Forum: Globalization 2
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Globalization 2
Globalization, or the use of the dynamics of the open market place to regulate human economic activity, is emerging in popularity across much of the globe. It is opposed by some nations, a smaller segment of the population, who favor a more socialistic approach.
One of the attractive features of globalization is its promise to help the poorer people of the world to enjoy a greater deal of material prosperity. Proponents of globalization point to rising material standards of the peoples of China and India. These proponents claim that globalization will reduce much of the poverty in which most human beings are presently held captive.
That claim is disputed by other serious students of the subject. They claim that globalization is more of a myth than a fact, and they say that globalization is not an accomplished fact but a promise that is yet to be achieved. They further claim that globalization is neither exploiting nor aiding the poorer peoples of the world, it is simply ignoring or bypassing them. In modern life, the poorer peoples are encouraged to seek a better life without being offered the means to attain it. The basic reason that the poorer peoples remain poor, these critics claim, is that they have little that richer peoples need or want.
Perhaps, a more serious criticism of globalization is to be found in the claim that globalization, by continuing the industrial revolution began centuries ago in the West and becoming much more univeralized, is inevitably consuming physical resources that are limited at a unsustainable rate. And, these critics also claim that globalization is inevitably producing an environmental backlash of enormous consequences. If they are taken together, these two products of globalization will insure that the dynamic will never be universally achieved, that it is an impossible dream.
Then, there are those who point to the outsourcing of jobs in the United States as too high a price to pay for the advantages brought to the nation by globalization. Protectionist arguments, similar to this one, must be given serious consideration and convincing counter arguments.
Whether the critics of globalization are correct or not is an important issue, but not the only issue. The fact they are raising important issues must be acknowledged. We are plunging ahead with globalization with more hope than reason. To say the very least, it is an extremely dangerous thing to be doing. Economic activity is hugely complex. To claim that because of this it is beyond the capability of human beings to control it is an interesting, if frightful concept. Human intelligence has been overrated at times. But, blind faith in the workings of the marketplace seems to be even more simplistic and unwarranted.
