Global Economic Systems: Industry, Agriculture, and Infrastructure
Types of Landscapes
Landscapes can be categorized based on the degree of human intervention:
- Natural Landscapes: Formed primarily by natural processes.
- Transformed Landscapes: Natural landscapes significantly altered by human activity.
- Ordered Landscapes: Landscapes specifically designed and managed by humans (e.g., certain agricultural areas).
Agriculture and Population Dynamics
Agriculture
Agricultural practices vary widely in their characteristics, operating both in our local environment and around the world.
Population and Employment
- Active Population: This is the segment of the population that participates directly in productive activity.
- Employment Rate: This is the number of people who have work.
Farming Systems
Different methods are used globally to manage cultivation and harvesting:
- Open Field System: A system of cultivation that is not divided up by hedges.
- Bocage: A French term referring to a landscape characterized by small fields enclosed by hedges and woods.
- Extensive Farming: Involves cultivating, planting, and harvesting a large area of land, often with lower yields per unit area.
- Intensive Farming: Characterized by the use of new technology and chemicals to maximize yields in a smaller area.
- Green Revolution: A period when significant advances in agricultural technology began to operate, increasing global food production.
- Organic Farming: A method of agriculture which avoids the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides.
The Era of Industrialization
Industrialization began notably in England during the 18th century.
Impact of the Steam Engine
The invention of the steam machine brought a new energy source for machinery. Thanks to these machines:
- Work became faster and cheaper.
- Productivity increased significantly.
- Workers moved from rural areas to industrial centers and concentrated in factories for salary.
Types of Industry
Industries are typically classified based on the products they create:
- Basic Industry: Produces materials for use in another industry (e.g., raw materials).
- Capital Goods Industry: Produces finished products (machinery, equipment) used by other businesses.
- Consumer Goods Industry: Produces goods for direct consumption by the population.
Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
Multinationals are a direct consequence of market expansion, requiring a market broader than their internal one. They seek to obtain more customers and reduce production costs.
Global Operations and Strategy
MNCs are located in many different countries. In developing countries, workers' wages and raw materials are usually much cheaper than in developed countries. This often leads to the relocation of industries requiring more workforce to the Third World to reduce production costs.
MNCs often employ labor on terms favoring the exploitation of local sources. They are very knowledgeable of the political and economic conditions of the countries in which they are located, and they control a large proportion of the exports and imports of many nations.
The Service Age and Economic Eras
Economic history is often divided into three major eras:
- Pre-Industrial Era (dominated by Agriculture)
- Era of Industrialization (dominated by the Secondary Sector)
- Post-Industrial Era (The Service Age)
The Post-Industrial Era is characterized by the predominance of the tertiary sector (services), leading to an improved standard of living for many. Some of the most important services for the population include health and education.
Infrastructure and Means of Transportation
Transportation in the Industrial Revolution
Railways
Railways were a crucial means of transport during the Industrial Revolution. Initially, they were built to link towns within industrial regions, for example, connecting a factory town with the nearest seaport.
Ships and Ports
Big ships require big ports. Once a ship's freight has been unloaded, it needs to be transported to its final destination.
Motor Traffic
Motor traffic provides the most widely used medium of transport today.
Commerce
With the development of industrialization, productive capacity has increased, and consequently, so has the quantity of goods available for commerce.