Globalization as a Process of International Integration - Essay Example

DOES GLOBALIZATION REALLY ‘BENEFIT EVERYBODY,’ AS MANY OF ITS LEADING ADVOCATES CLAIM? By Executive summary As known, globalization is the process, through which the integration internationally arises from the trade off of products, ideas, world views as well as other aspects of culture. Progresses in movement together with telecommunications infrastructure, plus the coming of the telegraph and its posterity the internet, are some of the key features in globalization, creating supplementary interdependence of cultural and economic activities. Some scholars say the origin of globalization can be seen from the modern times. However, the origin can be when Europeans had not even yet done their discoveries and had not even began their voyages into the new world. This is term has existed since the mid 18th century, finding its way to the 21st century. That said one can see that globalization has benefit effects and disadvantages. The are not appealing to everyone as well as not benefiting all the people as the aspect is supposed to do. Therefore, globalization does not necessarily help everyone as many of its leading advocates claim. This is a fact that is evident as the paper has illustrated below. That said the key players in this sector of globalization should see to it that this aspect benefits all of the people no matter the class that they belong to. Only then will this aspect be embraced with everyone and all the changes that are brought by globalization will be accepted by all of the people, be it the rich, poor, young, old, sick, healthy just but to mention a few. Introduction Globalization being described as a process that involves international integration that arises from the interchange of a number of things, product, ideas, world views among other features that involve culture, this makes it something that involves many if not all of the world’s population. Therefore, this aspect of globalization should be considered and looked into with the seriousness that it deserves. People would want to see their lives change for the better, and if globalization is a way through which that is going to be possible, then everyone opts to see the benefits and not only a few individuals belonging to a particular class of people. This paper discusses the cons and pros of globalization, putting into consideration to this question; does globalization ‘benefit everybody, ’ as many of its leading advocates claim? This question will be answered and discussed in relation to the present global financial crisis as one of the empirical cases. During the past few years, steady proclamations have been made by the advocates of the economic globalization. This is together with the leaders of institutions such as the World Bank among others, which their deepest concern in getting forward the economic globalization is to assist the poor people of the world. Further, specifically, they challenge that removing the barriers to corporate trade as well as financial investments is the unsurpassed path through which there can be growth, which they articulate proffers the most excellent chance to haul up the poor from poverty (Robertson 1992, p89). More to that, they assert that the millions of people who have observably contrasted the economic growth model, are damaging the interests of the poor. All the others should stay away and leave it to the experts to do their planning and solve the world’s problems. Though many questions have been asked whether these experts have their ulterior motive, or they are seriously considering saving the world’s poor. Questions such as, are the interests of the global corporations and bureaucracies aimed at helping the poor? Do these organizations have some other primary objectives? Who benefits from this economic globalization? Taking data from the three decades ranging from 1970-2000, which was the economic globalization’s rapidest ascendancy time, there is more than enough evidence that the results differ with the advocates claim. This evidence originates from nearly just as many the proponents of globalization as its opposition. There is clarity that poverty, as well as inequality, is rising rapidly all over the earth. This was seen from the report made by the United Nations Development Program in 1999. It stated that the gap of the lack of equality between the poor and rich within and among countries is quickly expanding, and the main result is a global trading and finance is one of the key causes. Another subprime crisis to show this was in the US where the interests of the major international banks did not benefit the poor as well as investors worldwide (Suter & Herkenrath 2012, p78). With the current global economic crisis, this problem that is seen to be brought about by globalization will just be getting worse that n it already is if something is not done to solve it quickly. Following a period that was more of a boom to the business economy all over the world, a financial bubble has now burst. The degree of this predicament has been severe with the largest institutions in the financial sector have now collapsed. This has lead to others being bought out at cheap low prices by their competition, to add to that, in other cases the wealthiest nation’s governments have resorted to extensive bail-out and liberation packages for the remaining large banks, as well as financial institutions. As this is apparent that there is a global economic crisis at hand, there is going to be difficult for everyone to benefit from globalization. The goal in trying to make everyone benefit from this cause will be challenging as there is a problem that faces the economic globalization institution (Ritzer 2010, p62). The people and countries that are at a more challenging position in benefiting from globalization are the poor ones. And just to show this an example was the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998. This is where the IMF and the Word Bank following the Washington Consensus forced those poor countries to excise austerity and tight monetary policies which are exactly what you should do in an economic crisis, in order to preserve western bank’s investments (Bordreaux 2008, p102). Though the leading advocates of globalization may try and convince everyone; otherwise, there is just too much evidence that that might not be the case. Currently, there is a global financial recess that has affected every country the world over. This as has been apparent, has caused radical measures to be taken in order to try and fix the problem, and one of them was countries resorting to bail-outs. Some of these bail-outs have led to charges of insincerity owing to the perceptible socializing of the costs while privatizing the proceeds. Whats more is that, the institutions being salvaged are characteristically the ones that are the cause of the trouble the world is in at the moment in the first place. For the poorer people and the smaller companies, such of the options that include bail-out are rarely available if not available at all, whenever they find themselves in such a crisis. There is an argument that when the bigger banks show even the smallest sign of crisis, then potentially everyone will suffer and not only the wealthy as it is believed that the ripple effect from the predicaments at the top could have throughout the economy (Obstfeld, Cho & Mason 2012, p54). Therefore, globalization does not benefit everybody as many of its leading advocates claim. Their argument is not solid as to support the theories they layout since most of them are just in support of the rich people and countries, while the poorer people and smaller businesses remain in the negative end of the economic globalization and globalization as a whole. This problem could have been warded off (in theory) as people had been pointing out these issues for decades. However, during boom, very few if not any at all want to hear this pessimism. Does this emergency spell an end to the slipshod forms of banking and finance and will it indicate a better economic age than the precedent or will the world be condemned to keep forgetting history and keep repeating the same gaffes in the prospect? The signs are not very much heartening at all as the bigger richer nations are refusing meaningful reform (Boudreaux 2008, p56). Conclusion There have been mixed reactions widely over the progression causative to globalization with a history as long as extraterritorial contact and trade. The difference in philosophies in regard to the benefits and costs of such progression gives rise to a wide-range of ideologies as well as social movements. Antagonists sight one or more globalizing processes as unfavorable to the social well-being on a local or global scale. This takes account of those who query either the social or natural sustainability of long-term. In addition, unremitting economic spread out, the social structural disparity brought about by these methods, and the regal, imperialistic, or hegemonic ethnocentrism, literary incorporation and enlightening appropriation that bring about such processes. Therefore, this paper has handled the issue of whether globalization does benefit everybody. This is in relation to the proclamation by the leading advocates who are for the same. Many reasons have been provided to show that globalization does not help everybody and that the problem needs to be solved quickly and fast as it is worse in this current global economic crisis that can be a real catastrophe if not taken care of soon enough. Globalization is a positive aspect that can benefit society but this process has to be extensive to everyone, not only the middle class and upper class persons together with the rich countries but also to the lower class and third world poor countries. Reference list Boudreaux, D. J. (2008). Globalization. Westport, Conn, Greenwood Press. Obstfeld, M., Cho, D., & Mason, A. (2012). Global economic crisis impacts, transmission and recovery. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=981479. Ritzer, G. (2010). Globalization: a basic text. Malden, MA, Wiley-Blackwell. Robertson, R. (1992). Globalization: social theory and global culture. London u.a, Sage. Subramanian, A. (2011). Eclipse: living in the shadow of Chinas economic dominance. Washington, DC, Peterson Institute for International Economics. Suter, C., & Herkenrath, M. (2012). World society in the global economic crisis. Berlin, Lit. Read More