Continued
In some other societies of Central and South America, Africa and Asia, the introduction of Western values has caused considerable social disruption . Huge generation gaps separate Westernized young people from their parents. High alcoholism and suicide rates suggest that many people are having difficulty adjusting to all the change reshaping their societies.
Yet, despite such pockets of resistance, even where globalization is opposed by the forces of reactionary tribalism and traditional religion and values, it still eclipses its opponents. Even in Iran, where the outside world has flooded back since the 1979 revolution via satellite dishes, videos,computers and even text books full of ideas---Iranian zealots are seen keeping one ear tuned to the mullahs urging holy war, but the other cocked to such programs as "Dynasty" or reruns of The Simpsons.Underneath their "chadors" or robes, iran's women wear Western high fashion outfits which, the moment they leave the public space, they flaunt as if they were in Paris or Rome. In Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church has entered into a business venture with California businessmen to bottle and market natural waters from the Saint Springs. Even brooding neo Nazis in America's far right "militias" are comfortable recruiting on the Internet and both the far left and far right have turned to rock music to spread their traditional messages out to a new generation.Thinking Point: Has globalization been a blessing and a curse?
In 2007, a UN report titled " State of the Future" conculded: " People around the world are becoming healthier,wealthier, better educated, more peaceful, more connected and they are living longer."
On the other hand, globalization includes "criminal globalization": arms trafficking, human trafficking, narcotics trafficking and terror financing. These have all been facilitated through globalization. Moreover, populations, some of whom are hostile to the West, have been inserted into the West.
CONCLUSION: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION
The Challenges:
It is a well known fact that the advance of globalization has not been smooth or pain-free. The changes it has caused---or is believed to have caused-have caused a global backlash. This was clearly evident in the street protests that plagued the World trade organization's ministerial meeting in Seattle in 1999 and subsequent protest at all subsequent WTO meetings.The major complaints against globalization are that it has undermined first world labor and environmental standards and that it has exacerbated the gaps between rich and poor both among, and within, nations. Critics of globalization warn of a destructive "race to the bottom" as developed countries are forced to lower labor and environmental standards to compete with less-regulated producers in LDCs. However, there is evidence to the contrary that free trade and the faster growth it creates is one of the best ways to encourage higher standards. At the same time, expanded trade can lead directly to the improvement of environmental quality. In fact, as a country increases its standard of living through economic expansion and trade liberalization, its industry can more readily afford to control emissions. Moreover, as economic growth creates a better educated middle class, the demand for pollution control increases. As for the perception that globalization has worsened the gap between the Economically Developed Countries ( EDCs) and the Less Developed Countries ( LDCs) , again, evidence had shown that this is not true. There is nothing inherent in the process of globalization that would cause the gulf between rich and poor nations to become worse. Indeed, access to capital, new technology and larger markets that accompany global integration usually accelerate the convergence of LDCs and make global trade and wealth less concentrated across nations.Finally, there are those pessimists who argue that globalization ---which calls for greater interaction among countries----might also generate antipathy. Familiarity might breed contempt as increased knowledge of other groups and cultures accentuates the importance of differences. The possibility of conflict might also increase as groups that are extremely unequal in resources and power become aware of each other. ADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION
What kind of impact is globalization having on national economies? The greatest beneficiaries are the long-suffering consumers in those countries that have been "protected" from global competition. Globalization expands the variety of choices , improves product quality and brings prices down. Workers also gain as the real value of their wages are raised.Under a "closed" economic system that is often accompanied by self-sufficiency and trade protectionism, consumers are faced with poor service and over-priced low-quality goods , especially where there is no real competition to spur domestic producers to meet the demands of their consumers. A good example are the cars sold by protected domestic producers in such places as India, where the Ambassador car ( an old fashioned model) is sold with no competition from Ford or GM.At the same time, LDCs have much to gain from globalization:** First, they gain access to much larger markets both for their exports and imports.
** Secondly, LDCs, by opening themselves to international trade and investment, gain access to a much higher level of technology.
**Third, engagement in the global economy provides capital for future growth as most LDCs are people rich and capital poor.
** Fourth, openess to the global economy can provide the infrastructure needed by a developing country . For example, multinational corporations can provide "enabling services" such as telecommunications, insurance, accounting and banking.
**Fifth, involvement in the global economy encourages governments to follow more sensible economic policies. While sovereign governments are free to follow whatever policies their governments choose, globalization raises the cost that must be paid for bad policies.
** Sixth, globalization offers hope for the word's poorest. Just as more open trade tends to promote economic growth, growth in turn leads to poverty reduction.A World Bank study found that poverty fell in 77 of the 88 decade long periods of growth. In addition, the greatest reductions in poverty in the last 20 years have occurred in nations that have decisively moved towards openness and domestic liberalization. Progress has been most striking in East Asia. The number of people in absolute poverty has dropped by 174 million-one of the largest and most rapid reductions of poverty in the history of mankind. Moreover, life expectancy in LDCs has increased from 55 to 65 years , while infant mortality rates have decreased and incomes have doubled.
Hence, we could say that any fair survey of the world today will confirm that nations relatively open to trade tend to more prosperous than nationals that are relatively closed. The wealthiest nations and regions of the world-the United Sates, Western Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore are all trade oriented. They are shining examples that globalization works! Finally, globalization provides fertile soil for political freedom. Earlier in our discussion we illustrated how economic freedom promotes democracy. The global expansion of political and civic freedoms has coincided with the expansion of market -based economies. Indeed there is growing empirical evidence of the links between economic freedom and political freedom. By raising the general standard of living, free trade helps people achieve higher levels of education and to gain access to alternative sources of information. It creates a middle class that can form the backbone of representative government. Engagement in the global economy exposes individuals to new ideas and new business and social arrangements. Scholar Michael Novak in his book, BUSINESS AS A CALLING explains the linkage with what he labels "the wedge theory". He asserts that "capitalist practices..bring contact with the ideas and practices of free societies, generate the economic growth that gives political confidence to a rising middle class and raises up successful business leaders who come to represent a political alternative to military or party leaders. In short, capitalist firms wedge a democratic camel's nose under the authoritarian tent". Thus, globalization and the its growth have contributed to expanded political and civil freedoms in a number of countries. Taiwan and South Korea were both dictatorships two decades ago. Today they are both governed by elected legislatures and presidents, while political debate is robust and civil liberties more secure than ever. Similarly, in Latin America, economic liberalization has been intertwined with the flowering of representative government. For instance, Chile, a leader in economic reform, is now one of the regions's most stable democracies. The same my be said of Mexico, as adecade of dramatic economic reforms has helped lay the foundations for a more open political system with the PRI defeated for the first time a few years ago,.We can conclude that an ever increasing number of nations are heading in the direction of globalization. They have come to realize that the spread of free markets and the institutions that support them offer the best hope that the fruits of prosperity can be shared by a wider range of human beings across the globe.CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING THE CONTENT PORTION OF THIS WORKSHOP!!
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