Globalization has transformed the world from a collection of discrete
communities interacting occasionally to an overlapping community of fate. Thus
culturally, politically and economically, communities across the world now operate in
what is essentially a shared space albeit divided into artificial political condominiums
called nation-states. This artificial division, notwithstanding, the intensification of
transnational relations occasioned by globalizing forces and processes has opened up
novel forms of social bonds and responsibilities. As nations, peoples and communities
across the globe become economically, socially and politically connected, the
distinction between the global and the local becomes increasingly blurred and events
and actions in one locale carries with it the potential to generate transnational and transgenerational consequences. It is precisely because in a globalized world, events and
actions are capable of giving rise to transnational consequences, that moral reflection
about our responsibilities and obligations has become an imperative.
Taking the above observations as a point of departure, this paper seeks to highlight
some of the plethora of normative issues and question which are becoming increasingly
significant in the age of globalization. These, interestingly, includes the c haracter of
globalization itself. Critics have argued that the currently unfolding neoliberal
globalization concentrates wealth in the hands of a few while it leaves the majority in
the condition of poverty. Other questions relate to the environment, cultural
imperialism, human rights, global poverty, the rise of powerful transnational
corporations etc.