What is globalization?
There are many different definitions that describe the term "globalization". According to the Business Dictionary, globalization is the "worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration (...) [it] implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependet world with free transfer of capital, goods, and services across national fronteirs."
As described, the world becomes a much more integrated and interconnected "nation": as if it where one single nation. Until what point does this interconnectiveness become something that negatively affect people's lives and environment? Well, there are many different responses to this world status quo we are living in and passing through now:
The movie Into the Wild, by Sean Penn, narrates Alex Supertramp's experience with the world's global integration and urbanization's negative aspects, since the protagonist seeks peace and freedom - aspects which he think are not present in this "new status quo". What people expect of you is not what makes one's life full of freedom and happiness... Supertramp says that in order to live happily, nature and wilderness are needed.
"I read somewhere... how important it is in life nor necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong" (Supertramp).
"I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth" (Supertramp).
Into the Wild Movie Trailler
Other authors have different responses to this globalized world. Pico Iyer, states the following:
"A leader such as Václav Havel always takes pains to stress that the main term to be qualified by 'global' should be 'responsibility' and that in a world in which everyone's problems are everyone else's, a new sense of community must be formed on the basis of something deeper that soil and higher than interest rates. If our 'One World' dreams are not to devolve into One Nation parties" (Iyer).
As related above, in order to live in a global society people need to be responsible enough to start caring about each other's actions and thoughts, since we can state that we are living in a one single nation, not divided among countries. In addition, we are all one race and should treat each other with the same respect.
Similarly to Alex's view of life and achieving peace within himself, Gary Snyder, altough being a Buddhist, says that practicing meditation is necessary for 'liberation':
"Altough Mahayana Buddhism has a grand vision of universal salvation, the actual achievement of Buddhism has been the development of practical systems of meditation toward the end of liberating a few dedicated individuals from psychological hang- ups and cultural conditionings" (Snyder).In addition, Snyder exclaims that peace will be achieved through wisdom, meditation and morality - people need to follow the 'correct pathway'.
Other authors, such as Kwame Appiah, focus on the negative aspects of globalization and how people, even though being interconnected, still fight and discuss upon matters. He then relates to how it is a fight between the same values and not different values, eventually concluding the following:
"Conversation doesn't have to lead to consensus about anything, especially not values; it's enough that it helps people get used to one another" (Appiah).Although a globalized society should bring people together, one needs to understand the others in order to life peacefully and in this world full of economic and political competition.
Altough there are different responses to this globalized society, we are living in this new status quo full of different means and technology. With this in mind, being able to live happily is the key to a successful life and how one should live depends and varies from person to person. However, many of the times, in order to live peacefully, people have to find their respective Tokyo's, just like in the movie Lost in Translation.
What is your Tokyo?
Many times, I picture myself getting rid of everyone who is acting like "a rock on my pathway". There are times when the rocks are my friends and others when the rock is one of my parents or siblings. Other times you just wished you were not there and just disappeared. During those moments, my Tokyo would, in contrary to Alex Supertramp's Tokyo, would be in New York City; sitting in Time Square watching all those people coming by and going away... This is one of the best feeling for me, watching everyone care about their lives and jobs and just let them walk away. This feeling also runs through my skin giving me goosebumps in airports: the only in and out doorway for other parts of the world. I find that extremely fascinating...! I tend to feel much more comfortable around people, rather than alone.
