GLOBALISATION
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Globalization is NEUTRAL; the only thing about it is how well it is managed
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Growth of human civilization has been shaped by flows found within nations and regions
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Flow of ideas; people; power; phenomenon (eg. diseases, war, entertainment)
“No generation has had the opportunity, as now we have, to build a global economy that leaves
no one behind. It is a wonderful opportunity, but also a profound responsibility” - Former
President Bill Clinton
Cultural
Globalization Results in Dilution/Loss of Culture
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Migration of rural cultures to the urbanized towns and cities causes culture to
disappear
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Lack of practice of particular culture
Resurgence of governmental policies that dictate the need to establish “official
languages” for its educational, industrial and political affairs
eg. Till the 1970s, aborigines in Australia were forbidden to speak in their own tongue.
Out of 400 official aboriginal languages, only 25 are left.
eg. In New Zealand, because of European settlers, Maoris were punished for speaking
Maori in school and by the 1980s, only 20% of the Maori population were familiar with
their native tongue
Globalization Allows For Cultural Cross-Fertilization
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More opportunities are garnered to exchange different ideas and viewpoints
from diverse parts of the world
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Greater diversity of opinions can be heard in society regarding certain issues
that are arguable
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People practice certain aspects of another’s culture, infuse elements of other’s
cultures into creative pieces
eg. Taiwanese singer David Tao’s classic Black Tangerine album fused Japanese pop,
White-American country rhythms and Black-American R&B
eg. People all around the world don apparels that originate from all over the world.
Sweden’s H&M and Spain’s Zara vie with America’s GAP to dress the masses, while
American Nike shoes vie with Germany’s Adidas, Britain’s Reebok, and Italy’s Fila.
Economy
​Failure to Open Up Country’s Economy can Lead to Poor Economic Growth
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Economic activities in the country would be limited to its own territory only
without economic relations with the outside world
eg. A prominent example would be China, which only opened its doors in 1978. Before
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1978, China was a closed economy with hardly any exports or imports. Inflation was
rampant and the Chinese suffered economically due to mass unemployment. After
opening up, economic policies implemented by Deng Xiaoping attracted foreign
investors to China, creating jobs and helping the economy to prosper, evident from
China’s prosperity now.
Usage of Globalization For Country’s Economy to Prosper
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Governments make use of globalization to meet domestic imperatives and
protect the welfare of their people
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Flow of talent pool to countries
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Rise of multinational corporations and free trade
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Allows for economic development of countries, especially in the third
world
eg. Singapore managed to overcome its ageing population and declining birth rates via
the inflow of foreign talent, holding both white-collared and blue-collared jobs to fills
gaps in the workforce
eg. The “four Asian Tigers” of South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong were
Third World Countries that managed to transform their economies to improve lives of
their people through globalization.
Politics
Futility of Censorship in the Globalized World
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Liberalization of flow of information has led to dissemination of a panoply of
ideals → can threaten state’s monopolies of power
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“Social Contract” → with subordination to government’s laws and regulations,
the governed are promised stability, peace and protection of welfare
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Unrestricted flow of information however has threatened to dismantle
the status quo
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Traditionally Western liberal ideals have been spread to the rest of the
world, including citizens of authoritarian states
eg. With the influx of Western liberal ideals, Singaporeans have started to question the
People’s Action Party’s more “draconian” laws like the Internal Security Act, and Article
377A of Singapore’s Penal Code, seen to limit the freedom of homosexuals
eg. Due to globalization, civilians desire for more personal freedom, giving rise to
instances such as the Arab Spring, where despotic regimes of Mubarak and Gaddafi
were overthrown
Counter Argument
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Some countries have been relatively untouched by globalization due to strong
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policies of censorship and propaganda
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Allows for such countries to hold on to their political authority and
monopoly of power due to strict regulations
eg. Police states such as North Korea has extreme policies of censorship and
propaganda to indoctrinate its people to be loyal to the state. Thus, it would be difficult
for Western liberal ideals to penetrate the minds of the North Korean people.
