Ambassador Richard Shifter
Thomas Friedman from the New York Times recently compared globalization to the sunrise. Similar to how the sun will never stop rising, acceptance of globalization must be realized and the negative consequences of interconnectedness must be understood before states can alleviate the damages on society. Throughout my years as ambassador to positions throughout Europe, three main revolutions occurred that have facilitated world change for the better. The first major revolution was transportation advancements that shortened the time necessary to travel. The second change was communication improvements seen through the decrease in telephone costs and the recent creation of Email. The third development was through the worldwide acceptance of English as a universal language of commerce. The commonality between all the revolutions are positive effects of free-market capitalist society. First World countries have a responsibility to lay the foundation of Second and Third World countries’ transitions from command to capitalist markets.
Keywords: Globalization, Transportation, Communication, Language, Capitalism
