Globalization 4.0: Background and Outcomes

Abstract

The article considers the approaches to the study of globalization processes from the standpoint of the fundamental laws of the development of Nature, Man and Society. The author shows that during the period of its development, humanity has gone through three stages of globalization: the development of territories, the formation of a single morality, the creation of a single economic space. At the same time, the development went on continuously with the acquisition of new knowledge, the creation of new technologies and product samples. How­ever, none of these stages led to the creation of a global system functioning ac­cording to uniform laws. Currently, two competing theories of development have been formed: post-industrialism and neocapitalism, differing in goals, but both based on scientific and technological progress. Actually, scientific and techno­logical progress is subject to objective laws and has a global character. Intensive scientific and technological development has given rise to a new stage of global­ization, the basis of which will be science, technology, innovation. But the process of scientific and technological development has an impact on the natural environment and culture. There is a transformation of the habitat. The new habi­tat should be considered as a “nature-technology-information-culture” system. The development paradigm is also changing from “man for economy” to “eco­nomy for man”, and the quality of life is becoming a priority of development. These factors together allow us to talk about the humanitarian and technological revolution as the driving force of the Globalization 4.0. The end result will be the formation of a new world order. The leading place in the new world order will be occupied by the states with the most developed scientific and technologi­cal complex focused on improving the quality of life.