eg. China, despite having opened-up its economy, still practices censorship with the
“Great Firewall of China”, not allowing services such as Google and Instagram to enter
the state, curbing influx of liberal ideals. Additionally, the Chinese government controls
the search engine, Baidu, regulating content seen by its people and mitigating effect of
globalization on the minds of its citizens
Social
Globalization May Lead to Unhappy Sentiments of Citizens
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Influx of migrants can lead to the breeding of unhappy sentiments of citizens
eg. Migrants in the USA have contributed to an increased risk of terrorist attacks and
even loss of jobs for the average American, leading to disgruntled citizens. This has
also been the key point of contention in the 2016 Presidential Elections, where Donald
Trump triumphed due to his promises of banning Muslims from entering the country
and to build a wall deterring Latino migrants into the country
eg. Brexit was partly motivated by the disdain of European migrants in the United
Kingdom
eg. Singapore’s foreign talent policy spiked nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments
amongst Singaporeans
Security
Globalization Challenges National Security of Countries
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Globalized world → millions of people pass through borders for business and
leisure
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Requires
more
advanced
data
management
technology
and
manpower for governments to identify terrorists or criminals in the
overwhelming crowd
eg. Despite the improved surveillance after the Charlie Hebdo attack in France,
terrorists still found their way into the continent and conducted a terrorist attack at a
subway station near the Headquarters of the European Union in Brussels
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
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Business is the engine of the economy; performance of business affects the economy at large
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“Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation”, Milan Kundera
Sports
Commercialization of Sports
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The confluence of the proliferation of global media networks, influx of
advertising, sponsorship money and growing global audience → given modern
sport and sporting events much economic clout
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Affects economic growth → through hosting sports events, advertising
revenue, increased consumer spending on sport
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Massive influx of money allows thousands of sportsmen and women rich, pays
for training facilities, modern stadiums, coaching and efficient administration
eg. American channel NBC paid around $7.65 billion for the next three olympics game
cycles until 2032, around $1.275 billion for each of the next six olympic games
Transformation of Athletes to Celebrities
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Professional athletes have been transformed into advertising superstars,
having endorsements, sponsorships, book deals, tours, television programmes
eg. Out of the $62.7 billion spent on sponsorship within North America, $16.66 billion of
the revenue were from sports sponsorship
Science
Private Companies have Financial Capacity to fund Scientific Research
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Cutting-edge research increasingly requires high-tech equipment that individual
scientists, or even academic institutions can no longer afford
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As compared to using government funds (ie taxpayer’s money) for scientific
research, private companies are able to fund such research, lessening amount
of government funds used
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Increased public funds for scientific development could possibly lead to
poorer facilities for the people → lack of funds
eg. The American government funds NASA, the National Aeronautic Space
Administration using federal revenue from income, corporate and other taxes.
However, to increase funding, the Trump Administration plans to encourage
public-private partnerships. Currently, there is a $150 million program to encourage
private development of low-Earth orbit missions.
Lack of Ethics in Science Due to Profit Maximization
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Private industries primary goal is for profit maximization
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Can be conflicting with many scientific standards, including openness,
freedom, honesty and respect for human and animal subjects
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eg. A big pharmaceutical company in USA, Merck had been involved in fraudulently
representing the mumps component of its MMR vaccine, and was blamed for
fraudulently informing the public that the MMR II, used to replace the MMR vaccine
Pluserix, is effective. Over a period of time, studies had proved that the vaccine’s
effectiveness is falsified and the results of the tests carried out had been altered
Political
Governmental Intervention to Increase Investments
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In order to attract foreign investments in a country that can boost the economy
of a country, incentives are given
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Tax incentives
eg. In 2017, China rolled out specific measures including expanding market access,
allowing foreign capital to enter sectors such as aircraft maintenance and facilitating
cross-border flow of personnel. This attributed to the 5% increase year on year in
foreign investment, reaching 60.12 billion yuan in October 2017.
Economy is Heavily Dependent on Inter-Countries Relationships
eg. The impending trade war between China and US could set off a chain reactions
such as spiking inflations that would damage both national economies, as well as the
global economy in the long run. Research has shown that if there no solutions are
found soon, USA’s GDP could fall by 0.3%, which could result in heavy market volatility
worldwide as well.
Economic
Poor Economic Growth for Closed Off Countries
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Countries that fails to open its economy and integrating itself into the global
economy is likely to have poor economic growth
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Without economic relations with other countries, economic activities are limited
to its own territory only
eg. Before China opened up to the world in 1978, China was a closed economy and
there was hardly import or export of goods and services, with rampant inflation and
mass unemployment. After opening up, Deng Xiaoping promoted economic activities
with other countries and subsequently foreigners started to invest in China. Jobs were
created and the economy was improved.
Difficult for Companies to Maximize Profits if Social Responsibilities are Shirked
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Companies suffer backlash if they are deemed to be social irresponsible
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Companies change their ways to protect their reputations and avoid consumer
and regulatory backlashes
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Consumers can boycott the brand → lead to losses
Consumers are more likely to purchase items from companies in which
upholds social responsibility / values
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eg. The #GrabYourWallet boycott initiative is a good example of how consumers
boycott brands that supports issues contrary to their believes. Under the initiative,
almost a dozen brands were called out by consumers due to ties with Trump.
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