Although
globalization is often thought of in economic terms (i.e., "the global marketplace"),
this process has many social and political implications as well. Many in local
communities associate globalization with modernization (i.e., the transformation of
"traditional" societies into "Western" industrialized ones). At the global level,
globalization is thought of in terms of the challenges it poses to the role of
governments in international affairs and the global economy.
There are heated debates about globalization and its positive and negative effects.
While globalization is thought of by many as having the potential to make societies
richer through trade and to bring knowledge and information to people around the
world, there are many others who perceive globalization as contributing to the
exploitation of the poor by the rich, and as a threat to traditional cultures as the
process of modernization changes societies. There are some who link the negative
aspects of globalization to terrorism