Globalization is a Good Thing - Essay Example

Globalization is a Good Thing Globalization is one of the most powerful forces that have an influence on the world today and this is mainly because it is the basis upon which cultures, trade, and ideas from across the globe are exchanged at an unprecedented level. The ability of people from diverse cultures to interact, exchange ideas and trade has created a situation where the world has come to be considered smaller (Busch, 2000, p.21). This is mainly because of the fact that most of the interactions that are as a result of globalization take place as a result of fast modes of transport, the development of better communication technology as well as the development of the belief that all the people of the world can be of mutual benefit to one another. Globalization has had a long history, with some scholars believing that it has spanned millennia but this form of globalization has come to be surpassed by that which is taking place in the current world. Globalization as it is today is mainly based on the idea of free trade and the fact that people from all over the world have come to depend on one another to acquire commodities for their daily use. Thus, one would suggest that while globalization has enabled the development of positive relations between people of different cultures, it has also had some negative impacts as well. Globalization has led to the increase of understanding between peoples from different cultures and backgrounds and this has ensured that individuals, who in previous years could not interact peacefully, can now do so without any prejudice and stereotypes. The interaction between people from different cultures has taken place mainly because of the fact that there have developed new forms of technology such as social networks (Tölölyan, 2013). The latter form of technology has enabled the interaction of individuals from all over the world and has made it possible for individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds, who have not met face to face, to become friends. This has ensured that a situation has developed where these individuals have come to understand each other and found out the reasons behind each other’s cultural practices, hence greater understanding. The cultural understanding that has developed has also led to the creation of greater conditions to enable world peace and it is for this reason that not only governments, but also individuals, have taken the initiative to work towards the achievement of lasting global peace. It is mainly through the influence of globalization that such organizations as the United Nations and the European Union have been created over the past few decades and these have been done not only to ensure that there is more interaction between peoples from certain regions and the world at large, but also to promote peace among them (Busch 2000, p.35). The result has been that the ideals of peace and security have become commonplace across the world as more individuals have come to advocate for them. In line with the initiatives for peace has been the advocacy for there to be universal human rights so that all the people in the world can live in peace, prosperity, and freedom without there being any interference with any of their rights. In addition, because of the continued existence of such global organizations as the United Nations, it has become possible for there to be initiatives which are aimed at not only alleviating famine, but also preventing it in diverse places in the world. These initiatives have ensured that food supplies are efficiently delivered to drought and famine stricken areas, leading to the prevention of deaths that would have otherwise occurred had there been no international cooperation. In addition, famine prevention initiatives such as the construction of water reservoirs through international funding has ensured that some of the areas which were previously stricken by drought have become food sufficient, with some being able to export their surplus to the world markets. One of the biggest advantages of globalization is that it has encourages cooperation between various governments in a manner which is unprecedented in world history. This is mainly because it has provided a platform for them to cooperate on diverse matters which are in their mutual interests. An example of such cooperation has been the signing of nuclear non-proliferation treaties between the United States and Russia in a bid to ensure that they reduce the number of nuclear weapons which each of them possesses and this has in its own way contributed to world peace. In addition, the various treaties of cooperation that various states have signed has provided countries with the opportunity to work together to solve diverse problems across the globe and this has included security treaties (Migone, 2005), such as the treaty involved in the creation of NATO, which has worked as a guarantor of the security of all the member states within it. Treaties have also been signed to ensure that there is the faster development of free trade between all the nations in the world and this has been done through ensuring that countries reduce their tendency towards the adoption of protectionist policies in their economies. Because of these treaties, it has become possible for goods and services to move from one point of the world to another at a rate which is faster than in previous years. Moreover, it has become possible for countries to export their products to markets which, before the advent of globalization, they could not access and this has ensured that they have received massive returns through their acquisition of foreign exchange as well as good will from their customers. Despite the fact that globalization has brought many benefits