Why Anti Globalists Undervalue the Benefits of Globalization - Coursework Example

Why anti globalists undervalue the benefits of globalization? Place Introduction In the recent time the question of globalization has become an increasingly controversial one along with the number of protesters around the world that try to pay more attention to the negative effects of globalization (Osland, 2003). Despite the fact that there is no single definition of globalization, Movius (2010) represents it as the scale of enlargement that accelerates the development of world economies and interchanges the world views and also makes more impact on social activities. Critics of globalization, however, are not satisfied with such speeding up and their dissent is translated into the arguments that economic globalization is the cause of social unfavourable conditions of the modern world, such as poverty, deterioration of the environment, etc. (Movius, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss the anti-globalists’ arguments that seriously undervalue the benefits of globalization. Since the question is a complex, the paper will represent the benefits of globalization for all countries and the main theories with some extent to the empirical evidence. It will allow the reader to understand why benefits of globalization are so underestimated. Theorizing globalization Speaking about globalization from the critical social theory, it touches both the capitalist markets and the set of social relations with its technology, ideas, forms of culture and people (Kellner, 2002). Therefore, the connections of technology and the capital give the ability to create the new globalized world where the technological revolution bore the netwodk of communication, transportation and the exchange of globalized economy. Kellner (2002) states that many theorists of globalization fail to recognize the importance of scientific and technological revolution that actually assists in creating a globalization process. Moreover, some theorists claim that due to the technologies of information and social reproduction there appeared a new social environment with its positive and negative models of determinism (Kellner, 2002). Axford (2014) also speaks about globalization as the topic of the most intensive debate with lots of opposing views. The removal of barriers to flow of products and services and also vanishing the factors that stop the production on the global market lead to the modern development of communication and transport. Axford also differentiates three courses of analysis of globalization. The hyperglobalists, the transformationalists and the skeptics guide the self-enforcing growth of global markets and technological progress, destroying the well- established hierarchical structures of the past times (Axford, 2014). Globalization produces large effects on contemporary economic trends, manifesting itself in the foreign trade, investment and finance on the international level. In addition, it is defined as a process that enhances the openness of economy, its connection and integration in the world economy (Stefanović, 2008). Benefits of globalization for all countries While globalization increases the trade, output and growth of investment, its benefits from this growth are distributed unequally between different countries. However, the most vivid benefits of the globalization still speak for it (Goletti & Samman, 1999). Thus, there is a considerable benefit to the world market that provides an access to the wide range of products to more consumers and companies. As a result of international market, the emergence of financial markets gave more possibilities to the external financing for borrowers (Goletti & Samman, 1999). In theory, financial globalization is aimed to develop countries in order to better manage their output and consumption availability. Due to the economic volatility, such task is rather complicated, however if to take examples of the undergone financial crisis in the developing countries, financial integration has protected them from consumption volatility (Prasad, Rogoff, Wei & Kose, 2003). Moreover, the effect of volatility of the consumption growth has increased for the emerging market economies due to the same period increase in financial globalization. So the benefit is noticeable here. The study (Samimi & Jenatabadi, 2014) investigated the effect of economic globalization on economic growth. While it examined the effect of complementary policies on the growth effect of globalization and utilized the method of moments estimator within the dynamic panel data approach, it made the researchers possible to provide evidence that suggested that economic globalization has statistically a great impact on economic growth (Samimi & Jenatabadi, 2014). The results from the evidence demonstrate that the implementation of new technologies transferred from advanced economies calls a need in the skilled workers, thus confirms the importance of enlargement of educated workers for progressing globalization. In addition, Samimi & Jenatabadi (2014) proved that if the country has a well-functioned financial system, it obtains the flow of foreign capital and higher level of human capital. The globalized countries have already noticed benefit from the growth effect of globalization. Growth of cross-cultural contacts is also considered as the important step in building global community. Globalization here involves the worldwide flows of organizations and institutions of global reach. Since the world culture refers to the cultural complex of knowledge forms and assumptions, organizations and institutions, it encompasses conceptions of world society and models and methods of