The Collapse of Globalism by Saul - Essay Example

The book The Collapse of Globalism, by John Ralston Saul speaks about how globalization is no longer as powerful as it once was and it will not be the ideology of choice as we move forward. These ideas can be applied to Canada’s state of affairs with regards to trade by remembering how integrated Canada is with the United States. Canada’s situation is much different than other developed countries because of its close ties to the United States. A large part of the country’s exports head to the United States and this means that Canada has a heavy economic reliance on the United States, which is the most prominent economic power in the world. Therefore, the first thing that Canada would need to do in order to re-shape the economy of the country would be to lessen the American influence that is present here. In order for this to work, however, the population would have to buy into the new system as currently, American goods and services can be sold at a lesser price than Canadian ones because of the various trade agreements that are in place. One way in which Canada has attempted to keep its historical values and identity is through the Canadian content laws. These laws are in place to protect Canadian culture in the media in the face of globalization, despite how it affects the country economically. Despite this, I believe that Canada can become the country that Saul envisions if they utilize their resources properly, while keeping Canadian media and culture alive. By keeping control of the amount of American media that is allowed into Canada, the country is going a long way in protecting its identity and becoming an ethics based society. These laws in Canada show that the government of that country is highly aware of the effect that the globalization of media can have on the culture of the country. Since the government is actively attempting to limit the amount of American media that enters into the country, is it one of the few industrialized nations that have realized how destructive the global trend could be towards culture. There remains a problem, however, as cable television and twenty-four hours news organizations have made it possible for American media to make it into the hands of Canadians and people in the international community, despite any laws and regulations that are passed down. Furthermore, trade agreements like the WTO will make it even easier for this trend to continue, as more and more multinational corporations will rely on the media as they attempt to expand their hold on the global marketplace. In Canada, there is bound to be substantial disagreement over what cluster of values, attitudes, etc., represent national identity. Also, it has been suggested that the Broadcasting Act is not aimed at fostering a single Canadian identity. Rather it acknowledges that there can be a multiplicity of such identities and even encourages this diverse expression of Canadianism. With all the money that is available in the American marketplace, American media corporations will continue to expand and, therefore, will continue to see their influence on the cultures of other countries increase as well. Other countries should attempt to take a proactive approach like Canada in order to save their cultural industries for the next generations of people in those countries to enjoy. A globalized culture would be a major negative for the world because so many of the world’s cultures have been around for much longer than American culture and critics now say globalization is nothing more than the imposition of American culture on the entire world. In fact, the most visible sign of globalization seems to be the spread of American burgers and cola to nearly every country on earth, as the form of globalization deemed worthy of the name by media is corporate globalization. The globalization of media can more or less be called an Americanization of media because of the power that American multinational conglomerates have in the international community. With this power, the cultures of other countries are often undermined, which creates huge problems because so much of the world is becoming Americanized. This trend does not look to be slowing down anytime soon, as corporate American is using the American dominance of the media to expand its horizons internationally. Furthermore, many countries are seeing their cultural enterprises sacrificed at the expense of becoming more like their American counterparts in order to be more popular amongst their own people. Canada is one country that has attempted to fight back against this trend, as it has designed a series of laws and regulations that make it very difficult for American content to reach its citizens. All of Canada’s cultural industries are protected under this system and American media firms do like this because it cuts down on the number of people that they are able to advertise to. Canada’s stance on this issue is a major positive because it shows that culture can be protected, even in the face of the globalization of media. More countries need to follow this lead in order to protect their culture and their way of life in the future. Critics of Canadian nationalism, such as George Grant, believe that Canada could not survive the impacts of continental capitalism and universal modernism that had been coming from the United States. This view that Canada has been doomed as a nation since its birth because of its close proximity to the United States, both geographically and politically, have made it impossible for Canadian nationalism to survive. One such event that sparked this ideology was the 1963 Bomac missile crisis. During this crisis, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker refused to allow Americans to place nuclear weapons on Canadian soil. Rather than taking the side of their leader, Canadians voted him out of office. This made it clear that Canada had moved towards continentalism, rather than nationalism, and that the country’s future as a uniquely sovereign nation was threatened. Basically, Canadian nationalism has always been threatened by American influences and these influences are still present today. The Brian Mulroney led conservative government believed that it was very important for Canada to maintain a strong association with the United States. The belief led to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which essentially opened up the Canadian borders for American-based goods and services. Canada’s industries could not compete with these major corporate advances, as this agreement eliminated tariffs on American exports and also made the declaration that American domestic law would apply to all trade disputes that occurred. This means that the American government has a great deal of control over the Canadian marketplace and they only have to follow their own laws in order to maintain this control. Canada also decided to join the Gulf War in the early 1990s, which shows that American foreign policy was being followed as well by the Mulroney government. At this time, Canada was moving uncontrollably towards becoming one with the United States. Despite the power of the American influence on Canada, the country can begin to form its own independent state by breaking off trade agreements. While the WTO may still be a valuable thing for Canada to utilize, NAFTA needs to be eradicated because it benefits the American economy, while leaving Canada without much leverage. The American government also tends to ignore rulings that are handed down by governing bodies, which more or less makes these bodies useless when dealing with the United States. Therefore, Canada must slow down trade with the United States in order to gain back some of the power. Canada’s resource-based economy is very valuable to other developed nations because many of them are running low on natural resources. Canada has oil fields, lumber, fresh water, plenty of excess land that will be needed by these countries in the future. Canada’s long term survival looks good as long as those resources, if sold, are sold to the highest bidder, rather than the closest ally. Canada can use its natural resources to keep the economy afloat while disjoining itself from the United States and then turn to more of an isolationist policy once the economy becomes more self-sufficient. Also, by keeping social programs alive, Canada will win over its population through this transition period and will succeed in keeping its culture alive permanently. Read More