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The differences in view are so great that one wonders, are the protestors and the policy makers talking about the same phenomenon ? Are they looking at the same data? Are the visions of those in power so clouded by special and particular interests ? What is this phenomenon of globalization that has been subject, at the same time, to such vilification and such praise? Fundamentally, it is the closer integration of the countries and the peoples of the world which has been brought about by the enormous reduction in the costs of transportation and communication, and the breaking down of the artificial barriers to the flow of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and, (to a lesser extent), people across borders.