (IT) developments in the last two decades have powerfully fuelled globalization in Sri Lanka. Because of the fast-developing IT and globalization, the world trade rose 2.3 times as fast as the world GDP in the last decade as noted by Indraratna (2017). Sri Lanka has long been a part of globalization as a developing country in political, technology, economic and cultural sectors before the LTTE civil war.
Sri Lanka’s democracy has survived throughout the time of globalization, with the political will of the people reiterated time and gain in a forceful manner from LTTE by Sri Lankan government. The last thirty years have been difficult as you were mired in protracted armed conflicts that eroded many positive and negative initiatives. After 30 years, Sri Lanka has been globalized in the economy and other sectors. This can be proved by the huge projects carried with the help of foreign countries such as new investments in construction of Lotus Tower. The education sector has developed rapidly which has the protected right of a student to educate. With the end of the conflicts, and with a strong mandate, the country can now look forward to reprising its development path and become more active in the global arena.
In conclusion, globalization has advantages as well as disadvantages. Sri Lanka has experienced both advantages such as huge development projects as well as disadvantages such as huge loan amounts from foreign countries. However, globalization of a country like Sri Lanka should be observed properly and take necessary steps to prevent the bad side of globalization. Therefore, the people and country will be benefited with more opportunities to develop and look forward for developed country.
References
- Collins, M., 2010. The Pros And Cons Of Globalization. [Online] Available at: http://www.manufacturing.net/article/2010/06/pros-and-cons-globalization
[Accessed 16 May 2017]. - Hasan, 2014. Researchgate. [Online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_do_you_define_Globalization [Accessed 17 May 2017].
- Indraratna, A. d. S., 2017. Globalization of Sri Lnaka. colombo: s.n.
- Madhuwanthi, H., 2013. Globalization and its impact. [Online] Available at: http://www.academia.edu/4036973/Globalization_and_its_impact [Accessed 16 05 2017].
- Sinha, Y., 2010. Globalisation and us. [Online] Available at: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100725/News/nws_38.html [Accessed 15 May 2017].