Over the last few decades, faster, more efficient communications technology, transport and financial systems have combined to make the world a much smaller place. Globalisation examines the far-reaching effects of these changes, and identifies the winners and losers in the new global era. While vast corporations in the developed world have gained enormous wealth and power, people living in less developed countries have often lost their livelihoods and seen their environments destroyed. Will the divide between the world's rich and poor inevitably get ever wider? Or will it be possible to harness the forces of globalisation so that they truly bring benefits for all? Opposing viewpoints are given throughout to provide opportunities for discussion and debate.