ABSTRACT
Preliminary observations The all-encompassing political-economic process we have come in recent years to call 'globalization' has depended heavily upon the accumulation of certain kinds of geographical knowledge (indeed it did so from its very inception which dates back well before 1492 in the case of western capitalism). The further development of this political-economic system will undoubtedly influence Geography as a distinctive discipline as well as geography as a distinctive way of knowing that permeates social thought and political practices. Reciprocally, geographical understandings may affect future paths of political-economic development (through, for example, the recognition of environmental constraints, the identification of new resources and commercial opportunities or the pursuit of juster forms of uneven geographical development). A critical geography might go so far as to challenge contemporary forms of political-economic power, marked by hyper-development, spiralling social inequalities, and multiple signs of serious environmental degradation.
