The World as One Boat: The Unification of Global Civilizations and Its Ripples (2020s)

The World as One Boat: The Unification of Global Civilizations and Its Ripples (2020s)

Humankind once lived in a time when different cultures and nations were independent of each other, but as we enter the 21st century, everything from the taste of food to medical technology, communication networks, and financial systems are becoming homogenized on a global scale. Institutions, technologies, and capital flows are crossing borders, and immigrants are spreading across the globe, bringing people within the framework of a unified civilization. In fact, data report that by 2024, more than 300 million people worldwide will be living outside their home countries, amounting to about 3.7% of the world's population. (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/top-statistics-global-migration-migrants?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

This process of integration is not a uniform development. As new machinery and market networks spread labor and consumption simultaneously around the world, economic disparities and social frictions between developed and developing countries, migrants and settlers, are surfacing. Climate change and conflict are also changing the context of migration and settlement, shifting the composition of the problem from "conflict between civilizations" to "friction within civilizations. (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2023/12/11/global-migration-in-the-21st-century-navigating-the-impact-of-climate-change -conflict-and-demographic-shifts?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

From this perspective, the homogenization of civilization does not necessarily mean an expansion of security. While common institutions and technologies are deployed on a large scale, those who cannot benefit from them are placed in a position of possible abandonment "inside" civilization. In other words, migration, low-wage labor, and the fragility of local economies manifest themselves as "gaps within civilization," problems that cannot be handled by conventional interstate logic. (https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/11/international-migration-policy-global-north-south?lang=en&utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Thus, Harari's story of the "unification of global civilization" is not simply a narrative of bringing the world together, but also highlights the inner fissures that are often overlooked in the process. As institutions, culture, and technology approach "global standards," what is required is a question of "what kind of civilization should be maintained" beyond homogenization. Even if civilizations become one, the decisive issue for humanity in the 21st century will be whether or not to preserve the richness of diversity and inclusion.