Globalization’s Impact: Society of Risk and Global Connectivity
The society of risk, or the prospects opened by globalization. There are two fundamental concepts upon which globalization today is based: the globe, meaning the planet; and the net, referring to the system connecting subjects at opposite ends of the planet. “It is a new phase in history that materialized in the early 1990s,” emphasizes Carlo Sandrelli, philosophy teacher at the Gardesano Carnacina high school, “which expanded rapidly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, representing a political and economic division between the two dominant blocs at that time in the global context.” This is the beginning of a concise, calm, yet sharp and meticulous exposition that the teacher presented in a crowded civic hall at the invitation of the Gardesano Pal del Vo cultural circle, where many students from the Gardesano high school also participated.
Origins and processes of globalization
According to Sandrelli, globalization originates, centuries ago, when the bourgeoisie began asserting itself on the social scene through the activation of a network of global trade. This was already noted by Carl Marx in 1848, who stated that “the bourgeoisie has given the world a cosmopolitan character, meaning a worldwide knowledge and series of contacts.” “Already in ancient times,” affirms Sandrelli, “the Greeks and Romans experienced globalization. It was a globalization transmitted through ideas and not, as today, via technological tools such as the Internet, satellite television, or space systems.”
Today, globalization leads to the homogenization of human living conditions. Political barriers are falling. The nation-state is increasingly losing sovereignty and is effectively becoming an empty shell that opens toward multiculturalism and multiracialism, even within the old, conservative Europe.” Work itself is now at risk. The advent of technology reduces the human role; flexibility and mobility are more necessary than ever.
Social and economic impact
According to Sandrelli, we are experiencing a historical phase of change and disorientation, affecting both the elderly and the young. Therefore, the society of globalization is the society of risk, in the perspective of mutual enrichment, with advantages and respect for everyone in recognizing specific differences.