Globalizacijos samprata: šiuolaikiniai požiūriai

Although the notion of globalization is widely used in contemporary life, yet we lack its distinct and precise concept; there are still problems in terminology and in the overall consolidated theory of globalization itself. One of the reasons why there is no tightly focused full-length assessment of the main social processes creating the essence of globalization is the difference in social paradigms that scientists approach the issue of globalization with. The present paper analyses and compares different approaches of scientists representing different schools of economic mind; it provides the definition and description of globa- lization and compares it with the notion of internationalization and integration. Comparative analysis of the main theoretical concepts of globalization is done on the basis of individualistic and holistic paradigms and on the interpretation of globalization presented by the three main schools - globalism, skepticism, and transformationalism. The present article analyses and compares the concepts of globalization, principle statements, and thoughts about the essence of globalization developed by the above mentioned schools and their representatives, as well as their approach to the reasons and factors that have determined different stages of globalization. The main emphasis is laid on those aspects of globalization where their opinions and the evaluation of the processes of globalization are most significantly diverse.The author's position is presented by way of defining the concept of globalization and systematizing the main factors of globalization, which create preconditions for the development of the processes of globalization and influence its consequent course