Globalization and Deglobalization – Costs and Benefits, Winners and Losers

Abstract

Still at the end of the 20^th and the beginning of the 21^thcentury it was a common belief that the world had just entered a new civilisational paradigm, completely different from all the previous ones in the history of mankind. The new paradigm was called ‘globalization’ and although it had never been precisely defined the term stirred up a very animated dispute: there were fervent enthusiasts and fervent opponents of everything that was so inexactly defined as globalization. Both enthusiasts and opponents agreed what phenomena made globalization up, but the assessment of those phenomena was diametrically different; according to the enthusiasts globalization reduced famine in the world, stimulated development and growth, decreased unemployment, improved the quality of natural environment, created a new global democracy and was the only reasonable option for mankind; and according to the opponents globalization increased famine in the world, made development and growth stop or even diminish, aggravated unemployment, lowered the quality of natural environment, destroyed human solidarity, stimulated corruption and was a path to hell. The impact of globalization and deglobalization on different areas of economy and society is a topic of several discussions and publications.