Lets Talk About Globalization! | Charles Beem | TEDxUNCPembroke
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares their mission to make the world a better place through small acts of kindness and teaching about the interconnectedness of civilizations. They recount their journey of writing a textbook to explain the misunderstood concept of globalization, emphasizing human capital and the 'Cosmopolitan spirit' as the driving forces behind progress. The speaker uses historical examples to illustrate the benefits of global cooperation, advocating for a globalized effort to tackle today's challenges like climate change and pandemics.
Takeaways
- đ The speaker's mission is to make the world a better place, starting with small acts of kindness and teaching about global interconnectedness.
- đ The speaker has taught a history course called 'World Civilizations' for 25 years, focusing on the development of global interconnectedness.
- đĄ The speaker wrote their own textbook to address the issue of expensive educational materials, incorporating their ideas on the history of civilizations.
- đ The concept of globalization is misunderstood and often associated with negative aspects like capitalism and environmental destruction, but the speaker embraces it as a positive force.
- 𧱠The speaker argues that building bridges, not walls, is the key to fostering global interconnectedness and overcoming challenges.
- đ Human capital, or the collective productivity of people, is identified as the engine of globalization, leading to exponential increases in sophistication and progress.
- đ The speaker uses the historical example of gunpowder to illustrate how the exchange of ideas and technology can drive global progress.
- đ The evolution of communication technology, from a single landline phone to smartphones, exemplifies the advancement and interconnectedness of our world.
- đ The 'Cosmopolitan spirit' is described as the willingness to engage with and learn from diverse people, which is crucial for the success of globalization.
- đïž The speaker's historical narrative includes significant figures and empires that contributed to the development of a globalized world.
- đ The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is cited as a modern example of successful globalization, showcasing the power of combined human capital to solve global problems.
Q & A
What is the speaker's mission in life?
-The speaker's mission in life is to make the world a better place.
How does the speaker define 'globalization'?
-The speaker defines 'globalization' as the processes by which the peoples of the world come closer together.
What is the speaker's profession and how does it relate to globalization?
-The speaker is a history teacher, and he teaches a course called 'World Civilizations' which explores the evolution of civilizations and the concept of globalization.
Why did the speaker decide to write his own textbook?
-The speaker decided to write his own textbook because the existing textbooks he had been using for years had become quite expensive.
What is the speaker's view on the term 'globalist'?
-The speaker views the term 'globalist' positively and wears the hashtag with pride and purpose, despite it being misunderstood in today's context.
What does the speaker believe are the common misconceptions about globalization?
-The speaker believes that common misconceptions about globalization include its association with predatory international capitalism, imperialism, colonialism, the erosion of national identities, destruction of tropical rainforests, climate change, and pandemic diseases.
What historical examples does the speaker use to illustrate the ineffectiveness of walls?
-The speaker uses the walls of Jericho and the Berlin Wall of the 20th century as examples to illustrate that walls never work in the long term.
What does the speaker consider as the engine that makes globalization happen?
-The speaker considers 'human capital' as the engine that makes globalization happen, which is the result of human productivity.
How does the speaker describe the 'Cosmopolitan spirit'?
-The speaker describes the 'Cosmopolitan spirit' as a willingness to interact with and learn from people who are different from oneself.
What role does the speaker believe the 'Cosmopolitan spirit' plays in the process of globalization?
-The speaker believes that the 'Cosmopolitan spirit' allows human capital to come together in big, bold, and exciting ways, which is essential for globalization.
How does the speaker relate the invention of gunpowder to the concept of globalization?
-The speaker relates the invention of gunpowder to globalization by explaining how it was shared and adapted by different civilizations, such as the Chinese, the Islamic civilization, and later the Europeans, illustrating the interconnectedness of global development.
What does the speaker suggest as a way to help make the world a better place?
-The speaker suggests being nice to people whenever possible and combining human capital in big, bold, and exciting ways to solve global problems as ways to help make the world a better place.
Outlines
đ Globalization: The Bridge to a Better World
The speaker expresses a personal mission to make the world a better place, starting with small acts of kindness and progressing to larger contributions through teaching a history course on world civilizations. They recount their decision to write their own textbook due to the high cost of existing ones and share their philosophy on the importance of global interconnectedness. The speaker redefines globalization as a positive force, advocating for it as a means to bring people closer together, contrary to its common negative connotations. They argue against the idea of walls and for the concept of bridges, using historical examples to illustrate how civilizations have always built bridges to one another through shared knowledge and innovation.
