Five Perspectives on the Origin and History of Globalization

Globalization can be seen as being Hardwired into humans, in the form of a basic urge for a
better life. This instinct results in the spread of globalization through commerce, religion, politics, and
warfare. While in Cycle or cyclical process suggests that there have been other global ages in the past
and that what now appears to be a new global age, or the high point of such an age, is destined to
contract and disappear in the future. Unlike cycle, the third globalization, Epochs or waves happened
sequentially, building on each other. A fourth perspective is that instead of Cycles that can be seen that
there have been other global ages prior to the present one or Epochs that can globalization can view
each with its own point of origin, the Events can be seen as the origin of globalization and give us a good
sense of history. It is also possible to get even more specific about the origins of globalization, especially
in recent years in Events origin. Lastly, the fifth view focuses on Broader, more recent changes. There is
a sense in this view that a sea change occurred in the last half of the twentieth century. While all of the
other perspectives deal with global processes, they were far more limited in geographic scope and far
less extensive and intensive than the global processes that took off in the late twentieth century. Thus,
the perspective adopted here is that globalization is a relatively recent development with its major
points of origin occurring after the close of WW II.