We discussed stratification within the United States in Chapter 2 and wrote that it refers to the unequal distribution of economic and social resources among individuals and groups within the boundaries of the US. This unequal distribution is based on one’s position in the social hierarchy, or stratification of society, and creates inequality between members of society.

We can apply the same principles to societies around the world to study global stratification, or the unequal distribution of economic and social resources among the world’s nations. That global stratification is studied with three main lenses:

1. the unequal distribution of economic and social resources between nations
2. the unequal distribution of economic and social resources within nations (internal inequality)
3. the comparison of internal inequality levels between nations

These global views of inequality are studied and debated at length by sociologists, economists, humanitarian aid and development professionals, among others. Each examines the concentration of resources within certain nations and among certain people and groups.

Let’s warm up to global stratification with an introduction. This 2:27-minute video, “If The World Were 100 People” is an animation that describes what society would look like if the population of the world was only 100 people. Pay attention to the global inequalities illustrated here (figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3. If The World Were 100 People | GOOD Data [YouTube Video]

You likely noticed some extreme disparities in concentration of wealth and other resources.

Globalization is the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations due to cross-national exchanges of goods and services, technology, investments, people, ideas, and information. Watch this 3:14-minute video,“What Is Globalization? Understand Our Interconnected World.” Pay attention to the causes and effects of globalization the film describes (figure 3.4). As this video shows, globalization can promote peace and security, while some social scientists identify ways that globalization in fact fosters war and insecurity.

Figure 3.4. What Is Globalization? Understand Our Interconnected World | World101 CFR [YouTube Video]

In this section we’ll refer to three specific forms of globalization:

1. Economic Globalization, the global expansion of international capitalism, free markets and the increase in international trade.
2. Political Globalization, the growth of a worldwide political system, both in size and complexity. This includes both governance systems and civil society systems.
3. Cultural Globalization, the cross-border exchange of ideas, attitudes, meanings, values and cultural products.

Global inequality and globalization have a complex and often disputed relationship. One way to look at the debate is through the views of what Ray Maghroori terms the optimist-globalists and the pessimist globalists (Maghroori 1982). Proponents of globalization, the optimist-globalists argue that globalization increases average income within countries as factory workers in poor countries are making much better wages than they would at other jobs available to them. They see free trade as a tool to lower prices in wealthier countries and improve the economy of poorer countries. They point to the fact that international aid agencies are able to respond more quickly to natural disasters, advanced medicines are more available to people than before, and there are more international educational opportunities available to people around the world. They see that nations can work together to find solutions to climate change, and respond better to crimes, including war-time atrocities with international law systems.

Other thinkers, the pessimist globalists, point to globalization as the root cause of many of our global ills. They see that economic globalization has created greater inequality and poverty, increased the rate of climate change, influenced the breakdown of democracies, and even caused higher rates of worldwide psychological depression. They point to free trade, the central idea of economic globalization for unfair working conditions and loss of jobs within wealthy nations due to outsourcing. Cultural globalization is also seen as destructive to local cultures as the expansion of western culture reduces cultural diversity and creates one global culture. Pessimist globalists would also disagree with the video in figure 3.4. that states globalization can promote peace and security. They would point out ways that globalization fosters war and insecurity.

These debates reveal important questions about what we value. For example, we know that globalization has increased average income in all countries, but is average income our best measure of inequality? Standing alone, is income our best way to measure wellbeing?

The study of globalization, global stratification and inequality encompasses all these questions, and thinkers continually evaluate new alternatives. For example, the economics of happiness is one alternative way of studying wellbeing. It is both a qualitative and quantitative study that elevates happiness and quality of life as an important measurement of wellbeing. That is, it has applied qualitative research which works with non-numerical data and attempts to understand the experiences of individuals and groups from their own perspectives. It also applies quantitative research which refers to research that uses numerical data.

In the following sections we’ll examine global inequality in the context of globalization, the increased interactions between countries economically, politically, and culturally.