đ Human Capital: The Engine of Globalization
The speaker delves into the concept of 'human capital,' describing it as the collective productivity of individuals. They use the example of Robinson Crusoe to illustrate how human resourcefulness can lead to exponential growth in sophistication when combined. The narrative continues with historical examples of technological diffusion, such as the spread of gunpowder from China to the Islamic world and then to Europe, which revolutionized warfare. The speaker also provides a personal anecdote about the evolution of communication technology, comparing a landline telephone from the 1960s to the modern iPhone. They emphasize the 'Cosmopolitan spirit' as the driving force behind globalization, which is the willingness to engage with and learn from diverse others, leading to the creation of universal religions and global trade systems.
đ The Cosmopolitan Spirit and Global Challenges
In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the global challenges faced today, such as climate change, pandemic diseases, world hunger, and rogue nations. They express a desire for continued global cooperation and the combination of human capital to address these issues, citing the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines as an example of successful globalization. The speaker concludes by encouraging individuals to contribute to making the world a better place and to practice kindness, reinforcing the overarching theme of interconnectedness and the potential for collective action to solve global problems.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄGlobalization
đĄHuman Capital
đĄCosmopolitan Spirit
đĄPhilosopher
đĄWorld Civilizations
đĄGlobalist
đĄSilk Roads
đĄGunpowder
đĄInterconnectedness
đĄVaccines
đĄGlobal Problems
Highlights
The speaker's mission to make the world a better place by starting with small acts of kindness.
Philosophical contemplation on making the world better, from historical figures to modern celebrities.
The speaker's 25-year teaching experience and the decision to write their own history textbook due to high costs.
The concept of globalization as a misunderstood term and the speaker's embrace of the term 'globalist'.
The historical development of civilizations and the process of becoming more interconnected.
The speaker's definition of globalization as the processes by which people of the world come closer together.
The role of human capital in driving globalization and increasing sophistication.
The story of gunpowder's invention and its spread through trade routes, leading to military advancements.
The evolution of communication technology from a single landline phone to the modern iPhone.
The Cosmopolitan spirit as the willingness to interact and learn from diverse people.
The emergence of universal religions and global trade systems as examples of Cosmopolitan spirit in action.
The historical progression from Alexander the Great to the European age of discovery, showcasing the sharing of knowledge and problem-solving.
The current global challenges such as climate change, pandemic diseases, world hunger, and rogue nations.
The speaker's desire for continued global cooperation to solve today's problems, exemplified by the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.
The endorsement of globalization as a force for good, demonstrated by the collective human effort to combat global issues.
A call to action for individuals to contribute to making the world a better place through kindness and cooperation.
Transcripts
[Music]
thank you
I bring the world with me
I have one mission in life
make this world a better place
to contemplate such a thing
is to wear the hat of a philosopher
and when you get right down to it
that's what philosophers have been doing
from Confucius and Plato to Bob Dylan
and Beyonce
time immemorial
she might ask what am I doing to make
this world a better place
well I start with the little things
like being nice to people even when I
don't want to
and having a smile ready for everyone I
meet
but are there bigger things that I can
do to make this world a better place I
think so
for the past 25 years I've been teaching
a history course called World
civilizations
it's a survey a runaway train of 4 500
years packed into 15 weeks
and a few years back it came to my
attention that the the textbook I have
been using for years have become quite
expensive and
I thought to myself rather than pick
another textbook I would write my own
I'm a writer I like to write and over
the years I developed a truckload of
ideas concerning the history of
civilizations namely how and why we got
from early isolated civilizations like
Egypt and Mesopotamia to the globally
interconnected world we all live in
today
I know that sounds terribly
philosophical
but let me tell you what I think
in fact let me tell you a little secret
for the past 25 years I've been trying
to convince my students that making this
Earth
a more globally interconnected planet
is a good thing something to build upon
to preserve
to cherish
but what to call this
globalization works really good and you
know
the world it goes round and round
so what is globalization
it is a misunderstood concept
today and to call someone a globalist
