Globalisation is a far-reaching process that connects the individual and society, the micro and the macro, the local and the global. It is of great social significance, but its impact is highly uneven across different sections of society.
| Core Sociological Concept | Baseline Definition / Phenomenon | Social Manifestation / Practice | Impact on Social Stratification & Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Globalisation | Growing interdependence between different people, regions, and countries as social and economic relationships stretch worldwide. | Import of foreign goods (e.g., Chinese pears, Australian apples), expansion of satellite TV channels, and rise of transnational corporations. | Benefits the urban, affluent consumers and middle-class professionals while causing livelihood crises for traditional farmers, weavers, and small-scale producers. |
| Liberalisation | A range of policy decisions taken by the state to open up the domestic economy to the world market by removing trade and finance regulations. | Removal of quantitative restrictions (QR) on imports since April 1, 2001; reduction of state control over industries. | Favours large-scale capital and transnational corporations; reduces state expenditure on social sectors like health, education, and social security. |
The uneven impact of globalisation is visible in the displacement of traditional livelihoods across India:
India has never been isolated from the global economy. Historical interconnections have shaped its society over millennia through trade, conquest, and migration.
Profile: Amartya Sen (b. 1933)
The greatest grammarian in Sanskrit namely Panini, who systematised and transformed Sanskrit grammar and phonetics around the fourth century BCE, was of Afghan origin... The seventh-century Chinese scholar Yi Jing learned his Sanskrit in Java on his way from China to India... The kupamanduka is a frog that lives its whole life within a well, knows nothing else, and is suspicious of everything outside it.
Sociological Analysis & Structural Significance: Highlights that global interactions, linguistic exchange, and cultural openness are not modern phenomena. Isolationism (symbolised by the kupamanduka) limits scientific, cultural, and economic progress, whereas historical global networks enriched Indian civilization long before modern globalisation.
Marked a break from post-independence protectionist policies. Since July 1991, reforms have integrated India into the global market through structural adjustments and loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) .
Companies that produce goods or market services in more than one country. Examples include Coca Cola, General Motors, Colgate-Palmolive, Kodak, and Mitsubishi. They operate across national boundaries to maximise global profits.
Characterised by the instantaneous movement of electronic money via computer networks. Globally integrated financial markets operate 24 hours a day in key centres like New York, Tokyo, and London. In India, Mumbai serves as the financial capital.
A shift from agricultural and industrial bases to information-based products. The weightless economy involves products like computer software, media, entertainment, and internet-based services. A knowledge economy focuses on design, development, technology, marketing, and servicing rather than physical production.
| Economic Dimension | Key Characteristics | Indian Context / Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Liberalisation | Removal of trade barriers, reduction of state control, integration with global markets. | 1991 Economic Reforms, removal of quantitative restrictions on imports. |
| Transnational Corporations (TNCs) | Global production and marketing, cross-border operations, profit-oriented. | Entry of MNCs like Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Indian firms becoming transnational. |
| Electronic Economy | Instantaneous global fund transfers, high-speed transactions, stock market volatility. | Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) buying/selling stocks, online trading. |
| Weightless / Knowledge Economy | Information-based, service-oriented, non-physical production. | Software development, BPOs, call centres, event management services. |
Revolutionary changes in global communication have compressed time and space, creating a network and media society. However, this has also highlighted the digital divide between urban and rural areas.
The Government of India launched the Digital India programme to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Internet users in India grew from 3 million subscribers (15 million users) in 2000 to over 700 million users in recent years.
According to a study in 2017–18, one in ten households have a computer at home. About a quarter of all homes have internet connectivity via mobile phone or other devices... Cyber connectivity had largely remained an urban phenomenon... rural areas with erratic power supply, widespread illiteracy and lack of infrastructure still remain largely unconnected.
Sociological Analysis & Structural Significance: Illustrates the stark reality of the digital divide in India. While technology compresses space and time for urban elites, rural populations face structural exclusion due to infrastructural deficits, reinforcing existing social inequalities.
When India gained Independence in 1947, the new nation had 84,000 telephone lines... By 2000, some 650,000 public call offices (PCOs) provided reliable telephone service... PCOs satisfied the strong Indian sociocultural need of keeping in touch with family members.
Sociological Analysis & Structural Significance: Demonstrates how telecommunication technology was adapted to serve traditional Indian kinship and social networks. PCOs acted as democratic spaces of connectivity, reinforcing family ties across geographical distances.
A structural shift where routine manufacturing and service tasks are outsourced to Third World cities to exploit cheaper labour costs. This has led to a transition from Fordism (centralised mass production) to post-Fordism (flexible production at dispersed locations).
Nike grew enormously from its inception in the 1960s... Only two US factories ever made shoes for Nike. Production shifted from Japan to South Korea, then to Thailand, Indonesia, and since the 1990s, India... General Motors produces Pontiac Le Mans: of the $20,000 showroom price, only $7,600 goes to Americans, while 48% goes to South Korea for assembly, 28% to Japan for advanced components, etc.
Sociological Analysis & Structural Significance: Illustrates the hyper-mobility of global capital and the vulnerability of labour. Capital moves dynamically to regions with the lowest labour costs and weakest regulations, rendering the working-class population highly insecure and fragmented.
The largest number of poor people lives in South Asia... Between 2003 and 2004, employment in Asia and the Pacific increased by a disappointing 1.6 per cent, or by 25 million jobs, compared to the strong economic growth rate of over 7 per cent.
Sociological Analysis & Structural Significance: Highlights the phenomenon of jobless growth under globalisation. Despite high GDP growth rates, the creation of secure, formal employment fails to keep pace, widening the employment gap and exacerbating poverty.
Globalisation is underpinned by major political shifts, notably the collapse of the socialist bloc, which accelerated the spread of neo-liberal economic policies.
While some fear cultural homogenisation (all cultures becoming identical), globalisation often leads to glocalisation —the mixing of global and local cultural forms. This is frequently a deliberate commercial strategy used by foreign firms to enhance marketability.
Globalisation impacts gender roles and consumption patterns. While defenders of traditional identity sometimes use culture as a bogey to justify undemocratic practices against women (like sati or exclusion from education), democratic traditions allow for a more inclusive definition of culture.
Globalisation poses a severe threat to traditional livelihoods, crafts, and indigenous knowledge systems due to power looms, mass media, and corporate patenting.
The condition of our dombari community is very bad. Television and radio have snatched away our means of livelihood. We perform acrobatics but because of the circus and the television... nobody is interested in our performances.
Sociological Analysis & Structural Significance: Illustrates how modern mass media and entertainment industries marginalise traditional folk artists and performers, destroying their economic base without providing alternative social security nets.