Reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1998_May/ai_20825357
Appendices
Reading 1
SOURCE: United Nations Development Program. 1992 Human Development Report[29]
Most importantly, critics of recent economic globalization see that these developments are not at all occurring in a vacuum, but feed into ethnic, religious, and factional tensions that lead to wars and help breed terrorism. Furthermore, these terrorists, now globally interconnected and empowered with knowledge, create a whole new category of warfare based, in part, on the disruption of the interconnections which are both created by and necessary for globalization. [30] Some commentators believe the nation-state is ill-equipped to deal with this emergent threat.[31]
In terms of the controversial global migration issue, disputes revolve around both its causes, whether and to what extent it is voluntary or involuntary, necessary or unnecessary; and its effects, whether beneficial, or socially and environmentally costly. Proponents tend to see migration simply as a process whereby white and blue collar workers may go from one country to another to provide their services, while critics tend to emphasize negative causes such as economic, political, and environmental insecurity, and cite as one notable effect, the link between migration and the enormous growth of urban slums in developing countries. According to "The Challenge of Slums," a 2003 UN-Habitat report, "the cyclical nature of capitalism, increased demand for skilled versus unskilled labour, and the negative effects of globalization — in particular, global economic booms and busts that ratchet up inequality and distribute new wealth unevenly — contribute to the enormous growth of slums."[32]
Various aspects of globalization are seen as harmful by public-interest activists as well as strong state nationalists. This movement has no unified name. "Anti-globalization" is the media’s preferred term; it can lead to some confusion, as activists typically oppose certain aspects or forms of globalization, not globalization per se. Activists themselves, for example Noam Chomsky, have said that this name is meaningless as the aim of the movement is to globalize justice.[33] Indeed, the global justice movement is a common name. Many activists also unite under the slogan "another world is possible", which has given rise to names such as altermondialisme in French.
There are a wide variety of types of "anti-globalization". In general, critics claim that the results of globalization have not been what was predicted when the attempt to increase free trade began, and that many institutions involved in the system of globalization have not taken the interests of poorer nations, the working class, and the natural environment into account. One of the proposed solutions to the uncontrolled environmental damage created by global econmic expansion is to set prices for that environmental damage done to the biosphere, so that the economy ’sees’ the price signals from the environment, and begins to internalize the value of the environment. [34] The present global economic system, critics of globalization would note, does not price the damage (e.g., pollution) done to limited environmental resources making those resources, in effect, free.[34] Economic theory, however, holds that items of economic utility and in limited supply should be priced in order to be used efficiently by the market.[35] Presently, the two proposals for sending these price signals to the economy are a ’Carbon Tax’, proposed by in the U.S. by Al Gore, and a ’Cap and Trade’ system, as has been create in the European Union.
Economic arguments by fair trade theorists claim that unrestricted free trade benefits those with more financial leverage (i.e. the rich) at the expense of the poor.[36]
Americanization related to a period of high political American clout and of significant growth of America’s shops, markets and object being brought into other countries. So globalisation, a much more diversified phenomenon, relates to a multilateral political world and to the increase of objects, markets and so on into each others contries.
Some opponents of globalization see the phenomenon as the promotion of corporatist interests.[37] They also claim that the increasing autonomy and strength of corporate entities shapes the political policy of countries.[38] [39]
Some argue that globalization imposes credit-based economics, resulting in unsustainable growth of debt and debt crises. [39]
The financial crises in Southeast Asia that began in 1997 in the relatively small, debt-ridden economy of Thailand but quickly spread to the economies of South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and eventually were felt all around the world [40], demonstrated the new risks and volatility in rapidly changing globalized markets [citation needed]. The IMF’s subsequent ’bailout’ money came with conditions of political change (i.e. government spending limits) attached and came to be viewed by critics as undermining national sovereignty in neo-colonialist fashion [citation needed]. Anti-Globalization activists pointed to the meltdowns as proof of the high human cost of the indiscriminate global economy.[citation needed]
The main opposition is to unfettered globalization guided by governments and what are claimed to be quasi-governments (such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) that are not held responsible through transparent or democratic processes by the populations that they affect and instead respond mostly to the interests of corporations. Many conferences between trade and finance ministers of the core globalizing nations have been met with large, and occasionally violent, protests from opponents of "corporate globalism."
