What is the Global Village?

Human Connections Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian educator, philosopher and scholar. He coined the term Global village in his book “The Gutenberg Galaxy” in 1962

Global Village Although the Earth has not shrunk in physical size, it is smaller because of advances in communications technology like the telephone and Internet This technology has allowed each of us to have a greater knowledge of the living conditions of people in other countries As a result, our activities and decisions can have a significant impact on many other parts of the Earth and can effect people in many other areas of the world.

Questions CBC Clip What is used to represent the symbol of the age of the future? What is used to represent the symbol of the age of the past? What was the medium of the past? What does McLuhan mean by being “with it”? Why were people in the print culture not “with it”? What does McLuhan mean when he says “we are retribalizing”? How has the role of the book changed? What examples does McLuhan give for the ways in which media has influenced our lives?

If the world were a village…. As of July 2007 the world’s population was 6.6 billion. In 2002, twenty-three countries had more than fifty million, ten countries each had more than one hundred million and China had nearly one billion. Numbers this big are hard to comprehend and put into context in our everyday lives, but what if we imagined the whole population of the world as a village of just 100 people?

If the world were a village…. By learning about the villagers, who they are and how they live, we can find out more about our neighbors and the problems our planet may face in the future.

Nationalities Who are the people of the global village? Where did they come from? Asia61 Africa13 Europe12 South America/Central America/Caribbean 8 Canada/US 5 Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) 1

Languages In the global village there are almost 6,000 languages. Half of the villagers (50 people) speak the following eight languages. Chinese22 English 9 Hindi 8 Spanish 7 Arabic 4 Bengali 4 Portuguese 3 Russian 3

Age/Education There are many children in the village. One-fifth of the villagers are 9 years of age or under. More than half are under 30. On average, 1 person dies and 3 babies are born every year. A baby born in the village today can expect to live to age 63. How many people in the village go to school? There are 38 school-aged villagers (ages 5-24), but only 31of them attend school. There is 1 teacher for these students. Not everybody in the global village is encouraged to learn to read, write and think. Of the 88 people old enough to read, 71 can read a little, but 17 cannot read at all. As well, more males in the village are taught to read than females!

Food The villagers have many animals, these help to produce food or are a source of food. These include 31 sheep and goats, 23 cows, bulls and oxen, 15 pigs, 3 camels, 2 horses and 189 chickens. There is no shortage of food in the global village. If all the food were divided equally, everyone would have enough to eat. But the food isn’t divided equally. So although there is enough to feed the villagers, not everyone is well fed. 60 People who are always hungry (26 of these people are severely undernourished) 16 People who go to bed hungry at least some of the time 24 People who always have enough to eat

Air and Water In most of the village, the air is healthy and the water is clean. But not all villagers are so fortunate. For some, the air and water are soured by pollution and putting them at risk for diseases and water may be in short supply for some. Instead of turning on a tap, some villagers must walk long distances to find clean water. How many people in the village of 100 have clean air and a nearby source of clean water?

Air and Water 75 out of the 100 villagers have access to a source of safe water either in their homes or within a short walking distance. 25 out of the 100 villagers do not and must spend a large part of each day simply getting safe water. 60 out of the 100 villagers have access to adequate sanitation, while 40 do not. 68 out of the 100 villagers breathe clean air, while 32 breathe air that is unhealthy because of pollution.

Money In one part of the village, someone buys a new car. In another, a man repairs the family’s bicycle, their most valued possession. How much money do people in the global village have? If all the money in the village were divided equally, each person would have about $6200 per year. But in the global village, money isn’t divided equally.

Money The average cost of food, shelter and other necessities in the village is $4000 to $5000 per year. Many people don’t have enough money to meet these basic needs. 20 Income more than $9000/year 60 Income between $1.00/day and $9000/year 20 Income under $1.00 day

The Future Village What will our village be like in the future? How fast will it grow? How many people will it be home to? Today, the village of 100 is growing at a rate slightly less than 2 people per year. In fact, the growth rate is about 1.6% a year. In the past, it took 3000 years for the population to double five times. In the future, the population will double five times in just 250 years! By 2250, there would be nearly 3200 people living in the global village.

The Future Village A global village of 3200 people would be a very crowded place, with widespread shortages of food, shelter and other resources. However, not everyone believes that the village will grow this fast, and groups such as the United Nations, are working hard to make sure that the village of the future is a good home for all the people who live in it.