Can Processes of Globalization Help Alleviate Poverty - Essay Example

Running Head: CAN PROCESSES OF GLOBALIZATION HELP ALLEVIATE POVERTY Can/Do Processes Of Globalization Help Alleviate Poverty Name] [Name of Institute] Can/Do Processes Of Globalization Help Alleviate Poverty Introduction To Globalization The word "globalization" has attained significant affecting strength. Several inspect it as a technique that is helpful-a means to prospect global financial improvement-and also predictable and unalterable. Others consider it with antagonism, even terror, thinking that it enhances disparity in and between states, intimidates service and living principles and prevents societal advancement in other words, one of the ways by which the rich get richer (and the poor are made poorer) is through increased globalization. Globalization has been defined as the collapse of time and space, but more detailed explanations distinguish between "interdependence of markets and production in different countries;" "(perception of) living and working in a world-wide context;" and a "process that affects every aspect in the life of a person, community or nation. (Aart, 2005) There are also sources that use "modernization" as a synonym for globalization, and it is sometimes subsumed under "liberalization," "Neoliberalism," and "post-modernism." Globalization may be seen as a structure, a process, an ideology, or a combination of these. Proponents of globalization see it as, "A force which is beneficial to all, individuals and states, in all parts of the world" (George& Wilding, 2002). Opponents of globalization see it "as of benefit to the upper groups in society, to the multinational companies and the affluent world; and as detrimental to the satisfaction of public needs," and as a "force for the perpetuation and accentuation of inequalities within and between groups of countries for the benefit of multinationals and the upper classes. Its constant emphasis on increased competitiveness involves a race to the bottom". Factors Leading To Globalization A number of factors have led to the process called "globalization." As large corporations began diversifying their products and services by buying up smaller enterprises-usually for stock market, income tax or other financial benefits-they became conglomerates. By then merging with similar-often-overseas-conglomerates, they became huge international entities known as MNCs (Multinational Corporations). The economic breakdown of the Soviet Union gave further impetus to globalization as many foreign firms hurried to establish units in so-called economies in transition. Free trade agreements of various kinds further supported this process. MNCs now account for between a quarter and a third of the world's output, 70 percent of world trade and 80 percent of direct international investment. Perhaps more importantly, international financial institutions, including aid agencies, put conditions on their aid or loans. The World Bank, for example, plays its part by demanding open trade channels as a condition for financial help. Even the partial integration of Europe and the introduction of the Euro made business across former boundaries easier, and consequently, "MNCs are increasingly organizing production and service provisions on an international basis" (Held & McGrew, 2003). The International Monetary Fund strongly advocates less or no government intervention in the economy, but its preconditions for loans have grown from about a dozen to over eighty, thus dictating the economic policies of countries vulnerable to its restrictions. The activities of international banks and aid programs like the IMF, the World Trade Organization and World Bank are not without immediate consequences for working people, and particularly for the poor. The role and activities of some of these organizations are worth quoting: The World Trade Organization was designed as a meeting place where willing nations could sit in equality and negotiate rules of trade for their mutual advantage, in the service of sustainable international development. Instead, it has become an unbalanced institution, largely controlled by the United States and the nations of Europe, and especially the agribusiness, pharmaceutical and financial-services industries in these countries. At WTO meetings, important deals are hammered out in negotiations attended by the trade ministers of a couple dozen powerful nations, while those of poor countries wait in the bar outside for news. The International Monetary Fund was created to prevent future Great Depressions in part by lending countries in recession money and pressing them to adopt expansionary policies... Over time...it has become a long-term manager of the economies of developing countries, blindly committed to the bitter medicine of contraction no matter what the illness (Kelly, Rita & Jane, 2001). Consequences Of Globalization Lack of Accountability One consequence of globalization under current conditions is that MNCs exist in a legal and regulatory vacuum. There is no international body with the authority and the ability to regulate and investigate rules of conduct of global bodies, and certainly not to enforce them. As Murray points out: "Globalization is a process, not a thing...it is beyond the control of any single component of worldly power or leadership." That is why the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has held that "Global markets need global rules." It has also been characterized as: "An arrangement that serves particular interest groups and seeks to justify the expropriation of wealth, power, and humanity from others by portraying the process as inexorable and tied to objectified market forces.' In essence, the explanation is and must be ideology recast as science." It can be and has been argued that globalization offers end result benefits to the populations of the world by providing cheaper goods and services than would be possible if operations were confined to one country-though this can and has undercut domestic production in developing countries, even in such necessary areas as agriculture, where cheaper imported U. S. wheat threatens the commercial viability of local African production, resulting not only in loss of domestic industry, but also socio-cultural losses and destruction. This is explicit in the claims of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization: "Future jobs, development, improvements in social welfare, education, health and environmental protection depend on it (globalization)." Wage Depression One result of the privatization and globalization of industry and services has been a depreciation of salaries and wages. In 1997 a review