Resistance to Globalisation in the Contemporary World - Term Paper Example

Running Head: RESISTANCE TO GLOBALISATION Resistance to Globalisation Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Globalization has taken centre stage in the world today as a revolutionary concept that has changes the way activities are conducted throughout the world. Globalization has made the interaction between nations much easier by eliminating barriers that may have hindered such interactions in the past. Unlike in the past, nations that are miles apart can easily transact, exchange goods and services, social aspects among other issues easily without much regulations or efforts. The force of globalisation is undoubtedly unstoppable in the contemporary world. Integration of different countries has enabled improvement of the living standards and value of lifer for many countries. This is because of the ease with which countries can aces different goods and services that are inadequate in their own nations. As a result, globalization has been one of the major drivers of the world economy and has seen emerging nations develop and realisation of new markets sin the world. However with all the advantages that globalization has brought to humanity, there are detriments to the spread of globalisation that are being experienced in different countries. Globalisation has been blamed for many issues such as cultural erosion and the emergence of illegal trade in some nations. All this is in a bid to alleviate the negative effects of globalisation. Though the force is unstoppable, it can only be delayed through such resistances but the eventual effect is inevitable. This assessment will evaluate different articles reflated t the resistance of globalisation and worldviews about the same. Middle income countries and globalisation Globalisation has taken a toll on emerging nations due to increase in competition to levels they cannot cope wit. Production costs within these countries remain high and hence developed countries are edging them out in this perspective. As a result, globalisation is not advantageous to them and has only added to their immense problems (Evans, 2013). They have been left with the primary production systems and are forced to import finished goods at higher prices from the developed world. This raises the questions of sustainability and the effectiveness of globalisation in these countries. Globalisation offers the option of cooperation and competition between developing and developed world. However, it has emerged that developing countries hare finding it hard to cope with competition and hence have resulted to recording low economic growth and poverty within them is still high (Narula & Dunning, 2010).. The result has been increase in production in developed nations and this has seen an increase in the emission of green house emissions by over 46% in the last two decades. Environmentalists and concerned stakeholders are blaming the environmental degradation on globalisation and are opposed to its continuation in the manner it has been happening over the last decade. The detriments are now spilling to the developed world as well as the effects of emissions is being felt more than ever before. The costs of rehabilitation have been increasing over the years and this has the potential of wiping out the developments and progress made in terms of poverty alleviation and achieving millennium development goals. It seems as globalisation progresses, more needs and requirements emerge in recovery and repatriation perspective countries are now being forced to increase budgets on environmental concerns that have resulted from globalisation activities. Development goals have been focusing on the world population that faces absolute poverty but critics of globalisation have suggested that the whole world population should be included in formulation of future objectives. This is because globalisation and its detrimental effects are affecting all individuals all over the world in one perspective or another (Kalemli‐Ozcan, Papaioannou & Peydró, 2013). Low income countries have been forced to rely on foreign aid which to some extent is generated from primary products sourced from them and manufactured to finished goods. The rate of globalisation is only making the situation worse for these countries due to their economic, social and developmental challenges that they face. An evaluation of how foreign relations shape these countries is essential in making meaningful effects of globalisation visible for poverty alleviation and achievement of development goals in the developing world (Mahutga & Smith, 2011). Globalisation and modern day slavery The integration off the world to a globalised village has also come under criticism due to encouragement of modern day slavery. In comparison to the past, travelling from one country to another has become simpler due to elimination of bureaucratic measures that prevented this before. Foreigners can easily access travel plans to countries of their choice and even gain citizenships to their destination countries (Jenkins, 2013). As a result, there has been an influx of foreigners from developing nations to the developed world in search if better opportunities and employment chances this has been driven by the hard economic times in developing nations and the ease in which people can travel across borders of different nations. The concern here is the conditions that these people end up living in once they get to these countries. First, natives see them as a source of cheap labour and hence they are exploited in a manner that violates human rights (Alvarez & Alessi, 2012). Concerns have been raised over the influx in number of immigrants whether legal or illegal and the desperate living conditions they have to undergo to survive in the foreign countries. Modern day slavery as a result of globalisation is complicated as it does not manifest clearly like it used to in ancient times. Violation of human rights comes in terms of hard labour, low wages, physical and verbal abuse among other violations. There is a perception that the developed world has better opportunities to offer to foreigners in terms of jobs and better living standards. In a country like Britain, the level of slavery ids estimated to increase by 25% annually which is alarming to authorities (Sigona, 2012). This has also encouraged vices such as human trafficking and who are let to illegal sex trade in the country. Human traffickers are masquerading as travel agents and hence it becomes more difficult to control slavery. Victims are often promised to get better lives only to live in inhumane conditions in the foreign countries. The slavery issue is hence difficult to deal with due to the thin line that lies between servitude and voluntary immigration. Globalisation in the modern era has found it challenging to deal with the issue. Concerned international bodies that deal with human rights have raise the alarm and are seeking to enforce laws to control the acts and punish those involved. In the long run this can only be controlled if the benefits of globalisation are to be felt equally in all parts of the world (Stanziani, 2013). WTO Agreement condemned as deal for corporations, not world's poor The world trade organisation is one of the major drivers of globalisation and affects how it takes shape in the modern world. It is tasked with the responsibility of drafting international agreements and setting up regulations regarding how trade with the globe takes place. As a result, it has allayed a huge role in globalisation and realisation of milestones in this aspect. However, there has been resistance to some polices as they have been seen only to favour the developed world and not the poor developing countries. It has been argued that globalisation can only be effective if its overall benefits are not skewed to benefit the rich alone. In this view, the