Globalisation and Modernity

Abstract

This chapter discusses and illustrates the concept of globalisation — the process whereby political, social, economic and cultural relations increasingly take place on a global scale. In doing so, it highlights the following:

• That globalisation has its roots in modernity and that, in turn, we can now see the globalisation of modernity.

• That globalisation is a process not a state, that is, that social life is becoming more and more globalised.

• That globalisation challenges existing sociological agendas and raises new questions about social life.

• Globalisation has uneven and varied impacts. Studying globalisation effectively involves appreciating the tensions between global and local processes.

• The future of the world is not predictable simply because of the emergence of globalisation: there are many possible futures.