Globalization

Mondialisation

"It's a small world after all" -Disney Song

capitalism, communication, work

diversity, food, cosmopolitanism, travel

exchange, faith, cultures

Expansion, Culture

exploitation, outsourcing,

fair trade, exploitation, inequality, opportunity

Future, Responsibility, Commerce

Global markets

Inequality, Corporations, Networks

integration, everyone, networking

jobs, overseas, immigration

messy, useful, debt

mixing, effective, future

one world, new opportunities,

Opportunities, communication, polution

Portugal, Markets, Flat

spread, countries, international

trade, exchange, no borders

travel, culture, language

Work, Free market, Development

Économie, commerce, culture

capitalisme, économie, délocalisation, concurrence

capitalisme, cupidité, nécessité

cultures,unité,différence,commun

Délocalisation, Entreprise, Expansion

dépendance, ouverture, expansion

Economie, Capitalisme, Unité

Etats Unis, nouvelles technologies, Relier le monde, rapidité

impossible, idéalisme, utopie

interdépendance,Internet,culture

internet,commerce,économie

libre échange,

monde, entente, économie

Ouverture, échange,

Paix, Idéal, Ouverture

pauvre, riche, inégalité

Polémiques, Interculturalisme, échanges

Discussion

This word is one of the most intertesting words under this excercise.  American students wrote more possitive to neutral associations while our French colleagues focused in neutral or negative associations.  French students think that the concept of Globalization is an utopy, difficult to make it work in real life.  They might think that there's an ideal model and that this model is difficult to replicate in real life.  What we see nowadays is a distorted version of the ideal model of globalization. 

The negative association American students posted focused on the most know negative effects of globalization, but none of the American Students seem to think globalization as something "impossible or utopic".  It seem that French students are more "idealistic" than American Students are. 

Why french student didn't mentioned the European Union as a word associated with globalization?

I noticed that varying concepts of dependance were mentioned, which made me think that France, as a country, wants to be as self-sufficient as possible---and thus the term had a negative connotation to it. They also viewed it as an Utopian / Idealistic concept, which meant it won't be achieved and more likely than not will have negative consequences given the positives (economy, expansion). 

Andres did bring up an interesting question---France is in the EU---isn't that one form of Globalization?

"Made in America" is a rare thing to see as most things we have are manufactured elsewhere. Even famous American brands have gone overseas to have their products produced more cheaply or with less regulation. Outsourcing jobs is one of the consequences of the globalization of the US economy that sends jobs overseas and can be seen as a negative thing. The fact  that a few people wrote less neutral answers than the group and had opposing ideas such as "impossible" and "necessity" says that it isn't an issue that affects most French people in the same way. Are the differences in responses a result of personal experiences or what globalization is perceived to be?

One thing that I saw while dicussing this in class was that the French students seemed to mention all the "social" type aspects of globalization, while the American students seem to focus on the economic and commercial. This makes me wonder if the United States is more focused on money than people. Also to this end, is there a reason why the French students are so focused on the societal aspects and how globilization effects the common man? Is this a product of the French Revolution?

Bonjour,

Je pense qu’au-delà de l’idée économique, politique ou sociale, il est normal que la globalisation soit vue différemment. Pour le monde, l’Amérique est l’auteur si je puis le dire, de la mondialisation. De ce fait,  vous (les étudiants de MIT) ne pouvez voir cela que sur un très bon jour. Par contre comme Mélanie l’a souligné pour les autres peuples, la mondialisation peut être vue comme un asservissement. Je pense que plusieurs nations ont peur de perdre leurs propres valeurs, leur authenticité au profit de la mondialisation. Ainsi, il est tout à fait normal que cela soit un peu mal perçu en dehors des Etats Unis. Par contre, je ne pense pas que la Révolution Française est un grand rapport avec la mondialisation. Si Elise voulait insinuer que comme pour la révolution, les Français n’aiment pas être totalement soumis comme des animaux dociles peut-être mais sinon je ne vois pas trop le rapport.  