WTO signed a deal to boost world trade in December 2013 (Inman, 2013). The agreement was highly opposed by stakeholders who are concerned with antipoverty charities. It mas seen as an oppressive dal to small scale producers in developing countries and hence it would only add to their problems and continue benefiting developed countries. The decision to ease some of the trade barriers within trading nations would only see developing countries flooded with cheap imported goods (Ezeani, 2013).. This has the potential of creating a market that does not consume locally produced commodities win the long run unemployment levels would increase and this would be yet another blow to developing economies. Developing counties felt edged out of the deal as they sought to protect their primary industries especially the agricultural sector. Critics warned that the agreement was one made for transitional corporation and not the poor in the world. The effect of globalisation here is clearly seen to favour the developed world at the expense of the developing nations (Irogbe, 2013)Worse still, if developing nations were to be left out of such agreements, the situation for them, would deteriorate even further. Proponents of developing nations have raised the alarm over the oppressive nature of trade agreements that would see movements of goods and services made easier in a manner that would see developing nations incur heavy losses (Nishiyama, & Gintani, 2013). This is made worse by the little bargaining power that developing nations have in terms of economic might and structural capacities to affect such huge global decisions. Exodus: Immigration and Multiculturalism in the 21st Century In the recent years there has been an influx of immigrants fro developing nations to the developed word in a bid to search for better opportunities and living standards. The effect has bee forced by the eased in which people can travel form one country to another. Immigration in this perspective has led to the erosion of cultures due to interaction of people from different cultures and origins that effect of this has been the disappearance of global culture that have existed for centuries (Collier, 2013). Such immigration has been associated with toxic vices which have raised concern from critics. There has been a debate whether the overall effect of immigration has been a positive one or a negative one. It has often been see as a source of cheap labour and the opportunity to create employment in an informal perspective (Ekberg & Lange, 2014). Though there has been an increase in remittances to developing poor counties from immigrants working in the developed world, concerns have been raised over how some of these incomes are earned in the foreign countries. The increase in illegal trade of drugs and commercial sex has been on the rise and fears are being raised over the increase in number of immigrants participating in these trades. In terms of culture and ways of life, this has been blamed for what is regarded as brain drain western cultures have been transmitted to the countries and have been sources of problems as well (Docquier & Rapoport, 2012).. In this view, there are those personalities that travel in a bid to train in different educational portfolios. Such people often return and take positions of leadership in governments and other private institutions. The effect is that they employ strategies and policies leaned in the foreign countries which do not always work out in developing nations. The cultures followed before are eroded and this adds to the problems of these countries. There is a lack of understanding that these countries have different pasts and conditions and hence applying some of the strategies may not work in other countries. Developing nations should be weary of western culture and apply them critically in situations that they can bring meaningful change (Wang, Solan & Xu, 2014). Otherwise, they should stick to their own ways of life in manner that encourages and fosters local cultures. Inequality’s Roots: Beyond Technology Globalization has seen significant development in technologies which have been spread throughout the world. Technology has been seen as one of the major drivers of globalization towards countries achieving goals in various sectors in their economies. However, if globalization was such a wonderful phenomenon, the question is raise why some countries still lag behind in this crucial perspective (Bernstein, 2013). Globalization should enhance sharing of technologies and their application in fostering overall world economic growth and sustainability. The developed world has been criticized fro hindering development of technology by making it unaffordable for poor nations. This has also o been termed as a resistance to globalization from diverse perspectives. Technology has also created a gap in wage rates in the world today. The reason for this is that it is necessary to develop education systems that are in line with skills required to handle new technologies (Kwon, 2014). There is often a gap created in terms of manpower relating to the needs of new technology. As a result, unskilled labour in certain technologies ends up having lower wage rates than the few skilled personalities. Technology on other hand grows at faster rates and hence training needs may be inadequate in different perspectives. This aspect hinders globalization of technology and hence only few reap the benefits that accrue. Technology therefore, is a driver of inequality in terms of wages and wage rate. The need for complementary skills is unresolved due to stretched education and training systems (Jaumotte, Lall & Papageorgiou, 2013). The situation is worse in developing countries who would have to incur massive costs to acquire such technologies, In the long run the costs outweigh the benefits and hence the disorientation of up-to-date technology in most nations who outsource it from foreign countries. Some economists argue that technology and globalization have been the root of inequalities and have driven the gap between the poor and the rich even further (Asteriou, Dimelis & Moudatsou, 2014). Technology has also facilitated to the detriment of demerging economies due to high costs that are associate with it. They advocate for cooperation in investments in technology in manner that will benefit all in a globalized community. Conclusion As much as globalization has brought immense development and prosperity in the world today, it is also responsible for some of the problems that are being experienced as wells. This is the reason why some critics are anti globalization and advocate for alternatives to solve global problems that have been created by globalization. Due to globalization developing nations still find themselves in poverty despite increased production and industrialization. Immigration has also cased problems in terms of modern slavery and erosion of cultures. Countries are also struggling with huge expenditure to rehabilitate the environment that has been affected heavily by activities driven by globalization. References Alvarez, M. B., & Alessi, E. J. (2012). Human trafficking is more than sex trafficking and prostitution: Implications for social work. Affilia, 27(2), 142-152. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886109912443763 Asteriou, D., Dimelis, S., & Moudatsou, A. (2014). Globalization and income inequality: A panel data econometric approach for the EU27 countries. Economic Modelling, 36, 592. 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Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/docview/1315774188?accountid=12001 Wang, J., Solan, D., & Xu, B. (2014). CROSS-CULTURE INTEGRATION AND GLOBAL NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. Review of Business & Finance Studies, 5(1), 93-98. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/docview/1445481336?acc ountid=12001 Read More