Chapter 24: Accelerating Global Interaction (pg. 723-734)

I thought it was interesting that the discussion of Barbie and Ken dolls shows the power of global commerce today. It also shows the reaction to the values represented by Barbie and Ken elsewhere in the world, such as Iran. Iran created new dolls, Sara and Dara, that portrayed Iranian Muslim values and practices. However, the Sara and Dara dolls and the Barbie and Ken dolls were all manufactured in China. During the 20th century, a web of political relationships, economic transactions, and cultural influences brought the world together. By the 1990s, the process of accelerating engagement was known as globalization. Globalization has a long history upon which the 20th century globalization was built. The pace of the globalization increased rapidly after World War II. The term "globalization" refers to international transactions. This has come to seem inevitable to many since 1950. The global economic linkages contracted significantly in the first half of the 20th century, especially between the two world wars. The capitalist winners of WWII were determined not to repeat the Great Depression. After the global economic transactions, they quickened dramatically after WWII led to re-globalization.