Globalization—A New Term for an Ancient Idea

We still remember the eloquent speaker coming to our school in what was at that time communist Bulgaria. He would argue that internationalism—a concept that seeks to unify all nations—was inevitable. In the mid-1980s, it became clear that the only inevitable outcome of internationalism was failure.

Around the same time, however, Theodore Levitt, writing in the Harvard Business Review, brought another term into use—"globalization." To us Eastern Europeans, its resemblance to internationalism was, and still is, very alarming.

[Note: Despite some differences in definition, the terms imperialism, internationalism, and globalism share one similarity—they all seek to ultimately create a homogeneous humanity by eliminating territorial fragmentation and lifting national boundaries.]

Today, proponents of globalization argue that it's a new and unstoppable trend. However, history tells us that the drive toward a homogeneous humanity is perhaps the most ancient, universal, and subconscious utopia that people have sought to achieve.