GLOBALIZATION POVERTY AND INEQUALITY - Essay Example

It makes us wonder whether in this context, globalisation is actually beneficial as the neoliberals claim. In fact, time has come to search for other viable alternatives, or if necessary, to modify globalisation in such a manner that it really helps to serve the poor and needy, and helps to remove all boundaries of inequality. Executive Summary: A close look at the arguments presented by the neoliberal theorists will show us that in the past two decades there has been a marked decrease in the income inequality index factor and also a downward growth rate of the poverty factor, a great deviation from the picture that we have seen for a century and a half.

Neoliberal arguments further explain that this improved picture is arising mainly from the globalization factor that is bringing about a fusion of economies throughout the world breaking all national borders and boundaries. A look at the economic conditions of the third world countries reveal that, nearly all of the South East Asian countries, especially China and India, have progressed rapidly with a fall in poverty rates. However the central and eastern European countries, comprising many of the former members of the Soviet Union republic, and the countries of the sub-Saharan belt have regressed and shown increased poverty levels.

The Latin American countries are stagnant as far as their poverty graph is concerned; however the neoliberal argument says that globalization is here to stay, since after the break down of Bretton Woods, it has been generally concluded that it is more beneficial to have an converging system, instead of opting for interests that conflict and create barriers. This paper will explore and will take an in-depth look at the arguments put forward by the neoliberal theories, and will analyze the empirical basis for their arguments.

“Globalization