第29章　グローバル化と国際社会

In the modern world, no nation can truly live in isolation. The process we call globalization has tied the countries of the world together more tightly than at any time in history. What happens in one place is now quickly felt everywhere else. Consider the goods we use every day. A single phone may be designed in one country, while the factories that manufacture its parts belong to the industry of several others. The finished product is then delivered to customers on every continent.

It is not only goods that cross borders. People constantly exchange ideas, music, and news, and the internet has made daily interaction between distant cultures completely normal. A student in one country can now easily talk with a friend on the far side of the planet.

Governments, too, must work together. They cooperate through international agencies, and a foreign minister may spend weeks abroad trying to negotiate an agreement. Patient discussion of this kind is slow, but it is far better than the alternative.

Disagreements between countries are unavoidable. A trade dispute, for example, can create real anger on both sides. Yet history shows clearly that it is wiser for nations to negotiate a solution than to settle their quarrels through war. The countries that must cooperate are very different from one another. Some are a modern democracy, in which citizens vote in elections and join a political campaign; others remain a traditional kingdom. Globalization forces these different systems to deal with one another.

Nations sometimes choose to join together more closely. A union of several countries, sharing rules and sometimes a single currency, can give its members greater strength and a louder voice in the world.

Above all, the greatest problems of our time — climate change, disease, and poverty — affect the whole of mankind. As the world's population grows, every nation becomes more closely associated with every other, and our futures are now firmly connected.