The Three Waves of Globalization: A History of a Developing Global Consciousness

The Three Waves of Globalization deals with matters of inclusion and empowerment. In this regard language is obviously important, and not only for reasons of accuracy. Accordingly I have made three decisions as to usage. The first is gender-related. I do not refer to nations as women. The second is geographical. The world consists of three main continents- Afro-Eurasia, the Americas, and Australia. Thus Europe is not a continent but à subcontinent, and the 'Near East' or 'Middle East' is more properly described as West Asia. The third point of usage relates to the division of time. In a study designed for global and non-religious application, the terms BC and AD are inappropriate. Hence I have followed a newer convention and used instead BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (the Common Era). The Three Waves of Globalization is an exploratory history only. It is designed to stimulated debate. It is not intended as the definitive word on the subject, let alone an exhaustive study of all aspects of globalization and its scholarship. Instead I have selected elements of the story that focused on a small number or writers whose work is representative of general trends in contemporary scholarship.