globalization continued policies of universal rural development while simultaneously opening up the private sector to external development and foreign investment Much of the current economic and social optimism in Ghana is tied to an enlightened ruling class with close ties to the United States and Great Britain, and a successful diaspora of almost million people who send almost half a billion dollars to Ghana every year With a multilanguage, multiethnic, and diverse population, Ghana is a pluralistic society Ghana has also been successful in attracting foreign investments from India, China, Lebanon, and other nations Ghana also has a highly educated population of about 20 million people It operates a 12-year preuniversity educational system and has five public universities, private universities, eight polytechnics, and 22 technical institutions as well as many educational exchange programs around the globe Ghana has substantial economic potential As a stable nation with a credible government, a working infrastructure, and a highly trained population, Ghana’s future seems bright Although cacao is Ghana’s best-known crop, other major exports include bauxite, diamonds, gold, foodstuffs, handicrafts, and timber As a popular tourist destination, Ghana is well known internationally Further reading: Boateng, Charles Adom The Political Legacy of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003; Davidson, Basil The Empire of Ghana: Let Freedom Come: Africa in Modern History Boston: Little, Brown, 1978; Falola, Toyin, ed Ghana in Africa and the World: Essays in Honor of Adu Boahen Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2004; Gocking, Roger S The History of Ghana Oxford: Greenwood, 2005 Alphine W Jefferson globalization First investigated by Canadian scholar Marshall McLuhan in 1964 and then further explored since the 1970s, globalization is the process through which world populations become increasingly interconnected and interdependent, both culturally and economically The process is often perceived by its critics as creating a sense of standardization throughout the globe and reinforcing economic inequalities between developed and underdeveloped countries Advanced capitalism, enhanced by technological developments such as the Internet and electronic business transactions, is seen as stretching 171 social, political, and economic activities across the borders of communities, nations, and continents Global connections and the circulation of goods, ideas, capital, and people have deepened the impact of distant events on everyday life Thus globalization entails two related phenomena: the development of a global economy and the rise of a global culture The major transnational financial, political, and commercial institutions that are instrumental to globalization are the G8, the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization Samuel Huntington coined the expression Davos Culture in his book The Clash of Civilizations (1996) to define such universal civilization The phrase Davos Culture takes its name from Davos, the Swiss town that had hosted a preponderance of World Economic Forum meetings since 1971 The members of Davos Culture share the same visions of democracy and individualism, obviously favoring capitalism and the free market The appeal of Davos Culture reaches across the political spectrum, often leading liberals and conservatives to share the same table It has been noted that the 2005 meeting at Davos included not only a large contingent of the George W Bush administration and the Republican Party but also a considerable representation of the Democratic Party, led by former president Bill Clinton and former vice president Al Gore The rise of a new global economy involves a discrepancy between a huge decentralization of production processes, often to developing countries where manpower is cheaper and unions are weaker, and a simultaneous centralization of command and control processes in rich economies Corporations, whose level of accountability to the general public has increasingly been questioned, are perceived to have replaced governments in economic and social control Corporations involved in this massive exposure of exploitative labor practices have included Gap, Wal-Mart, Guess, Nike, Mattel, and Disney Antiglobal organizations are also investigating the links between transnational corporations and totalitarian regimes in developing countries Parallel to economic globalization is the phenomenon of cultural globalization Its supporters claim that the rise of a global culture entails multiculturalism and a hybridization of national cultures The creation of a global culture will also build a more peaceful world, based on shared cultural values Critics of cultural globalization point out its darker side, claiming that cultural globalism destroys all local traditions and regional distinctions, creating a homogenized world culture Local cultures are replaced by a uniform and single culture,