Globalization in American style. A study from economic sociology

The article discusses globalization understood as an economic and political system which characterizes the best the contemporariness after the ending of the cold war period. Tomasz Grzegorz Grosse presents the most important processes of world economic development, the accompanying political relations as well as cultural and social phenomena. He is occupied with problems which attract the attention of specialists and wide public opinion, such as the level of economic growth and the formation of development disproportions in the world. Globalization is evaluated from the perspective of the United States of America, which in view of its economic potential, political and cultural influence seems to shape to the greatest extent the face of contemporary civilization processes. The analysis presented in the article is carried out from the viewpoint of economic sociology. Thus the author presents the cultural and social conditions of dynamic economic development in America. In a particular way attention was drawn to three factors which mutually interact with each other and have priority significance for the proper evaluation of the occurring phenomena. This is firstly the role of political elites which seem to mobilize to the largest extent social activity and propose models and directions of economic development. Secondly legal and organizational institutions which comprise a framework for economic and social actions are becoming very important. They can be a ballast hindering the changes, slowing down or outright making development impossible. Elsewhere they can create suitable conditions for social activity and economic enterprise. The third element is culture, and especially the obliging standards of behaviour in the economic zone and the prefered economic and political doctrine.