Globalization: Homogenizes the World or Benefits Developing Countries

According to Dictionary.com (2007), globalization means "to extend to other or all parts of the globe; make worldwide...". Globalization has become one of the most controversial subjects around the world. The topics up for debate are whether globalization homogenizes the world and whether it really helps developing countries or not. In my personal opinion, globalization needs to be controlled in order for everyone to benefit from it. There is an upside to globalization as well as a downside just like everything else in the world. In order to better understand globalization, I have researched one country that is a prime example of globalization. This country is one of the most populous countries in the world. In addition to the rather abundant population, they are also known for their abundant products that consume most of the U.S.'s retail stores shelves.

Before reform, China was not a fan of globalization, the World Bank or the IMF (Overholt, 2005). It detested global economic order and demonstrated it by attacking educational and political institutions under the guidance of Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution. China tried several rulings such as socialism, capitalism, warlords and religious fundamentalism over the course of two decades to no avail (Overholt, 2005). It wasn't until after the 19th century that China as a whole knew that they must rebuild their country to restore culture and order in order to survive. The Chinese Communistic party was chosen as the new ruling. China opened its doors to its neighbors as well as other countries. China's GDP grew from 147.3 billion to 1.6494 trillion over the course of 26 years (Jintao, 2005). Its foreign trade rose from 20.6 billion to 1.1548 trillion..." (Jintao, 2005). In addition to increased GDP and foreign trade, China also managed to restore its culture to that of what it used to be. China's government surpassed challenges by working together even though globalization posed several difficult challenges.