for people all over the world, it has also come with its share of negative consequences whose full extent has yet to be known. Globalization has created a situation where the measures which governments previously took to protect the economic interests of their people have become ineffective and this is mainly because of their adoption of such liberal policies as free trade (Busch 2000, p.29). This has led to a situation where while some countries have become richer because of the deregulation of trade, others have become even poorer because they are not able to compete with those with more developed economies. Poorer countries have been forced to take measures which are harmful to their people’s welfare in order for them to be able to gain loans and grants from international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank to fund their development projects as well as balance their budgets. Among the policies, which they have been forced to adopt, have included reductions in their expenditure for health, education and other vital social services as a means of implementing the structural adjustment policies demanded by these institutions (Kose, Prasad & Terrones, 2005). Moreover, it has become the custom of these institutions, whose main backers are developed countries, to require that the governments of poor countries to open up their economies to compete with the more powerful and established economies. In addition, the poverty created through globalization has led poor countries to do anything to attract foreign investment and these have included the provision of lower standards, reduced payment and inexpensive resources to foreign investors. Such a scenario can be witnessed in a large number of countries and this has led to a situation where the historical system of economic injustice has been retained. Because of the globalised world, many corporations from the western world have come to take advantage of the highly centralized political systems of poorer countries to exploit them for their resources (Chee-Beng, 2008). In such nations as those oil producing nations of the Middle East, it is a fact that their political systems are highly centralized with most of the power being in the hands of autocratic monarchies and governments who make all the major decisions concerning the economy. As a result, it has become the norm for western corporations to give these individuals massive amounts of money as well as special treatment for them and their cronies to ensure that they gain all the major contracts and leases in these countries. Since these leaders are never accountable to their people, they take decisions which are in favour of themselves and the multinational corporations in their countries and in total disregard of the opinions and welfare of their own people, resulting in the increase of inequality between the latter and the elites (Guan, Dator, Pratt, Seo, Dick & Yongseok, 2007). It has also been found that there are instances where food aid, which is supposed to be provided in drought stricken areas, is sometimes given to those poor countries which have food security. This has proven destructive on the financial system of these countries and it has been found to contribute to an increase of the hunger and the inequality that will be experienced in the long term. This is because the subsidized and cheap food that is given as aid in time of plenty works towards undercutting farmers who are normally not able to compete. The result is normally that they are driven out of their source of livelihood and once they stop producing, the market share of larger producers in the United States and in Europe is significantly increased. It has been argued that globalization has led to the degradation or loss of some cultures and this has been blamed on the tendency among members of younger generations to adopt western culture. This has been the case in many non-western nations which have seen a large number of people not only adopting the western, American way of life and in some cases completely rejecting their own cultures and languages (Manning, 2013). Such situations have led to the loss of identity among a large number of people especially in the developing world since most of them have chosen to adopt the globalised western one over their own, resulting in the slow extinction of the latter. It is a fact that globalization has led to the rise of a quite a number of fast growing economies in the world exemplified by China, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. This has led them to initiate the swift development of infrastructure and road construction to make all the regions within them more accessible to the rest of the global economy. As a result, it has become essential for these governments to hire multinational construction companies for the purpose of ensuring that there is a swift development of the needed infrastructure. The development of infrastructure in these countries has become among the most lucrative areas of investment in these countries and this has been partly due to the fact that these governments have made it imperative for this infrastructure to be developed in the rural areas. This has been done to ensure that there is an end to the isolation which these areas have had to experience for a long time. For this reason, mainly through the influence of globalization, governments in developing countries have worked towards the provision of incentives to encourage domestic and foreign investment in their infrastructure. The result of these incentives has been that both domestic and international have striven to take advantage of the opportunities being provided. The need to become more involved in the globalised economy has led many countries to invest billions of dollars on their infrastructure