Globalization and Economic Benefits to the Human Kind - Essay Example

Globalization Globalization is a controversial topic in the current world because of the huge changes in caused in all the aspects of human life. Some people believe that globalization is better for human whereas others oppose this view. Both the supporters and critics of globalization often cite economic and political reasons to substantiate their arguments. In this essay, I argue that the extent of damage caused by globalization in subjects such as morality, human rights and freedom is more than that caused in the economic and political circles. The worlds tallest building is now in Dubai. The largest publicly traded company is in China. The largest passenger airplane is built in Europe. The biggest movie industry is Indias Bollywood, not Hollywood. And in the most recent Forbes rankings, only two of the worlds 10 richest people are American (Zakaria, p.198). It is a fact that global wealth is currently shifting from the less heavily populated American and European region to the more heavily populated Asian region. At the same time, one should not forget the fact that, still US is the only superpower in this world. That is why America is causing huge damages to life and properties in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq in the name of war on terror. Even though Pakistan is a sovereign state and a nuclear power, they were forced to allow America to conduct its missions against Muslim fundamentalists from its soil. Who can forget the fact that America killed Osama without informing Pakistan about the attack which they were going to conduct on Pak soil. Pakistan forced to surrender to the pressure exerted by America because of the huge financial aids they receive from America. In other words, globalization helped Pakistan to gain more financial aids from America like countries; at the same time they forced to sacrifice their freedom and other liberties. Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species-man-acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world. During the past quarter century this power has not only increased to one of disturbing magnitude but it has changed in character. The most alarming of all mans assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials (Carson, p.402). One of the major drawbacks of globalization is the increasing Consumerism. Current markets all over the world are heavily competitive. People get good quality products for cheaper prices. Moreover, the living standards of the people have increased a lot in recent past because of advancements in science and technology. Therefore, crazy purchasing habits started develop among the public. Majority of the modern consumers purchase commodities not for necessity but for keeping social status. Globalization helped people to get foreign goods at competitive price. It should be noted that increased consumerism results in injudicious exploitation of natural resources. It is a fact that natural resources are getting exhausted as time goes on because of its non-renewable nature and increasing exploitation. The future generation may face lot of problems such as energy crisis because of the scarcity of natural resources. Moreover, increased resource utilization in the name of globalization may result in global warming, climate changes and environmental problems. In short, globalization coupled with the increased exploitation of natural resources cause immense problems to future generation. Nobody should forget that this world is not only for the past and present generation, but also for the future generation as well. Making the life of future generation difficult is definitely a human right violation. According to Al Gore many Americans have the illusion that by increasing oil and coal production at home, Americans wouldnt have to rely on imports from the Middle East. Some have come up with even dirtier and more expensive new ways to extract the same old fuels, like coal liquids, oil shale, tar sands and "clean coal" technology. But in every case, the resources in question are much too expensive or polluting, or, in the case of "clean coal," too imaginary to make a difference in protecting either our national security or the global climate (Gore, p.410). While people finding ways to tackle energy crisis like problems, they are knowingly or unknowingly forgetting the consequences of increased exploitation of energy sources. Instead of trying to reduce the energy needs or finding new renewable green energy sources, people always talk about finding more coal and petroleum sources. The world cannot sustain its human friendly climate in its present form for many years. It is the duty of the human to help the nature to maintain its human friendly climate. Global warming and environmental problems are the most important ones as far human kind is concerned. Many people think that the threats from terrorists or nuclear wars are causing problems in this world. It should be noted that these problems are manageable since the threats are visible to everyone. On the other hand, the threats generated by global warming and environmental problems are just like silent killers. It is difficult for us to evaluate the extent of damage caused by environmental problems and global warming. In short, globalization has caused increased consumption and as a result of that environmental problems started to intensify. While the risk of nuclear war between major powers still exists, its less acute now than 15 years ago, thank God. Many people worry about terrorists, and so do I, but then I reflect that terrorists could at worst kill "only" a few tens of millions of us. The even graver environmental problems that could do in all our children are environmental ones, such as global warming and land and water degradation (Diamond, p. 417) To conclude, globalization has brought some economic benefits to the human kind. However, it increases the threat of global warming and environmental problems. Increased resource utilization at present would result in scarcity of resources in future. Thus, future generation is going to face resource scarcity as well as environmental problems because of globalization. Since future generation also holds the ownership of this world, it is unethical to make this world worst at present in the name of globalization. Works cited Carson, Raechel. “The Obligation to Endure”. The Fate of the Earth: Can We Preserve the Global Environment? Diamond, Jared. “Lessons from Lost Worlds” Gore, Al. “The Climate Change” Zakaria, Fareed. “The Rise of the Rest”. The Challenge of Globalization: What Are the Consequences? Read More