The Positive and Negative Effects of Globalisation - Essay Example

The Positive and Negative Effects of Globalization Introduction Hundreds of years ago, the world was not as we know it today. People existed at localized areas, and world wide ventures were unheard of. Today, the situation is very much different, thanks to globalization. What exactly is globalization? Globalization is the process whereby people from different parts of the world can interact freely and easily without any unnecessary barriers (Williamson, 1996). Globalization has effectively made the world a smaller place. People can move around the globe interacting with different people. “Globalization denotes the intensification of worldwide social relations and interactions such that distant events acquire much localized impacts and vice versa. It involves a rescaling of social relations, from the economic sphere, beyond the national to the transnational, transcontinental and transworld.” (Held and McGrew, 2007 p 24). According to Held and McGrew, globalization allows local people to have international experiences right from where they are. The process of globalization is not only concerned with the mixing of people from different geographical areas, it also involves the integration of cultures, ideas as well as values (Goldberg and Pavcnik, 2007). Globalization has a long history. However, its effects started becoming apparent during the fifteenth century. Globalization is what led to colonialism in the Americas, Africa and Asia. The nations that had the resources at the time sought to affirm their authority and create economic opportunities by getting colonies. Modern Globalization started after the Second World War. The cold war can be said to be an accelerating factor for globalization as world powers fought silent wars for world domination (Williamson, 1996). Modern globalization is characterized by increased international trade, enhanced communication and better transport systems. There are many factors that have contributed to modern globalization as we know it. Technological advancement in various fields is the greatest contributor to enhanced globalization. Policy changes have also contributed to faster, deeper and cheaper globalization (Goldberg and Pavcnik, 2007). The concept of globalization has elicited many debates about its positive and negative effects. Globalization cannot be said to be a good thing or a bad thing. It is true that there are some shortcomings that are associated with globalization, but there are also many good things that can come out of it. Positive Effects of Globalization As the world becomes one big global village, there are some things that are worth celebrating about. One of the positives that come with globalization is the opening of wider communications networks among countries. This makes it easier for people in different parts of the world to interact and share ideas. Easier communication has made it possible for people to share ideas and cultural values. There was a time when communication was restricted to the use of human messengers. However, with the high tech communications systems such as the internet and mobile telephony, anything can be communicated from any part of the world within a matter of seconds (Scholte, 2000). Globalization has also led to reduced trade restrictions, hence enhanced competition. This has made it possible for people to get high quality goods and services, not only from their country, but also from abroad. Local companies have to find ways to fight or be on the same level with foreign companies. The only way they can do this is by producing goods and services which are as good as those that are being produced by their international competitors. China and India are some of the countries that have made major gains though globalization. Globalization has turned these two countries from commercial oblivion to international trade giants to reckon with (Held and McGrew, 2007). There is also an increase in investment and capital flows due to globalization. This has opened up doors for enhanced foreign trade. For instance, Africa is a continent that has been attracting a lot of foreign investments in the recent past. Many African countries have taken advantage of these foreign investments to enhance their trade prospects at the international level. There are many worldwide trade organizations that have been set up to ensure that there is equality on the international trade arena (Scholte, 2000). Globalization has opened up new jobs, hence increasing employment opportunities to people from across the world. Developing countries have had thousands of employment opportunities that resulted from globalization. Multinational corporations offer jobs to people from the countries where they are operating. There are some industries that are related to globalization that also offer job opportunities to people. An example of such an industry which generates job opportunities due to globalization is tourism. Countries which are tourist hot spots have a huge portion of their population working in the tourism industry (Williamson, 1996). Negative Effects of Globalization Although globalization has numerous positive effects, it also has a number of negative effects. These negative effects have not only impacted on nations in general, they have also impacted the way individuals in these nations live. Some of these effects are discussed below: a. Increased global insecurities. Before globalization, there were very few cases of terrorism on the international level. This is because