Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
militarist. Whatever the end result, as the Chinese leader
Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) noted in 1957, “The east
wind prevails over the west wind.”
Prevalence of east-wind political, economic, and
social systems did not bring stability , though. Commu-
nism with its massification, lack of incentives, and mis-
management was unable to achieve its ideals. It
eventually collapsed in the Soviet Union in 1991. This
momentous event, coupled with new economic realities
of global proportions, spearheaded profound changes in
Asia and the world.
A New Global Order
Figure 1-16
I was on a river trip in Borneo and was amazed at the number
of satellite dishes marking river and even interior communities.
This scene is from Samarinda, a port on the Mahakam River in
Indonesia. T Televisions are often shared among houses, and
American programming such as MTV is available. Note the stilt
houses that allow for tidal changes and rising waters in the wet
monsoon.
Photograph courtesy of B. A. Weightman.
TIME-SPACE CONVERGENCE
Time-space convergence
is an integral part of our chang-
ing world; more space can be covered in a shorter time
span. In 1850, undersea communication cables were laid
around the world. In that same year, an American-built
clipper ship, the
Oriental,
made a record journey from
Hong Kong to London in 97 days. In 1935, a freighter
from Los Angeles, struggling in a winter storm, took 19
days to reach T Tokyo. Sea-mail took weeks as well. T Today, ,
we can e-mail and conduct business transactions across
the globe in mere seconds.
The vast, intertwined, and overlapping channels of
communication produced by flows of technology , hard-
ware, and software disseminated by transnational or
multinational corporations, organizations, and agencies
are called
technoscapes.
Dramatic changes in technology
have spurred far-reaching alterations in both national
and international political, economic, and social systems.
This restructurinis manifesting profound changes for
people and the environment (Figure 1-16).
China is the world' is largest market for mobile
phones with over 700 million subscribers in 2009. Y et, in
one month in that year, India added more than 15 mil-
lion users. There, cell towers have sprouted in urban ar-
eas and along major roads. New , home-grown operators
in India and China have developed new business models
and industry structures that make it possible to make
affordable cell phones for low-income people. Some aspects
of the “Indian Model” are being adopted by other coun-
tries, rich and poor alike. In developing countries, data
services such as mobile-phone-based advice on a variety
of subjects such as agriculture and health are helping to
improve the lives of millions. This extraordinary explo-
sion of both technology and information is the most
dominant force in the global system of production. Jef-
frey Sachs, a development expert at Columbia University ,
calls the cell phone, “the single most transformative tool
for development.”
DISAPPEARING DIGITAL DIVIDE?
Researchers still talk about the
digital divide
. This idea
purports that possession and use of electronic devices
such as cell phones occurs primarily in rich countries
that are mostly in the northern hemisphere. But the digi-
tal divide is narrowing at an unprecedented pace. In
2000, developing (poorer) countries accounted for
around one-quarter of the world' s 700 million or so mo-
bile phones. By the beginning of 2009, they accounted
for three-quarters of the world' s 4 billion mobile phones.
As some people may own several phones and others
hook into the system with SIM cards, the actual number
of phone owners is around 3.6 billion.
GLOBALIZATION
Globalization
refers to the spread of international capi-
talism, business, investment, and ideas around the globe.
Proponents claim that an expanding global economy will
bring increased prosperity to the entire world. Support-
ers advocate the elimination of trade barriers such as tar-
iffs so that developing countries can compete in the
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