Some anti-globalization activists and supporters object to the fact that the currently globalization encompasses money and corporations, but not people, the environment, and unions. This can be seen in the strict immigration controls in nearly all countries, and the lack of labour rights in many countries in the developing world.
Another more conservative camp opposed to globalization is state-centric nationalists who fear globalization is displacing the role of nations in global politics and point to NGOs as encroaching upon the power of individual nations. Some advocates of this warrant for anti-globalization are Pat Buchanan and Jean-Marie Le Pen and Ned Pencil.
Many have decried the lack of unity and direction in the movement, but some, such as Noam Chomsky, have claimed that this lack of centralization may in fact be strength.
Reading 2
SOURCE: World Bank, Poverty Estimates, 2002[6]
Income inequality for the world as a whole is diminishing.[9] As noted below, there are others disputing this. The economist Xavier Sala-i-Martin in a 2007 analysis argues that this is incorrect, income inequality for the world as a whole has diminished. [6]. Regardless of who is right about the past trend in income inequality, arguably absolute poverty is more important than relative inequality. If everyone lived in abject absolute poverty, then relative income inequality would be very low.
Democracy has increased dramatically from there being almost no nations with universal suffrage in 1900 to 62.5% of all nations having it in 2000.[11]
Feminism has made advances in areas such as Bangladesh through providing women with jobs and economic safety.[5]
The proportion of the world’s population living in countries where per-capita food supplies are less than 2,200 calories (9,200 kilojoules) per day decreased from 56% in the mid-1960s to below 10% by the 1990s.[12]
Between 1950 and 1999, global literacy increased from 52% to 81% of the world. Women made up much of the gap: female literacy as a percentage of male literacy has increased from 59% in 1970 to 80% in 2000.[13]
The percentage of children in the labor force has fallen from 24% in 1960 to 10% in 2000.[14]
There are similar increasing trends toward electric power, cars, radios, and telephones per capita, as well as a growing proportion of the population with access to clean water.[15]
The book The Improving State of the World also finds evidence for that these, and other, measures of human well-being has improved and that globalization is part of the explanation. It also responds to arguments that environmental impact will limit the progress.
Others, such as Senator Douglas Roche, O.C., simply view globalization as inevitable and advocate creating institutions such as a directly-elected United Nations Parliamentary Assembly to exercise oversight over unelected international bodies.
Supporters of globalization are highly critical of some current policies. In particular, the very high subsidies to and protective tariffs for agriculture in the developed world. For example, almost half of the budget of the European Union goes to agricultural subsidies, mainly to large farms and agricultural businesses, which form a powerful lobby.[16] Japan gave 47 billion dollars in 2005 in subsidies to its agricultural sector,[17] nearly four times the amount it gave in total foreign aid.[18] The US gives 3.9 billion dollars each year in subsidies to its cotton sector, including 25,000 growers, three times more in subsidies than the entire USAID budget for Africa’s 500 million people.[19] This drains the taxed money and increases the prices for the consumers in developed world; decreases competition and efficiency; prevents exports by more competitive agricultural and other sectors in the developed world due to retaliatory trade barriers; and undermines the very type of industry in which the developing countries do have comparative advantages. Tarrifs and trade barriers, thereby, hinder the economic development of developing economies, adversely affecting living standards in these countries.[20]
Although critics of globalization complain of Westernizaion, a 2005 UNESCO report[21] showed that cultural exchange is becoming mutual. In 2002, China was the third largest exporter of cultural goods, after the UK and US. Between 1994 and 2002, both North America’s and the European Union’s shares of cultural exports declined, while Asia’s cultural exports grew to surpass North America.
Going Global
Daniel L. Hicks
(this was originally published in the shortrun weekly)