I agree with Paule in the sense that Americans have a "special" view when it comes to globalization - a persepctive that the rest of the world does not share. In many respects, US economy and society is wildly spreading. For example, Hollywood movies are a dominant form of entertainment, US musicians and bands are heard all around the globe, people in countries around the world are rushing to learn English. This can be seen as squeezing at other cultures. Whether this is right or wrong, globalization requires that the world share in a common language and way of doing things, otherwise people cannot connect with one another. At the same time, I believe that it will be important for all people to be aware of this and try their best to maintain their own language and culture while partaking in the global society.

@ HoYin et Andres : 

La création de l'UE est indéniablement un aspect de la mondialisation, et c'est assez surprenant de voir que les étudiants de notre classe n'aient pas citer l'UE dans leurs choix. A mon avis, celà s'explique par le fait que les citoyens des pays européens ne ressentent pas suffisamment les effets de cette union dans leur quotidien.

 

Mais ce qui est le plus étonnant c'est qu'aucun de nous(MIT et ENSEIRB) n'ai cité la CHINE, qui a mon avis a su utilisé la mondialisation pour se développer (Ce n'est pas pour autant que je trouve que la chine soit un bon modèle). 

 

@Melanie :

Je pense que les avis contradictoire font partis de la nature humaine(Républicains VS Démocrates ...) : il y aura toujours des personnes qui penseront que la mondialisation c'est le diable(nuit à l'économie locale, crée du chômage, concurrence déloyale, perte d'identité nationale...) et d'autres qui penseront que la mondialisation est une bénédiction divine. Je pense qu'on retrouve c'est avis contradictoires dans tous les pays mais avec des proportions différentes.

@Sambala

I disagree with your thought about nations losing their values.  I guess that nations can lose some of their identity, but I belive that values are still an important part of each country's essence.  Also, values are a "living creature" and changes accordingly to the different time we are living.  20 years ago, work was at the center of many cultures.  Today, as we see that world resources will not last forever, many aspects of the culture are centered towards a "better life". 

This is such a complicated topic. I agree with Ahmed that view of the globalization differs from country to country and depends on their personal experiences.

I think the US finds globalization positive because very often it pays off for them. For example, Nike accomplished production of cheap sports wear and shoes by establishing factories in developing countries. Since 1986 I think, Nike hasn't had one factory in the US. These workers are poorly paid and health conditions in these factories are horrible. In some of them, child labor is involved. Globalization can be a very bad thing for a lot of developing countries, because they can be easily used by developed countries.

 

Having in mind that US is the most powerful country in the world, I don't think they help enough or care about developing countries. Why is that? Do you think this should change?

 

What is France's politics when it comes to developing countries? Do people give to charity and help others? I would love to see a country where helping others is a part of their culture

@ Ahmed. I agree. I'm a bit surprised there wasn't much mention of China. Especially with the coverage it has gotten within the subject of globalization. At least here. I'm not sure - is China as big a deal in France? Do you hear about it a lot in the news? I feel like it is more a scare than anything else here...

I think while most of the American's views on globalization may be positive, there are also many negative connotations. For example, for many Americans, the issue of unemployment is closely tied. Many people believe that it is due to globalization that they have lost their jobs - and people abroad are taking what used to be theirs.

Ce sujet est très vaste et compliqué comme l'a fait remarquer Jovana. En France, la première idée qui nous vient à l'esprit quand on pense à la mondialisation, c'est certainement la délocalisation de la main d'oeuvre des entreprises souvent connues de tout le monde.

Les délocalisations d'après moi ne sont pas des bienfaits pour l'entreprise comme pour la population. Pour les Français, lorsqu'on entend délocalisation on pense automatiquement chomage. Pour l'entreprise, lorsqu'elle envisage la délocalisation, elle pense généralement au profit. La morale de l'histoire c'est que les entreprises Français pensent parfois plus au profit plutôt qu'à donner du travail aux citoyens de son pays d'origine.

Un avis a attiré mon attention concernat ce sujet,il y en a ceux qui ont lié la globalisation à USA,et je trouve celà important quand meme, parceque c'est clair que les Etats Unis en tant que première force et premier pays mondial domine et seme ses idiologies et ses produits partout, se permet de faire des guerres.....