The "globalization debate." Some see it as a battle between
optimism and pessimism. Others see it not as a debate at all,
but as an ongoing quest to find the best uses of increased
interconnectedness in today's global society. Part of the reason
for such varied viewpoints is linked to the fact that the term
"globalization" means so many different things depending on who
you ask. The World Bank, viewed as one of the major players in
globalization, comments: Amazingly for so widely used a term,
there does not appear to be any precise, widely-agreed
definition. Indeed the breadth of meanings attached to it seems
to be increasing rather than narrowing over time, taking on
cultural, political and other connotations in addition to the
economic. In an economic sense, globalization generally refers
to the increasing international trade and foreign investment in
today's world. More broadly, the term is even used at times as
another name for capitalism or the market economy. But to limit
our understanding of globalizat