organizing social life in the world (Globalization and World Culture, 2001). Globalization has also allowed spreading of multiculualism, promoting understanding between people. Many scholars have also paid attention the influences of globalization on education in the specific cultural and educational contexts of other countries (Liu, 2012). There is a rise of common language, which for fifty percent of people English is the second most common language. Therefore, it is evident that the researchers recognize the influence of globalization and its impact of changes in education and culture. Along with it, the greater possibilities globalization process has given to the development of international travel and tourism. Anti-globalization: common concerns Despite all efforts of the globalization followers to state that such process is only for good, the anti-globalization creates a sort of an “umbrella” to such topics as environmentalism, third war dept, animal rights, anarchism and anti-capitalism (What is anti-globalisation? 2001). As it is stated in the BBC article (2001), the main target of anti-globalists are the meeting of World Trade Organization which promote the free trade between countries, the International Monetary Fund that specializes in giving loans to the economies with crisis conditions, and the World bank, which provides loans to the developing countries. The reason under such actions is the exploitation of poor workforce and the environment issues that the global leaders should take care of. Bhagwati (2004) in his article illustrates how the globalization risks are exaggerated by the anti-globalists. First of all, there are different aspects of globalization (Bhagwati, 2004). According to Bhagwati, from the economic point of view, globalization utilizes the trade and long-term foreign investment of those countries which sizes were destroyed. Anti-globalists state that freer trade is exposed as illusory by the financial crisis, however, if countries did not use the free trade, there would be no financial flows into the counitries which needed that. The other important fact is that anti-globalization activities are more prevalent regarding policies of rich countries of the North, however, policy makers and the public in the developing countries of the South recognize globalization as a positive process. The only barrier here is the fear that poor countries experience. This fear is called by the international integration, which they consider would bring more poverty and less capital flows and investments. Moreover, the globalization process never ended. The integration of the world economy appeared in the late nineteenth. Another concern that anti-globalization embraces the environmental degradation, which is the classic example of externality (Frankel, 2004). The removal of forests and shaping of global biosphere, along with CO2 emissions and deforestation of the lands around the worlds have called great worries among the followers of anti-global movement. Besides, globalization and thus the flow of information, goods and capital have promoted in spreading deadliest infections known to people. Why anti globalists undervalue the benefits of globalization? While capitalism see in globalization as a benefit, anti-globalists consider that it harms foreign countries (Bhagwati, 2002). The capitalism is one of the three discontents that anti-globalization movement protests against. The central perspective in this notion is the monopoly of corporations that are at the heart of the problem. These corporations use but not benefit people and thanks to globalization, these businesses are able to postpone the demise capitalism, which is inappropriate to the anti-globalization movement. In the same way global integration without shared rules is perceived as a bad thing (Bhagwati, 2002). However, as it is stated in Bhagwati’s article, no evidence shows the negative effect of globalization in the global integration. While anti-globalists consider that globalization needs to be accommodated by the provision of adopted assistance, there is no such availability for poor countries to obtain such assistance if not the World Bank, which the anti-globalists are rejecting (Bhagwati, 2002). However, there is a rational kernel in the apologists of globalization who state that poor countries will only get richer due to the free trade, openness of borders and exchange of knowledge, products and services (Sen, 2002). Conclusion The common thought of anti-globalization movement is the desire to oppose the political power, encourage people to escape from the domination of that power and respect the real needs of people (Kwok, 2014). The anti- globalists argue that people are left without necessary resources because of the increased competitive pressure and that negative impacts of globalization to not only the human well-being but also to the economy of that country. Despite these arguments, there are more benefits of the globalization which are the emergence of worldwide production, financial markets with the better access to the external financing for those who need borrowings, global trade and economy influences positively on the healthy policy representing technological advances and innovative medical trade (Faces of globalization, n.d.). Numerous researchers at the same time have investigated the influence of globalization on economic growth. However, more theoretical and the empirical investigation should be conducted for justification of globalization positive effect on the world economy and its social lives. References Axford, B., 2014. Theories of Globalization, John Willey & Sons Bhagwati, J., 2002. 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