Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization (review)

Nowadays it is perfectly acceptable to state that "we all live in a global village," "the world is shrinking," and "the world is growing smaller." Economists, sociologists, and anthropologists all realize that globalization has dramatically changed the world. However, they do not agree on the causes and consequences of these changes. In particular, what is "new" about globalization? World historians, especially, are aware of the fact that the "shrinking" of the world started as early as 1492 or 1498. Indeed, mass migration, cross-cultural trade, warfare, and colonization have economically, culturally, and politically been changing the shape of world history over the past five centuries already.