If we were to go out on the streets in any significant city and ask individuals to describe what globalization is and how it affects people in a “Jay Leno” type way we would most likely show up with several responses. Why is this? Why are their a lot of various meanings of globalization and why are there so many various viewpoints on the subject? In this essay we will take a look at the definition of globalization including the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. To Initially take on these concerns let us have a look at the meaning of globalization.
There are many kinds of globalization, which provide us the capability to explain it in various styles. We could take a look at cultural globalization for instance, which explains and discusses the movement of a culture and cultural worths around the globe and methods which they build on one another and meld together, or we could have a look at interaction and how it changes around the world. Though, for the sake of this short article, we are going to concentrate on Economic globalization explained by Bhagwati in his book “In Defense of globalization.” According to Bhagwati, “Economic globalization makes up combination of national economies into the international economy through trade, direct foreign financial investment (by corporations and multinationals), short-term capital circulations, worldwide circulations of employees and humanity typically, and flows of technology …” Now that we have a short understanding of what financial globalization is, let us look at some controversies focusing on globalization and identify favorable areas of globalization and other areas that require fixing.
When was the last time that you switched on your television or opened the news paper and check out some post concerning globalization and outsourcing or globalization having to do with an increase in poverty? It appears that this is a hot-topic among the media today driven by rallying youths, banners waving, and non-government organization (NGO’s) voicing their opinion. Is all this anti-globalization warranted? According to Bhagwati, it appears that we have 2 types of individuals leading this anti-globalization motion: “stake-wielders” and “stake-asserters.” Stake-wielding people are people who feel that they are at war with globalization and are normally wild extremist waving posters and yelling out arguments that they more than likely don’t understand themselves. Now stake-asserting people are various because they use reasoned dialogue to argue their points and normally attempt to notify and educate individuals on globalization issues rather than objecting. So what are some of the issues that these individuals spend all their time voicing concern over?
One very typical discussion is whether or not globalization increases the poverty line and the space between the rich and the bad. One argument that we could take regarding this issue would be to argue that through globalization we are able to gradually increase open market and hence the movement of products and services across boarders more quickly. We would then have gains from trade that will improves the growth of the economy which will in turn provide more jobs and lower the joblessness rate bringing countries out of hardship. The very best method to do this according to Bhagwati is to have “a boost in the size of the pie.” This is done not by an economy simply producing more of what they specialize in however rather by increasing the gains they make through the process of global trade. In his post, “Repairing Globalization– A Review Essay,” Joel J. Toppen argues that globalization is still quite up for debate and that our real focus must be directed towards the poor. Though globalization might not be particularly directed toward the poor, we can certainly argue that it helps to elevate individuals out of poverty. So what are some other problems regarding globalization that individuals strongly advocate against? Does globalization really resolve these concerns or does it need fixing?
Let us take a look at an issue that is continuously seen in the news, this would be the problem of outsourcing. When Nike first began contracting out tasks overseas individuals were outraged. They were distributing American job just to make a couple of extra dollars and individuals were just not delighted about it. So how is this kind of globalization even possibly an advantage? An argument that would support this aspect of globalization would be that by delivering jobs overseas countries in our economy are able to much better optimize profits and therefore assist to grow our economy. Well this sounds all well and excellent however the length of time is it going to be till we see a few of these gains in our economy? Are we not benefiting from individuals overseas by paying them next to nothing? If among us went to work one day and discovered that our job was lost to outsourcing we can be sure that we wouldn’t be content with someone telling us that it was going to benefit the economy as and whole and eventually increase the standard of life. No. We would be miserable since we were now out of a task and among the jobless; a person does not live off of future gains. Now when choosing whether we are benefiting from those “less lucky” overseas by paying them so little we need to take a look at genuine earnings.
Though it appears that we are benefiting from people overseas and requiring them into sweatshop labor we remain in reality increasing their genuine wage. Due to this boost in genuine wage the cost of labor increases and we see a shift from longer hours of leisure to longer hours at work. This describes why individuals work so long at their jobs overseas. They want to work. Though this might describe that we are not taking advantage of individuals, we still see a loss of American tasks. Though we are seeing a loss in jobs, Bhagwati declares that we have “… really raised the real wages of the workers.” He declares that the lower jobs are being contracted out and we are creating better jobs through and increase in education and innovation. So is a part of globalization that needs repairing. If so, how do we do this?
If globalization triggers a boost in real wage overseas and an ultimate increase in the economy through the sacrifice of American jobs, how is it that we can stop the loss of these jobs and still preserve the benefits from globalization? This plainly needs some type of repairing. One way that we might aid with the loss of jobs would be to compensate those that lost their jobs from a clear from of outsourcing until they have the ability to get back on their feet. This is currently done through programs provided by the U.S. government though it is typically tough to make a clear distinction when it pertains to the way in which a task is lost.
In addition to advantages form globalization there are likewise other areas that require repairing. A problem that we can see plainly results from globalization is the problem of illegal immigration from poor nations to abundant countries. Through globalization, it has become easier and more advantageous for people living in a poor country to move to a nation with a more powerful economy. This is specifically real when looking at the movement of people from Mexico to the United States. So why do not we simply open up our boarders and make it legal? If we were to merely open the boarders between the U.S. and Mexico our economy would be obliterated. There would be a huge rush from into the U.S. by individuals waiting along the boarders. This big rush of individuals would draw our economy dry, leaving us in a far even worse condition. We are for that reason provided with the issue of what to do with avoiding prohibited immigration. It used to be that the majority of our unlawful migration from Mexico came for individuals crossing the Rio Grande though it now comes from a various kind. Bhagwati states that 50 percent of prohibited immigrants now come type legal means such as visas. They enter the country legal and stay unlawfully. We understand that it is impossible to get rid of prohibited immigration so what do we do about it? He explains that to fix this issue “governments in the industrialized nations must rely on policies that will incorporate migrants into their new homes in manner ins which will reduce the social costs and take full advantage of the economic advantage.” This is an issue that will not only result between Mexico and the U.S. but also other nations as well.
Now we are going to rethink at a location of globalization that needs enhancement. This problem is the ease at which capital flows can move in and out of an economy. It has actually been significantly easier and much easier to purchase foreign economies due fallen barriers broken down by pressure from institutions such as the IMF and OECD. According to Stiglitz, “The most adverse impacts have actually arisen from the liberalization of financial and capital markets-which has actually presented threat to establishing counties without commensurate rewards.” As globalization continues to occur it has actually become simpler to buy foreign economies through decreased barriers and instantaneous transfers through the Internet. This can could potentially cause overwhelming problems due to the fact that “as financier sentiment changes, the cash is taken out, leaving in its wake economic destruction.” So how do we repair this issue that emerges type globalization? There clearly requires to be some kind of barrier when it concerns capital flows.” [Capital-market liberalization] illustrates what can fail with globalization. Even economic experts like Jagdish Bhagwati, strong advocates of open market, see the recklessness in liberalizing capital markets.” It is clear that we need to have some type of resistance to the ease at which capital might flow in and out of a country.
In this post we have taken a look at the definition of globalization, areas of globalization that are sound as well as areas that could use some improvement. From this we are better able to comprehend the complexity of the concern and ideally get some insight that will help us to live in a way that will help better our world.
