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For some socialist and Marxist sociologists, although culture and politics play a part in globalizing trends, these are underpinned by capitalist economic globalization and the continuing pursuit of profits. Martell (2017: 4), for example, argues that ‘it is difficult to see many areas of globalization where lying behind them are not also underlying economic structures that affect the equality or power relations with which globalization is produced or received, or economic incentives to do with making money.’ This viewpoint accepts the multidimensional character of globalization but rejects the notion that cultural, political and economic factors should be given equal weight. Analysing ‘material interests’ and the way these are pursued remains the key to understanding globalization in this neo-Marxist perspective.

Of course, others disagree. Those adopting a broadly culturalist position argue that globalization does depend on the continuing integration of the world economy, but that this is achieved in various cultural, not purely economic ways. Tourism is a huge ‘industry’ around the world, and in 2017 some 1.34 billion international tourists spent US$4.44 trillion in countries other than their own (World Bank 2017). The desire to travel and experience new sights and cultures is not a purely material interest but is influenced by the shifting cultural tastes of tourists, what Urry and Larsen (2011) call the ‘tourist gaze’. This thesis is outlined in ‘Global society’ 4.2.

Waters (2001) argues that the realm of culture is crucial to globalization because it is through cultural and symbolic forms that economic and political developments are freed from the material constraints of geography. For instance, the so-called weightless economy is one in which products have their base in information, such as computer software, and media and entertainment products, such as games, films, music and online streaming services. This new economic context is often characterized as the ‘knowledge society’ or ‘the information age’. The emergence of a knowledge society is linked to the development of a broad base of technologically literate consumers who integrate advances in computing, entertainment and telecommunications into their everyday lives. Perhaps the best example is online gamers, who await the latest games and updates with eager anticipation and, of course, are prepared to pay for them.

This ‘electronic economy’ underpins the broader economic globalization. Banks, corporations, fund managers and individual investors are able to shift funds internationally with just a click. The ability to move electronic money instantaneously carries with it greater risks. Transfers of vast amounts of capital can destabilize economies, triggering international financial crises, and, as the global economy becomes ever more tightly integrated, a financial collapse or disaster in one part of the world can have an enormous effect on distant economies. The 2008 global financial crash is perhaps the best example of this, as the crisis quickly spread outwards from the USA into the rest of the global economic system.

The operation of the global economy reflects changes that have occurred in the information age. In order to be competitive, businesses and corporations have restructured to become more flexible and networked rather than hierarchical, as in older bureaucratic organizations (Castells 1996b). Production practices and organizational patterns have become more flexible, partnering arrangements with other firms are more commonplace, and participation in worldwide distribution networks is essential in rapidly moving global markets.