From Portuguese to virtual globalization: 500 Years of ICT-driven civilizational development and a triumph of humanity? The comparative and modeling approach

Abstract

This study defines the nature, scope, pace, and consequences of the development of globalization waves over the last 500 years. Such waves as led by Pax Portugannica, Pax Britannica, Pax Americana and Pax Sovietica, Pax Consortia, and Pax Virtualiziana are defined. They are graphically modeled and compared within four dimensions: guiding, executable, technological, and societal In conclusion, Portuguese and British Globalizations expanded the world physically and mentally as the Triumph of Humanity, the subsequent globalizations have been testing humanity over the last 100 years and continue to test it, since despite strong technological and economic development, the morality and ethics of humans are in question today. However, there is some hope that revitalized dialectics between Pax Consortia and Pax Virtualiziana may lead us to the Triumph of Humanity again. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.