Key Concept 6.3

New Conceptualizations of Global Economy, Society, and Culture

The twentieth century witnessed a great deal of warfare and the collapse of the global economy in the 1930s. In response to these challenges, the role of state in the domestic economy fluctuated, and new institutions of global governance emerged and continued to develop throughout the century. Scientific breakthroughs, new technologies, increasing levels of integration, changing relationships between humans and the environment, and the frequency of political conflict all contributed to global developments in which people crafted new understandings of society, culture, and historical interpretations. These new understanding often manifested themselves in, and were reinforced by, new forms of cultural production. Institutions of global governance both shaped and adapted to these social conditions.

I. States responded in a variety of ways to the economic challenges of the twentieth century.

• In the Communist states of the Soviet Union and China, governments controlled their national economies.
• The Five-Year Plans
• The Great Leap Forward
• At the beginning of the century in the United States and parts of Europe, governments played a minimal role in their national economies. With the onset of the Great Depression, governments began to take a more active role in economic life.
• The New Deal
• The Fascist corporatist economy
• In newly independent states after World War II, governments often took on a strong role in guiding economic life to promote development.
• Nasser's promotion of economic development in Egypt
• The encouragement of export-oriented economies in East Asia
• At the end of the twentieth century, many governments encouraged free market economic policies and promoted economic liberalization
• The United States beginning with Ronal Readan
• Britain under Margaret Thatcher
• China under Deng Xiaoping
• Chile under Pinochet

II. States, communities, and individuals became increasingly interdependent, a process facilitated by the growth of institutions of global governance.

• New international organizations formed to maintain world peace and to facilitate international cooperation.
• The League of Nations
• The United Nations
• The International Criminal Court
• New economic institutions sought to spread the principles and practices associated with free market economics throughout the world.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• World Bank
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• Humanitarian organizations developed to respond to humanitarian crises throughout the world.
• UNICEF
• The Red Cross
• Amnesty International
• Doctors Without Borders
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Regional trade agreements created regional trading blocs designed to promote the movement of capital and goods across national borders
• The European Union
• NAFTA
• ASEAN
• Mercosur
• Multinational corporations began to challenge state authority and autonomy
• Royal Dutch Shell
• Coca-Cola
• Sony
• Movements throughout the world protested the inequality of environmental and economic consequences of global integration.
• Greenpeace
• Green Belt in Kenya
• Earth Day

III. People conceptualized society and culture in new ways; some challenged old assumptions about race, class, gender, and religion, often using new technologies to spread reconfigured traditions.

• The notion of human rights gained traction throughout the world.
• The U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Women's rights
• The end of the White Australia Policy
• Increased interactions among diverse peoples sometimes led to the formation of new cultural identities and exclusionary reactions.
  • New cultural identities
  • Negritude
  • Exclusionary reactions
  • Xenophobia
  • Race Riots
    • Citizenship restrictions
  • Believers developed new forms of spirituality and chose to emphasize particular aspects of practice within existing faiths and apply them to political issues.
    • New forms of spirituality
    • New Age Religions
    • Hare Krishna
    • Falun Gong
    • Application of religion to political issues
    • Fundamentalist movements
    • Liberation Theology

IV. Popular and consumer culture became global

• Sports were more widely practiced and reflected national and social aspirations
  • World Cup Soccer
  • The Olympics
  • Cricket
• Changes in communication and transportation technology enabled the widespread diffusion of music and film
  • Reggae
  • Bollywood