We consist of five students from the Philippine Science High School.
Through publishing this blog, we aim to inform the public about globalization and the flat world.
“If the world was a computer and the planet is the hardware, globalization is the operating system that makes everything run.”
- Thomas Friedman
This system has had three versions, each version better than its predecessor, allowing the hardware to work faster, more efficiently and at inexpensive rates.
The first version, Globalization 1.0, lasted from 1492 to the 1800s. The driving force in this epoch was countries competing for resources, territories and the prestige that came with it. Dominion over the planet was in the hands of the competing nations and states. The dominating countries in this epoch were mostly found in the European continent, so globalization can be said to have been centralized in Europe.
The second version, Globalization 2.0, lasted from the 19th to 21st centuries, urged by a slew of European and American companies competing for markets and labor worldwide. During this epoch, new nations are formed from colonies which also wanted to compete in the global economy. Here, power is distributed into three branches, determined by the many organizations which attempt to control globalization. The first branch is called the Interstate which is composed of organizations that manage interests between nations. Examples of Interstate organizations are the OPEC, NATO and the ASEAN. The second branch is the Suprastate which is composed of organizations that behave like nations. They have their own government, laws and interests. Examples of Suprastate organizations are the IMF, WTO and UN.
The last version, Globalization 3.0, began at the start of the 21st century and continues to date. What makes this version unique is that dominance no longer lies in large organizations or powerful nations; power lies in the hands of the individual. Now even persons and small groups can compete in the global market.
