An Indonesian group protesting the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, an organization of 187 countries that works to facilitate global growth and reduce poverty. Some argue that the IMF’s policies and lending programs exploit poorer countries.

The term globalization refers to structural and interpersonal connections between people around the world so that there are webs and linkages developed that unite them. International trade and investment has a symbiotic relationship with political, economic, cultural, and national forces. It is an inevitable outcome of the world being smaller due to the diversification of countries, increase of multinational corporations, greater ease of travel, and electronic communication. Advocate feel globalization is a good thing because less–developed countries can advance their economic standard of living. Globalization occurs thanks to the spread of technology because people can communicate with each other online in real time. They can share the same images, news, and music. They can exchange viewpoints. They can chat and get to know one another, even if they live in very different parts of the world. The global technological revolution has made it possible to do banking, trade, and other forms of product and monetary exchange, linking us even more than ever before.