203
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Kerényi, R. W. McIntosh, Sustainable Development in Changing Complex Earth Systems,
Sustainable Development Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21645-0_5
Structure and Operation
of the Global Society
(Anthroposphere)
5.1
Globalisation: Nation-States:
Environment and Nature
Protection
The development of the human society gradually
proceeded towards the formation of a global
society and sometimes the process accelerated.
The travels of Columbus with the discovery of
the New World gave a big boost to globalisation.
According to certain authors, with the formation
of colonial empires the world was as globalised
at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth century as today (Hirst et al. 2009). Although this
statement can be debated it is a fact that with
colonisation the national and international
sources of capital accumulation, local and global
economic processes interweaved closely for the
first time and global economy was born (Bernek
2002). These statements suggest that globalisation is interpreted as an economic process by the
above authors as many people do today even
though—as will be seen—nowadays other
processes also have important roles in
globalisation.
Today the new process started from the 1970s
is called globalisation most frequently characterised by the expansion of transnational (multinational) companies. As a result, the economies
of different countries become connected closely.
According to Parker (1998), the world turned to
a large market where everything (product, service, money) can be sold and purchased without
limitation, and people can freely migrate depending on where they can find better work possibilities. Although this statement was slightly
overstatement in parts at the end of the twentieth
century (free migration and employment of people has not been realised even in the 2010s
either) but it is a fact that the economies of countries were connected with several threads as
early as the 1990s.
Most authors focusing on globalisation
approach the formation of the global society from
the economy point of view despite the fact that
information flow is at least that important in the
twenty-first century. The term information society is applied frequently one of the main characteristics of which is forming networks. Such
networks make not only economy more effective
but influence almost all fields of the society. In
the twenty-first century the above and other processes discussed later become more and more
important in the development of the global society defining a new section, therefore they will be
discussed in a separate chapter (Sect. 5.5).
A specific character of the global society and
economy is that no countries can be isolated
without the threat of collapse. Nation-states are
tied to each other with thousands of strands therefore their economy also depends on each other
and of course on transnational companies. At the
same time, every country tries of organise its
social structure and economic relations according
to its supposed or real interests.
5
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
A. Kerényi, R. W. McIntosh, Sustainable Development in Changing Complex Earth Systems,
Sustainable Development Goals Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21645-0_5
Structure and Operation
of the Global Society
(Anthroposphere)
5.1
Globalisation: Nation-States:
Environment and Nature
Protection
The development of the human society gradually
proceeded towards the formation of a global
society and sometimes the process accelerated.
The travels of Columbus with the discovery of
the New World gave a big boost to globalisation.
According to certain authors, with the formation
of colonial empires the world was as globalised
at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth century as today (Hirst et al. 2009). Although this
statement can be debated it is a fact that with
colonisation the national and international
sources of capital accumulation, local and global
economic processes interweaved closely for the
first time and global economy was born (Bernek
2002). These statements suggest that globalisation is interpreted as an economic process by the
above authors as many people do today even
though—as will be seen—nowadays other
processes also have important roles in
globalisation.
Today the new process started from the 1970s
is called globalisation most frequently characterised by the expansion of transnational (multinational) companies. As a result, the economies
of different countries become connected closely.
According to Parker (1998), the world turned to
a large market where everything (product, service, money) can be sold and purchased without
limitation, and people can freely migrate depending on where they can find better work possibilities. Although this statement was slightly
overstatement in parts at the end of the twentieth
century (free migration and employment of people has not been realised even in the 2010s
either) but it is a fact that the economies of countries were connected with several threads as
early as the 1990s.
Most authors focusing on globalisation
approach the formation of the global society from
the economy point of view despite the fact that
information flow is at least that important in the
twenty-first century. The term information society is applied frequently one of the main characteristics of which is forming networks. Such
networks make not only economy more effective
but influence almost all fields of the society. In
the twenty-first century the above and other processes discussed later become more and more
important in the development of the global society defining a new section, therefore they will be
discussed in a separate chapter (Sect. 5.5).
A specific character of the global society and
economy is that no countries can be isolated
without the threat of collapse. Nation-states are
tied to each other with thousands of strands therefore their economy also depends on each other
and of course on transnational companies. At the
same time, every country tries of organise its
social structure and economic relations according
to its supposed or real interests.
5