The Origins of Globalization: A Canadian Perspective
Ivey Business Journal Online › Vol. 73 Nbr. 3, May 2009
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Summary
Globalization has a long and storied past that goes back to the first ships and land caravans. The authors, whose book on the origins of globalization has just been published, describe some of the important events and patterns that shaped globalization in another time. In their book, "The Origins of Globalization." they pose the question of whether a global economy existed in the ancient world. The history of ancient economies may be looked at as a series of baby steps towards the global economy of today. Then, as now, hemispherization/globalization depended upon political stability. Globalization is a fragile plant and the lesson of history in both antiquity and these days remain that it can be easily torn apart by regional and national political forces. Today regionalism remains a strong force whether with NAFTA, the EU or other regional trading blocks and pure global economies remain just as theoretical as pure free markets.
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The Origins of Globalization: A Canadian Perspective
This article is based on their new book, The Origins of Globalization (Routledge, 2009).
It is somewhat of a conceit to claim that globalization is a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, globalization has a long and storied past that goes back to the first ships and land caravans. This past, like those in other domains, can be instructive, especially for large trading nations today. These authors, whose book on the origins of globalization has just been published, describe some of the important events and patterns that shaped globalization in another time.Can Canadians in the 21st century gain anything from studying the economy of the ancient world? Many historians recognize that the postindustrial American global economy that arose in the 1980's and 1990's was the most recent one in a series of global economies. Its immediate forerunner dominated the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Canada played an important part in a free-trading global system that interlo...See the full content of this document
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