and this has ensured that many of those companies which would otherwise not have chosen to invest in these countries have chosen to do so and this has brought these companies enormous returns (Ardalan, 2011). The massive investment in infrastructure by developing countries has led to an increase in foreign investment and this has not only benefited the multinational corporations involved, but it has also brought many returns to these countries as well. This has been through the decrease in their unemployment rates as well as the increase in the revenue of these governments through the taxing of foreign corporations that conduct business in these countries (Genschel, 2005). The increase in government revenue, in cases such as Brazil and South Africa, has led to the development of social welfare programs which have ensured that the standards of living among their people have improved. In addition, these countries have been able to pay off their debt to international financial institutions and this has freed them from interference in their economies by these institutions hence the protection of their sovereignty. One would suggest that despite some scholars having a negative attitude towards it; globalization is one of the most positive sources of the stability in the world. This is mainly because of the fact that it has enabled the development of interdependency between countries and economies in such a manner that they have become indispensable to one another in matters of provision of goods and services. An example of this can be seen through banks in the whole world using monetary facilities provided by MasterCard and Visa, based in America; Russian billionaires choosing to utilize the banking facilities of the United Kingdom; western countries relying on Kenya to supply them with tea and coffee; China being the number one producer of technology for the entire world, among many other scenarios. This interdependency has led to the development of global peace because any form of serious conflict is likely to interfere with the delicate balance that has been created through globalization. The fact that a large number of multinational corporations have arisen because of globalization can be considered to be a positive outcome because in addition to ensuring that globalization remains a reality, they have also facilitated the interaction of different cultures. In this way, people from diverse cultures have been able to work together within these corporations and this has resulted in the development of unique products which are as a result of a mixture of elements from different cultures (Mikl-Horke, 2004). The discussion above has argued that globalization is one of the most powerful forces that have an influence on the world today and this is mainly because it is the basis upon which cultures, trade, and ideas from across the globe are exchanged at an unprecedented level. In addition, it has been found that it has led to the increase of understanding between peoples from different cultures and backgrounds and this has ensured that individuals, who in previous years could not interact peacefully, can now do so without any prejudice and stereotypes. Moreover, among its biggest advantages is that it has encouraged cooperation between various governments in a manner which is unprecedented in world history. However, among its negative impacts is that many corporations from the western world have come to take advantage of the highly centralized political systems of poorer countries to exploit them for their resources. Another negative impact if that it has created a situation where the measures which governments previously took to protect the economic interests of their people have become ineffective and this is mainly because of their adoption of such liberal policies as free trade. Despite this, can be concluded that globalization is generally a positive force because it has led to the rise of a quite a number of fast growing economies in the world exemplified by China, South Africa, Brazil and Russia. In addition, it has also been found that globalization is one of the most positive sources of the stability in the world. References Ardalan, K. 2011, "On the Role of Paradigms in Understanding Economic Globalization", Forum for Social Economics, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 197-219. Busch, A. 2000. Unpacking the globalization debate: approaches, evidence and data. In: C Hay and D Marsh (eds) Demystifying Globalization. New York, St. Martin’s Press. Chee-Beng, T. 2008, "EAST-WEST IDENTITIES: Globalization, Localization, and Hybridization", Pacific Affairs, vol. 81, no. 3, pp. 459-461. Genschel, P. 2005, "Globalization and the transformation of the tax state", European Review, vol. 13, pp. 53-71. Guan, B.T.C., Dator, Pratt, Seo, J., Dick & Yongseok 2007, "Fairness, Globalization, and Public Institutions: East Asia and Beyond", The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 1162. Kose, M.A., Prasad, E.S. & Terrones, M.E. 2005, "Growth and Volatility in an Era of Globalization", IMF Staff Papers, vol. 52, pp. 31-63. Manning, P.W. 2013, "The Magellan fallacy: globalization and the emergence of Asian and African literature in Spanish", Choice, vol. 50, no. 9, pp. 1629-1630. Migone, A. 2005, "The Decline of Politics: Governance, Globalization and the Public Sphere", Canadian Journal of Political Science, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 258. Mikl-Horke, G. 2004, "Globalization, transformation and the diffusion of management innovations", Journal for East European Management Studies, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 98-122. Tölölyan, K. 2013, "Communication and the globalization of culture: beyond tradition and borders", Choice, vol. 50, no. 10, pp. 1762. Read More