Another aspect of late modernity
is the ease with which people
now travel worldwide. Just as the
migration from the countryside
to the cities after industrialization
created new social structures,
increased mobility in the late
20th century has changed social
patterns. Economic migration has
become increasingly common as
people move not just into the new
global cities, but internationally in
search of work and prosperity. As
Arjun Appadurai and others have
pointed out, this has led to cultural
changes, including a questioning
of how identities are formed.
Culture and environment
Many sociologists have tried to
assess globalization’s impact on
local cultures, and the changing
nature of national identities. In
Western countries, an influx of
migrants from different cultures
has changed attitudes to race,
religion, and culture, especially
as second- and third-generation
immigrants identify themselves
with their host country.
Much of this movement has
been driven by economic inequality
between nations, which has not
been alleviated by globalization.
According to Immanuel
Wallerstein, it is the spread of
capitalism that perpetuates
the differences between rich
and poor countries. Capitalism
reaps an economic advantage
by maintaining this difference,
and exploiting the resources of
developing countries. And because
of the increasing contrast between
the northern and southern
hemispheres, Boaventura de SousaSantos has urged a change in
sociological thinking to include
marginalized points of view.
Others, such as Ulrich Beck,
have warned of the risks associated
with globalization, as traditional
ways of life are eroded by
advances in new technology and
communication. Unlike in the past,
we no longer face only natural risks
on a local scale, but also human-
made crises that have international
consequences. Environmental
issues are perhaps the greatest
threat, but as a society we have
tended, as Anthony Giddens has
pointed out, to bury our heads
in the sand. While enjoying the
benefits of modern global society,
we continue to put off dealing with
the underlying problems, maybe
to the point where it is too late to
prevent disaster. ■LIVING IN A GLOBAL WORLD
1996
1996
2002
2002 2009
2007
Manuel Castells analyzes the
social effects of information
technology in the first part of his
three-volume The Information Age:
The Rise of the Network Society
(1997, The Power of Identity;
1998, End of Millennium).David McCrone examines
the role of national
identity in a globalized
world in The Sociology
of Nationalism:
Tomorrow’s Ancestors.David Held and Anthony
McGrew point out the
contradictory social
effects of globalization
in Globalization/
Anti-Globalization:
Beyond the Great Divide.Anthony Giddens warns
of the dangers of
procrastination over
environmental issues
in The Politics of
Climate Change.Arjun Appadurai examines
how identities are formed
in a globalized world
in Modernity At Large:
Cultural Dimensions
of Globalization.
In Mobilities, John Urry
explains how new
cultures and identities
are emerging as people
are increasingly able to
move around the world.135