of its future effects held that globalization would lead to downward pressures on labor standards, but at that time median wages for full-time workers were already nearly 3 percent less than they had been in 1979. In fact, whereas 23.5 percent of all American workers received only poverty level wages in 1973, this had risen to 28.6 percent by 1997. Looked at another way, real wages for relatively low- paid workers fell by 22 percent between 1973 and 1995, and 10 percent for middle-range workers. Low-paid jobs grew by 22 percent in New York City between 1993 and 2000-four times as fast as jobs paying at least $25,000. From 1979 to 1995, 80 percent of jobs created were low-wage and/or part-time. Among men who had less than twelve years of education in 1968, the average weekly wage level was $488 for those who worked full-time year-round. By 1994, this had fallen to $400 (adjusted for inflation). In 1993 high school dropouts earned 22 percent less than they had in 1979, and high school graduates earned 12 percent less. Not incidentally, wages of women not only dropped proportionately as did those of men, but were almost always much lower. As compared to the $400 per week for men mentioned previously, women earned only $287. It is also revealing that in 1995 almost 11 percent of all poor people worked full time, but were under the poverty line nevertheless (Held & McGrew, 2003). Corruption Lack of accountability, combined with profitability as the only goal, often leads to other anti-social activities by MNCs, such as use of child labor, ignoring minimum wage laws, and bribery of local officials. For example, global corporations that proudly proclaim they are equal opportunity employers in the United States appear on other nations' and international lists of discriminators. Vogl speaks of countries where globalization has brought enormous (usually illegal) gains to ruling individuals or parties, while the population remains untouched. To stay in power, these dictators have used their corrupt gains to bribe their colleagues, notably in the military, which in turn have felt bound to bribe their own colleagues in order to sustain their powerful positions. So corruption among ruling elites became widespread and all at the expense of the ordinary citizens who have been robbed of the opportunity to have a decent education, effective healthcare, basic housing and sanitation. The grand corruption has only been possible because investing MNCs used bribery as a standard policy. Corruption is not just a moral issue. Kaufmann quotes a survey "This is a major change. Corruption is no longer seen primarily in moral or ethical terms but in terms of its impact on poverty... We cannot alleviate poverty in a sustainable way without combating corruption." And, unfortunately, the incidence of corruption seems to be on the rise. Global Culture Or Global Cultures: Is Globalization Making Us All The Same Since existence and continuation of poverty is in great measure caused by the current movements of privatization and globalization, one proposed method of "taming" their excesses is the establishment of supragovernmental entities with the power to enforce policies and activities. The idea of "world governance" is not new, of course. Both the Romans and Greeks, among others, ruled all of what was thought to be the civilized world at one time. However, with the emergence of national states, international agreements have taken the place of world governance. These agreements require consensus, which is not only hard to reach but-as witness numerous UN human rights treaties-usually have no real enforcement powers (Thomas, 2000). There are and have been such supragovernmental entities, although their powers of enforcement were and are very limited. The League of Nations was one example, although considerably hampered by the refusal of the United States to join. A more current example is the United Nations, which has acted in the interests of world governance in some specific areas, such as whale hunting, and has attempted to do so over a vast array of concerns elaborated in international human rights treaties, which it has had limited success in enforcing. Other examples: the World Court in The Hague, especially in its genocide trials, and the recently created International Criminal Court. However, all such organizations are made up of or governed by the representatives of individual states. They depend upon the willingness of sovereign governments to give up some of their powers. Allowing trials in other countries for crimes committed at home, so to speak, which has begun, is an abdication of part of such powers, and may be a good omen. (Munck, 2005) However, the question is whether governments will be or are willing to give up power in ways that cost them money, or are inimical to their economic systems or bodies. In any case, the rise of supragovernmental bodies is at least possible, if not probable, in the near future. Globalization And Gender Just a few statistics indicate the importance of gender to understanding of inequality in the contemporary world. Increasing numbers of women may be joining the workforce around the world but they earn only around 75 per cent of what men earn (UNDP 2002:23). Of the world's estimated 854 million illiterate adults, 544 million are women, and of the 113 million children not in primary school, 60 per cent are girls. There are an estimated 100 million 'missing' women around the world - 50 million in India alone - who would be alive but for infanticide, neglect or sex (selective abortion). Each year more than 500,000 women die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. Worldwide, only 14 per cent of national parliamentarians are women, with little difference between industrial and developing countries and positive exceptions including both (UNDP 2002:10-11, 16, 23) (Globalization & Poverty, Online). Considering gender, equality and globalization in two main ways. First it engages in an exploration of what feminism has to offer current discussions about globalization. It assesses the distinctive role of feminist theory in addressing questions of gender and social relations of power, and introduces examination of questions of equity and difference between women and men and among women. The second part of the chapter on feminist perspectives on globalization builds on a consideration of embodied political economy to consider women's differentiated experience of globalization under conditions of global restructuring, and the dual nature of the latter as both a masculinized phenomenon of free and fast flowing capital, finance and goods and a feminized phenomenon of supporting servicing, domestic and