Lets Talk About Globalization! | Charles Beem | TEDxUNCPembroke

Summary

The 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

• 🌏 The speaker's mission is to make the world a better place, starting with small acts of kindness and teaching about global interconnectedness.
• 📚 The speaker has taught a history course called 'World Civilizations' for 25 years, focusing on the development of global interconnectedness.
• 💡 The speaker wrote their own textbook to address the issue of expensive educational materials, incorporating their ideas on the history of civilizations.
• 🔄 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.
• 🧱 The speaker argues that building bridges, not walls, is the key to fostering global interconnectedness and overcoming challenges.
• 📈 Human capital, or the collective productivity of people, is identified as the engine of globalization, leading to exponential increases in sophistication and progress.
• 🎆 The speaker uses the historical example of gunpowder to illustrate how the exchange of ideas and technology can drive global progress.
• 📞 The evolution of communication technology, from a single landline phone to smartphones, exemplifies the advancement and interconnectedness of our world.
• 🌐 The 'Cosmopolitan spirit' is described as the willingness to engage with and learn from diverse people, which is crucial for the success of globalization.
• 🏛️ The speaker's historical narrative includes significant figures and empires that contributed to the development of a globalized world.
• 💉 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

00:00

🌍 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.

05:02

🚀 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.

10:04

🌐 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.

Keywords

💡Globalization

Globalization refers to the process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries, cultures, and economies. It is a central theme in the video, where the speaker argues that globalization is beneficial and should be embraced. The term is used to describe the historical and contemporary movement towards a more integrated world, with examples such as the spread of gunpowder technology and the development of global trade systems.

💡Human Capital

Human capital encompasses the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by individuals that contribute to economic growth and productivity. In the video, the speaker posits that human capital is the engine of globalization, highlighting how the collective effort and innovation of people have driven the development and sophistication of civilizations over time.

💡Cosmopolitan Spirit

The cosmopolitan spirit is a mindset characterized by openness to and engagement with diverse cultures, ideas, and people. The speaker in the video describes it as a willingness to interact with and learn from others who are different, which he sees as essential for the advancement of globalization and the building of bridges among different societies.

💡Philosopher

A philosopher is an individual who engages in the study, analysis, and development of ideas, particularly concerning fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. In the context of the video, the term is used to introduce the speaker's contemplative approach to making the world a better place and his philosophical perspective on the concept of globalization.

💡World Civilizations

World civilizations refer to the collective cultural, social, and political developments of humanity throughout history. The video discusses the course 'World Civilizations' that the speaker teaches, which surveys thousands of years of human history, emphasizing the interconnectedness of different societies and the evolution of a globalized world.

💡Globalist

A globalist is someone who supports or advocates for globalization. The term has been controversial in some contexts, but the speaker in the video proudly identifies as a globalist, using the term to express his belief in the positive aspects of global interconnectedness and cooperation.

💡Silk Roads

The Silk Roads were ancient trade routes connecting the East and West, facilitating the exchange of goods, ideas, and technologies. The video uses the Silk Roads as an example of early globalization, highlighting how they allowed for the spread of items like silk, spices, and gunpowder, contributing to the interconnectedness of civilizations.

💡Gunpowder

Gunpowder is an explosive substance that has been used for both military and civilian purposes. In the script, the invention and dissemination of gunpowder by the Chinese and its subsequent use in warfare by Islamic and European civilizations illustrate the process of technological exchange and the impact of human capital on historical developments.

💡Interconnectedness

Interconnectedness describes the state of being linked or related in a complex way. The video emphasizes the historical trend towards greater interconnectedness among societies, which has been facilitated by trade, cultural exchange, and technological advancements, ultimately leading to the modern concept of globalization.

💡Vaccines

Vaccines are biological preparations that provide active acquired immunity to specific diseases. The speaker mentions the development of COVID-19 vaccines as a contemporary example of successful global cooperation and human capital mobilization, underscoring the benefits of a globalized approach to solving global problems.

💡Global Problems

Global problems refer to challenges that affect multiple countries or regions and require international cooperation to address. The video lists climate change, pandemic diseases, world hunger, and violent rogue nations as examples of such problems, advocating for a collective, globalized response to these issues.

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]