Debate: “Is globalization good or
bad?”
and Final Exam Review
Lesson 29
Debate: Is globalization good or
bad?
• Source of issues is the Globalisation
Guide.org website at
http://www.globalisationguide.org/ (an
Australian organization)
Why is there global inequality,
and is it getting worse?
• “The gap between the rich and poor nations of
the world is increasing…By the late 1990s the
fifth of the world’s people living in the highestincome countries had:
– 86% of world GDP—the bottom fifth just 1%.
– 82% of world export markets—the bottom fifth just
1%.
– 68% of foreign direct investment—the bottom fifth just
1%.
– 74% of world telephone lines, today’s basic means of
communication—the bottom fifth just 1.5%.”
Why is there global inequality,
and is it getting worse?
• “There is mounting evidence that inequalities in
global income and poverty are decreasing and
that globalization has contributed to this
turnaround. For example, the World Bank notes
that China's opening to world trade has brought
it growth in income from $1460 a head in 1980
to $4120 by 1999. In 1980, American's earned
12.5 times as much as the Chinese, per capita.
By 1999, they were only earning 7.4 times as
much. The gap between rich and poor is also
shrinking with most nations in Asia and Latin
America. The countries that are getting poorer
are those that are not open to world trade,
notably many nations in Africa.”
What are the costs and the benefits
of free trade?
• “International trade and investment have been the
engines of world growth over the past 50 years…
The benefits of that growth have been shared.
The countries that are getting poorer are those
that are not open to world trade, notably many
nations in Africa… Many people believe that
exports create jobs, and imports cost jobs and
that it therefore makes sense to have barriers
against imports. This thinking led to the Great
Depression in 1930, because so many countries
had erected barriers against imports that global
trade fell with catastrophic consequences.”
What are the costs and the benefits
of free trade?
• “The World Trade Organization agreements on free trade
have functioned principally to pry open markets for the
benefit of transnational corporations at the expense of
national economies; workers, farmers and other people;
and the environment. The WTO should not solely focus on
opening markets but also allow trade to be restricted to
support human rights, labor rights and environmental
objectives in other countries. The WTO and trade
agreements should also allow non-government
organizations a direct voice in their governance. The
freeing of financial markets has brought global instability, as
evidenced in financial crises in Asia and Latin America and
the continuing marginalization of sub-Saharan Africa.”
What is the role of the internet
and communications technology in
globalization?
• “Many within developing countries see the
internet as an opportunity to gain access to
knowledge and services from around the world
in a way that would have been unimaginable
previously… Globalization has drastically
improved access of technological latecomers to
advanced technologies and, to the extent that
technological upgrading is important for
development, it provides a unique opportunity
for low-income countries to raise per capita
income.”
What is the role of the internet
and communications technology in
globalization?
• “Although the internet started off as a communal
medium for sharing information, principally among
academics, it is increasingly becoming the tool of
transnational corporations to market their
information products around the world. Because
it is rich countries generating most of the content
on the internet, it becomes a form of cultural
imperialism, in which western values dominate.
English is the language of the internet.”
Is globalization shifting power from nation
states to undemocratic organizations?
• “There are two strands to the argument that globalization is
undermining nation states. First, it is that it is empowering
corporations at the expense of the nation state, and
secondly, that the international institutions such as the WTO
and World Bank are not democratic…. There is an issue of
sheer size. It is noted that many corporations are larger
than nation states – more than half the 100 largest
economies in the world are corporations. The sales of Ford
and General Motors combined are greater than the
combined GDP of sub-Saharan Africa while those of the six
largest Japanese trading companies are almost as big as
all the nations of Latin America combined…. None of these
supranational organizations are democratically constituted,
and they make their decisions behind closed doors.”
Is globalization shifting power from nation
states to undemocratic organizations?
• “The major multilateral institutions acknowledge
the need to improve the transparency of their
decision making and each has programs to make
themselves more open to outside contributions and
develop better information flows. However they are
all organizations composed of governments. In the
case of the World Trade Organization, the practice
has been that no decisions are made unless a
consensus of governments is achieved. This
guarantees that the WTO reflects the will of its
member nation states.”
How does globalization affect
culture? Is it ‘Americanization’?
• “It is argued that one of the consequences of
globalization will be the end of cultural diversity,
and the triumph of a uni-polar culture serving the
needs of transnational corporations. Hence the
world drinks Coca-Cola, watches American
movies and eats American junk food. American
culture is seen to be dominated by monetary
relationships and commercial values replacing
traditional social relationships and family values.”
How does globalization affect
culture? Is it ‘Americanization’?
• “It does not make sense to talk of a world of 6
billion people becoming a monoculture. The spread
of globalization will undoubtedly bring changes to
the countries it reaches, but change is an essential
part of life. It does not mean the abolition of
traditional values. Indeed, new global media, such
as the internet, have proven a powerful means of
projecting traditional culture (and the culture of
radical opponents of globalization).”
What are the environmental
impacts of globalization?
• “Integration in the world economy contributes to
environmental improvements by promoting
growth, increasing incomes, improving property
rights and the allowing the efficient use of
resources. The major cause of environmental
damage is market failure. Market failure is when
those who are producing or consuming goods
or services do not have to bear the full costs of
their actions, such as the cost of pollution. The
remedy is to make the polluter pay.”
What are the environmental
impacts of globalizations?
• “One of the drivers of globalization is that
transnational companies want to place
environmentally degrading industries in countries
that do not have adequate environmental controls.
Resource industries such as forestry, mining and
fisheries exploit the resources of poor countries
with little regard to either the long term cost to the
country in terms of the loss of a national resource,
or to the environment.”
Is globalization resulting in industries in
developed countries being undermined by
industries in developing countries with
inferior labor standards?
• “Globalization results in the exploitation of millions of
workers in countries that do not give workers rights to
organize. For example, a woman who sows a $200 Liz
Claiborne jacket sown in El Salvador is paid just 74 cents
– less than half of one per cent. In the US, the labor cost
to sew a garment is typically 10 per cent of the retail price.
Workers in poor countries may have to work 12 hours a
day, seven days a week with few protections for health
and safety. In some countries, globalization leads the
exploitation of child, and prison labor.”
Is globalization resulting in industries in
developed countries being undermined by
industries in developing countries with
inferior labor standards?
• “The growth in trade between nations has
contributed to lifting 3 billion people out of poverty
over the past 50 years. Reducing tariff barriers,
which makes it easier for nations to trade with
each other, lifts the wealth of all nations by
allowing them to concentrate on those where they
have greatest expertise.”
So……….
• Is globalization good or bad?