sexualized roles, many of which are carried out by migrant workforces, who make significant contributions to home and host economies (Gender And Globalization, Online). Feminist Contributions To Globalization Debates Unequal relations of power Gender and power have been positioned as one of the intersecting facets of what might be termed the complex of identifications and power, including sexuality, race or ethnicity and socio-economic status. Feminism is thus a set of theoretical approaches that are first and foremost relational: that is, they concern relations of gender and their implications for relations of power. Feminism's concerns with equality are set specifically within this context that is with the problem that relations of gender have led to unequal relations of power (Rai, 2002). Feminist analysis emphasizes that unequal relations of power between men and women apply as much to the knowledge processes relating to them, as they do to the social processes in which they are involved. Thus the historical interests of feminist critique are oriented towards the discourses that maintain and reproduce gendered relations as part of the material inequality that characterizes them. In order to understand the fundamental impact of gendered inequalities, it is essential to explore the ontological and epistemological realms, for what counts as reality and the ways in which we construct knowledge about it is basic to how we think about what society is and key social processes within it (Deborah, 2002). Framing Inequality: Public And Private Public and private have played a central part in framing the discursive and social configurations of gendered inequalities and resistances to them. Public/private is the key dualism that has historically established a hierarchy of male identity and influence over female identity and influence. This is by no means to essentialize the nature of either men or women or to fail to recognize that they both move across public and private, playing a range of different roles in different ways and with different consequences. It is, however, to recognize the structural importance of the history of public and private to gendered realities and identities (Kelly, Rita & Jane, 2001). Institutionalized practices and discourses reflect such structural inequalities and are the sites through which gendered identities are forged, questioned and contested. Poverty Reducing Strategies PRSP (Poverty Reducing Strategy Programme) list the components of the strategy proposed for its alleviation. According to the World Bank, every PRSP should cover the four foregoing themes Macro and structural policies to support sustainable growth in which the poor participate; How to improve governance - including public sector financial management Appropriate sectoral policies and programmes and Realistic costing and appropriate levels of funding for the major programmes. (Macarov, 2003) Taking into account the complexity of the phenomenon, the interconnection of causes, and the multiplicity of handicaps suffered by the poor, poverty alleviation cannot be approached through specific projects only. What is necessary is a global, coherent programme, stressing policies that favor improved living conditions for the poor ('pro-poor' policies), taking into account the eventual negative impacts of certain measures and establishing safety nets (Lechner & Boli, 2004). Conclusion Even the most avid proponents of globalization have been forced to admit that as a method of fighting poverty, globalization "has come up short." By the unremitting search for the lowest possible costs in material and labor, regardless of other considerations, globalization enriches the haves and exploits the have-nots, leading to greater and greater economic disparities in society. As globalization has developed, existing circumstances (mainly when calculated by broader pointers of sound being) have enhanced drastically in almost all countries. However, the highly developed countries and merely some of the emergent countries have made the strongest increase (Lee & Holland, 2001). That the revenue gap involving high-income and low-income countries has grown-up wider is a matter for apprehension. And the magnitude of the world's citizens in miserable poverty is intensely troubling. But it is incorrect to leap to the ending that globalization has reasoned the deviation, or that nothing can be prepared to recover the circumstances. To the divergent: low-income countries have not been capable to incorporate with the worldwide financial system as rapidly as others, partially because of their selected strategies and to some extent because of features outside their management. No country, slightest of all the poorest, is able to have enough money to stay secluded from the global economy. Each country must seek out to lessen poverty. The global community must make an effort-by intensifying the international financial system, during trade, and through assist-to assist the poorest countries incorporate into the global economy, produce more quickly, and lessen poverty (Marchand & Sisson, 2000). Bibliography Aart Scholte J.; (2005). Globalization: A Critical Introduction. Palgrave Macmillan. 2nd Edition. Deborah Barndt, (2002). Tangled Routes: Women, Work, and Globalization on the Tomato Trail. Rowman and Littlefield. Gender And Globalization: http://www.eldis.org/static/DOC8521.htm George V. & Wilding P.; (2002). Globalization and Human Welfare. Palgrave. Globalization & Poverty: http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/animation.cfm Globalization & Poverty: http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/041200.htm#I Held D. & McGrew A.; (2003). The Global Transformations Reader: An Introduction to the Globalization Debate. Polity Press. 2nd Edition Parts III. Kelly, Rita Mae, Jane Bayes, Brigitte Young (editors). (2001). Gender, Globalization, and Democratization. Rowman and Littlefield. (GGD) Lechner F. & Boli J. (eds); (2004). The Globalization Reader . Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2nd Edition Parts VII, VIII. Lee K, Holland A. & McNeill D. (eds); (2000). Global Sustainable Development in the 21st Century. Edinburgh University Press. Macarov David; (2003). What the Market Does to People: Privatization, Globalization, and Poverty. Clarity Press. Atlanta. Marchand M.H. & Sisson Runyan A.(eds); (2000). Gender and Global Restructuring. Routledge. Munck R.; (2005). Globalization and Social Exclusion: A Transformationalist Perspective. Kumarian Press Inc. Rai S.; (2002). Gender and the Political Economy of Development. Polity Press. Thomas A (eds); (2000). Poverty and Development into the 21st Century. O.U./OUP. Read More