This article analyses globalization process and its positive and negative sides. Globalization is a double-edged phenomenon. This research is based on comparative method. Two contradictory approaches to understanding globalization are compared with each other. On the one hand, advocates of globalization argue that globalization is a positive phenomenon which promotes greater prosperity and increases living standards of people. On the other hand, opponents of globalization see it as the main cause of impoverishment and economic crisis. The problem of describing the effects of globalization is closely linked with these two contradictory approaches to understanding globalization