Globalization, the highest stage of modernization?

There are several issues related to the use of globalization theories to analyse the ancient world, first of all since globalization is difficult to define even when used to describe the contemporary world (roughly the last three centuries). In many ways, ‘globalization’ is a buzzword used for both modern and ancient societies. Still, globalization theory provides scholars with a big opportunity, to start afresh with a new intellectual and theoretical tool that might provide them with a better comprehension of Antiquity. The first obvious benefit is the fact that ‘globalization’ sounds as a neutral word, with few ideological implications; yet, this might also become a methodological weakness. Such a methodological concern has a parallel in the wider context of theories and models applied to the study of Antiquity, and the debate on the Big Difference between Antiquity and Modernity. This chapter will try to put ancient globalization in its proper theoretical framework. Its aim is to add to the theoretical debate, investigating the difference between ancient and modern globalizations, starting with the assumption that globalization is the final product of change in any given society, rather than the agent of such change.