Globalization Studies

Globalization Studies International College KhonKaen University 2011 Week 13 – The Future of Globalization

The Future of Globalization – A Better World? • Many of the critics of globalization have very valid concerns about where globalization is taking us: • Greater inequality • Greater insecurity • Environmental degradation • Loss of cultural diversity • Power shifting from governments to MNCs • Increasing acts of terrorism • Hopes and dreams that may never be met

The Future of Globalization – A Better World? • But we must remember at the same time some incredible achievements of the past 30 years of globalization: • Absolute poverty reduction in unprecedented numbers • Significant improvements in almost every health and mortality indicator • No major conflicts • Rapidly increasing population • Improvements in many areas of human rights

The Future of Globalization – A Better World? • Do the costs associated with globalization outweigh the benefits? • Can we continue to secure the benefits while mitigating/reducing the downsides? • Is economic globalization already in retreat? • Is reforming globalization a matter of • Politics, or • Economics, or • Civil society participation?

The Future of Globalization: Globalization and its Critics • Globalization is a modernizing and destabilizing force that affects the lives of many people in many different ways • Some people will inevitably feel threatened by the change, the uncertainty and the influx of foreign ideas, people and goods • Others see a world of material prosperity that they want, but have little chance of attaining themselves

The Future of Globalization: Globalization and its Critics • Has globalization altered people’s expectations beyond what economic forces can deliver? • Maybe the problem with globalization today is not that it sharpens religious conflicts or class struggles, but that it has not kept its promise • For too many, globalization remains only an elusive image • The poor are not being exploited by globalization – they simply do not have the skills or the opportunity to participate

Globalization and its Critics • The anti-globalization movement is primarily focused on the “globalization of capitalism” – it challenges the justice of economic globalization • But there are at least three other important groups of critics of globalization: • Those who see globalization as the main cause of environmental damage and exploitation • Those who feel threatened by cultural globalization • Those who denounce the Westernization of the world

Critics of Economic Globalization • Three key concerns here: • Issues surrounding the distribution of the benefits of globalization • Concern about the power and influence of multinational corporations • The validity of the argument that prosperity and economic interdependence can help to guarantee peace • Social justice NGOs play an active role in all these areas, highlighting the plight of “victims” of economic globalization

Green Anti-Globalists • See consumerism and conspicuous consumption as key drivers of wastage of resources and global warming • Look to reduce the ecological footprint of people in developed nations, and to discourage people in developing countries from travelling the same destructive path • Again, NGOs are leading the anti-globalization drive with slick advertising campaigns raising awareness of impending disaster

Cultural Anti-Globalists • See globalization as undermining the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity • The fear of cultural homogenization – the “eternal yawn of McWorld” • Governments sometimes try to restrict cultural imports (notably films or internet access) to protect nationalist sentiment

Anti-Western Anti-Globalists • The anti-Western version of anti-globalization is largely rooted in the Islamic world • Islam represents 20% of the world’s population but only 6% of its wealth • These anti-globalists appear to fear the political economy of globalization: economic superiority being used to advance political and human rights agendas such as the equality of women, liberal democracy, Western rather then Koranic law, birth control and materialism

Globalization and its Critics: Naomi Klein • Naomi Klein is a Canadian journalist best known for her criticism of corporate globalization • She doesn’t oppose globalization as a whole – only the unequal aspects of free trade • Her book No Logo criticized the production practices of multinational corporations and the intrusive presence of brand-driven marketing • Another book, Fences and Windows, is about some people being locked out of opportunities while hoping for a better future

Globalization and its Critics: Noam Chomsky • Noam Chomsky is a noted intellectual figure within the left wing of American politics • Has written on many modern issues, but is best known for his claim that MNCs and international banks are the new centers of power in the world • He sees globalization as a form of international economic integration based on investor rights, with the interests of people only incidental

Globalization and its Critics:Amartya Sen • Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for his work on welfare economics • Is known as the “Mother Teresa of Economics” for his contributions on human development theory, famine, the causes of poverty and gender inequality • Had considerable influence in selecting and developing the economic and social indicators used in UNDP’s Human Development Report • His book Development as Freedom argues that development requires policies to improve health and education outcomes, not simply GDP

Globalization and its Critics • Many so-called anti-globalists favor more, not less, globalization • Rather, they object to specific aspects of globalization, particularly the control over aspects of the agenda by developed countries, MNCs and the Western media • Most are strong opponents of both nationalism and of protectionism • Most support global mobility and collective action in areas such as development, the environment and health

The Future of Globalization • In today’s global markets there are, broadly, two distinct groups doing well: • People and countries which are competitive in the knowledge economy • People and countries willing and able to provide low-cost labor for low-skill jobs • The link between these is often multinational corporations, taking advantage of their ability to raise capital, to invest , to produce, to trade and to sell in an increasingly “free” global economy

The Future of Globalization • There is for now a remarkable degree of consensus among both developed and developing countries that economic interconnectedness is the route to prosperity and security • Evidence: the WTO’s membership of 153 and the growing network of regional and bilateral FTAs • Much will depend on how the US and China use their economic and military power to manage their relationships – with each other and with the rest of the world

The Future of Globalization • What is needed is: • a better balance between the interests of rich and poor nations • an economic regime which is not just about monetary values, but also takes account of human values and sustainability values • an economic regime which is not based solely on competition between companies and countries, but which encourages collaboration between countries to maximize global returns (food, jobs, access to health and education)

The Future of Globalization Some specific measures to move us towards a fairer and more sustainable world: • A commitment by developed countries to a fairer trade regime that promotes development • Conclude the Doha Development Round with greater attention to developing country issues (such as labor mobility) and less to developed country issues (investment flows, tariffs on manufactures) • Removal of agricultural subsidies in Europe, the USA, Japan and South Korea • Modify the rules on safeguards and anti-dumping which developed countries use to limit “cheap” imports

The Future of Globalization • Agreement by developed countries to compensate developing countries for their environmental services • A commitment to work collaboratively on global environmental issues – perhaps a uniform “global” tax on carbon emissions • Greater effort by developed countries to fully honor the commitments they made on ODA transfers to poorer countries at Monterrey, in Mexico, in 2002

The Future of Globalization • An extension of the agreement for debt forgiveness made in June 2005 to more least developed countries • Further increases to the voting rights in the IMF and World Bank by developing countries • A new approach to intellectual property so that contributions to innovation and R&D reflect the differing levels of each country’s ability to pay

The Future of Globalization • A global approach to regulating the activities of MNCs, including labor and environmental standards they must observe and the tax rates they pay • Reform of the global reserve system so that individual developing countries do not need to hold separate reserves (and subsidize the US economy in the process) • A commitment to a global reduction in arms expenditure - with verification and sanctions applied by an intergovernmental organization

The Future of Globalization • This 10-point agenda would require national governments to take a holistic view of the world and to place confidence in strengthened intergovernmental organizations • Intergovernmental organizations such as the UN family and the WTO will only be able to operate effectively for as long as both the US and China support their activities

Globalization Studies