isn't exactly to pay them a compliment
but I wear that hashtag proudly
and with purpose
but
what are the things that allow
globalization to happen you know what
are those processes that make that work
well
we have to get past the idea that it is
something associated with
you know predatory International
capitalism
imperialism and colonialism the erosion
of national identities the destruction
of tropical rainforests and of course
the challenges of climate change and
pandemic diseases
I know it kind of makes you want to
maybe build a wall around your house
or maybe around your country
but walls never work in the long term
from the walls of Jericho to the Berlin
Wall of the 20th century
eventually they all come tumbling down
I think Bridges work a whole lot better
the peoples of the world have been
building bridges to one another
since Egypt and Mesopotamia emerged from
the Stone Age to create systems of
writing which tell us the story of how
civilizations became more
sophisticated more powerful more
interconnected Through Time
but what word to call this process
I think globalization works really good
so I'm just going to take this word and
I'm going to sign my own meaning to it
the processes by which the peoples of
the world
come closer together
so what is the engine that makes
globalization happen
I tell my students that it is
human capital
human capital what is that
it is the the result of human
productivity
humans are resourceful
in his novel Robinson Caruso
Daniel Defoe imagined a man who could
Master an entire Island
but what happens when you take a whole
lot of Robinson carusos
combining their human capital
the usual results
is an exponential increase in
sophistication
as
The Chariot gave way
to the carriage as the carriage gave way
to the car
and I've been waiting impatiently since
a kid for the Flying Saucer to replace
the car
but you get my drift
so what does this have to do with
globalization
well let me tell you a little story as
we historians do two thousand years ago
the Chinese invented gunpowder which
they used to Delight themselves with
fireworks and firecrackers it didn't
occur to them to use it to power
firearms
but China was the Eastern destination of
the Silk Roads which traversed Asia from
the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean
Sea
on this bustling trade route traveled
religions like Islam and Buddhism
luxury goods like Silk
porcelain
spices
and Technologies like the formula for
gunpowder
it was the civilization of Islam
that came up the idea of of using
gunpowder to blast large cast iron balls
out of cannons
which they used to blast Down the Walls
of Jerusalem and Constantinople
Europeans took note
and put artillery on the decks of their
ships which they used to blast their way
into the Americas
and Asia
all right let me give you a more
relatable example of how sophistication
works
when I was a kid in the 1960s
my family had just one telephone
it was plugged into the wall so you
couldn't take it anywhere for a private
conversation there was no way to text
you had to talk and when the phone rang
you had absolutely no idea who was
calling now is the world a better place
today
I don't know about you but I really like
my iPhone a lot
so
what is that engine that actually makes
globalization happen
I've talked about that before but it is
what I term
the Cosmopolitan spirit
yes the Cosmopolitan spirit
I tell my students
that I possess the Cosmopolitan spirit I
I'm a Cosmopolitan guy what is this
it is a willingness
to interact with and learn from people
who are different from yourself
it is the Cosmopolitan spirit
that allows human capital to come
together
in big bold exciting ways
like the emergence of universal
religions like Christianity or Buddhism
that anyone anywhere can believe in
or creating Global Systems of trade that
allow me to eat Peruvian blueberries in
January
or a world in which everyone knows who
the Beatles are
so this is a history of globalization
that I have created for my students so
they can go forward and help me make the
world a better place
from the world of Alexander the Great
the world's first globalist
to the Roman Empire with its
wide-ranging contacts with China and
India and the rise of an amazing
Cosmopolitan Islamic civilization and
the European age of discovery
civilizations Rose and fell
but through time and space they shared
their knowledge they increased their
Storehouse of knowledge they increased
their sophistication and they solved
their problems
the world today faces Global problems
climate change
pandemic diseases
world hunger
and violent Rogue Nations unwilling to
play by the rules of civilized conduct
it is my desire
that the peoples of this world continue
to come closer together
to combine their human capital in big
bold exciting ways like the way in which
the vaccines for the covet came up with
that is how the history of this pandemic
is going to be written that it was a
globalized effort of human capital that
came together that saved in warp speed
Millions
if not billions of lives
I say that
is a ringing endorsement for
globalization
so do what you can to help me make the
world a better place
and be nice to people whenever possible
thank you
[Music]
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