international communications systems were not as advanced as they are today. Transport systems have also improved and this has made it easy for people of all backgrounds to travel from one corner of the world to the next within hours. As the world becomes one small global village, terrorism tends to gain momentum (Kiely and Marfleet, 1998). Terrorists can travel from one country to the next quite easily. They can also communicate their terrorism ideas without much of a problem. Terrorism is just one case of global insecurity. It seems that globalization is polarizing the world rather than uniting it. This increase of global insecurity has made many nations to be suspicious of one another. The situation is not made any better by technology which makes it easy to carry out terrorism activities in different countries (Scholte, 2000). b. Cultural Degradation Globalization has enhanced the interaction of people, who can share ideas and values. However, not all of these values are helpful. Many people have lost sight of their cultural values due to influence from the western world (Kiely and Marfleet, 1998). The internet and modern media have been cited as some of the tools that are used to erode cultural values all across the world. More and more people are having access to the internet. In the long run, people are normally exposed to negative cultural practices (Goldberg and Pavcnik, 2007). It is hard to contain the types of messages are propagated through popular media, but some form of vetting can help cultural degradation to a minimal level. c. Brain Drain and economic inequalities As the world becomes more and more globalized, there is the danger of brain drain especially in third world countries. The more developed countries have better job opportunities which also offer greater benefits to workers. The professionals in poor countries normally do not have access to well paying jobs, therefore, they prefer to work in the more developed countries where they are assured of good jobs (Williamson, 1996). The movement of highly qualified professional from poor countries to rich countries has led to a major problem of brain drain “Rather than exercising new powers as consumers, billions of people are being forced to the very margins of the world system where notions of taste, choice and assertion of status must be measured against the imperative of survival. Over the past 30 years there has been a very rapid increase in global inequality. This is crudely estimated by the United Nations, based on differences between homogenized developed and developing nations” (Kiely and Marfleet, 1998 p. 60). According to Kiely and Marfleet, although the world is undergoing globalization, people from the developing nations are normally forced by circumstances to turn to the more developed nations to earn a living. Africa is one continent where brain drain has cost many countries millions of dollars. Due to high rates of brain drain, many countries are seeking foreign manpower to cater for deficiencies (Held and McGrew, 2007). This means that such a country that relies of foreign manpower has to spend more on the foreign workers. This brings about an economic inequality since the money that would have been used to do something else that is more helpful is being used to cover labor costs. This situation cannot get better unless the affected countries find ways to retain their professionals in their own countries. This includes providing competitive job opportunities and affordable living standards for the working class (Kiely and Marfleet, 1998). Conclusion Globalization is a process that is here to stay. It is a process that brings with it many benefits to individual countries and to the whole world at large. Much has been said about the economic, cultural and social advantages of making the world a global village. However, there is still the fact that there are a number of negative effects of globalization. Global insecurities, economic inequalities and cultural degradation, just to mention a few, are some of the negative impacts of globalization (Held and McGrew, 2007). The problem of economic inequality comes in when rich and powerful nations put up measures in a bid to protect their interests, in complete disregard of how these measures might affect other nations which might not have similar restrictive powers. Globalization should not be entirely a bad thing. There are many positive things that can be achieved through globalization. The negative effects of the process can be turned around to have beneficial effects for every party involved (Goldberg and Pavcnik, 2007). Globalization is meant to unite people from different countries, not divide them. For globalization to have 100% positive effects, different countries have to agree to form international policies that do not favour some countries at the expense of others. Globalization should offer equal opportunities for economic, political, social and cultural growth for all countries. References Goldberg PK and Pavcnik N, 2007, ‘Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries’, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 45, no.1, pp. 39 – 82. Held D and McGrew AG, 2007, Globalization/Anti-Globalization: Beyond the Great Divide, Cambridge University Press, London. Kiely R and Marfleet P, 1998, Globalization and the Third World. Routledge, London. Scholte JA, 2000, Globalization- A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Williamson JG, 1996, ‘Globalization, Convergence and History’, the Journal of Economic History, vol. 56, pp. 277-306. Read More