Globalisation

When defining the term Globalisation, it is key to first acknowledge which bow of the metaphorical tree of politics you hang from, as Capitalists and Socialists will offer distinctly different explanations as to the meaning:

Capitalist
"The elimination of state enforced restrictions on exchanges across borders and the increasingly integrated and complex global system of production and exchange that has emerged as a result.

Socialist
The process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. It can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces.

Key words and phrases that instantly relate to 'Globalisation' are 'westernisation', or 'Americanisation' in reference to the growing dominance of western forms of political, economic and cultural life. It is also adequate reference to the proliferation of new information technologies, also known as 'The Internet Revolution'. Finally and most importantly it represents the notion that humanity stands at the threshold of realising one single unified community in which major sources of social conflict have vanished, which is known in short as global integration.

Globalisation has been made possible through geographical distance being typically measured in time and thus, the time necessary to connect distinct geographical locations is reduced, distance or space undergoes compression, or 'annihilation'. This can be put down to our human experience of space being intimately connected to the temporal structure of those activities by means of which we experience space. Changes in the temporality of human activity inevitably generate altered experiences of space or territory. Theorists of globalisation agree that alterations in humanity's experiences of space and time are working to undermine the importance of local and even national boundaries in many arenas of human endeavour. Since globalisation contains far reaching implications for virtually every facet of human life, it necessarily suggests the need to rethink key questions of normative political theory.

"If we are talking about the 'cultural', we are concerned with the symbolic construction, articulation, and dissemination of meaning. Given that language, music, and images constitute the major forms of symbolic expression, they assume special significance in the sphere of culture. Yet culture globalisation did not start with the worldwide dissemination of rock 'n' roll, Coca-Cola, or football."
Manfred B. Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction, page 69

An excellent example of the sheer force of globalisation within photography is the German visual artist, Andreas Gursky, known for his enormous architecture and landscape colour photography. His is especially distinctive for his incisive and critical look at the effect of capitalism and globalisation on contemporary life. He often depicts people as tiny protagonists caught in vast landscapes. Since the 1990s, Gursky has concentrated on sites of commerce and tourism, making work that draws attention to today's burgeoning high tech industry and global markets. His imagery ranges from the vast, anonymous architecture of modern deay hotel lobbies, apartment buildings and warehouses to stock exchanges and parliament buildings in different countries around the world.

Andreas Gursky, Mayday

His work contrasts the common conception that Globalisation is a good thing, shown in the size of the common person, never depicted within his work any bigger than a pin prick within the frame. Alternatively he could simply be drawing our attention to the insignificance of singular citizens and the necessity for globalisation in order for society to progress.