Debates about Globalisation Flashcards
key debate between the different viewpoints of globalisation
the various viewpoints of globalisation differ in their belief about the impact of globalisation, including its advantages and disadvantages
hyperglobalisers and liberals argue that globalisation is a win-win and that everyone is able to benefit from it
they argue that global markets bring trade, prosperity, lower prices for consumers, peace, democracy and human rights
however, critics of globalisation, including global sceptics and realists, believe that it favours the rich, the West, the USA and TNCs at the expense of the poor, working people, developing countries, the environment, democracy and national identity and culture
impact of globalisation on the nation state and national sovereignty
the state has been central to the international system for years but many argue that the state can no longer be realistically considered sovereign due to globalisation
while the state still has legal sovereignty and theoretical sovereignty, the realities of the 21st-century suggest that states are essentially impotent and powerless in the face of global and regional challenges
states are increasingly being considered as ‘post sovereign’, meaning they no longer have the ability to actually exercise their sovereignty
they may wish to exercise absolute and unlimited power within their territory and externally within the international system but in reality, they cannot achieve their goals
liberal and realist views of the impact of globalisation on the nation state and national sovereignty
liberals argue that the state is not sovereign
they argue that due to the creation of a single global economy, states are no longer the sovereign bodies they used to be
states are deeply affected by global economic winds and no state can isolate itself from global economic challenges
there is an increasing trend for decisions affecting states to be taken at global and regional levels, such as in the UN, the IMF and the EU — decisions about economics, trade and the environment are taken at these institutions, rendering the nation state a less significant actor and reducing its sovereignty
decisions taken by the European Court of Human Rights and the World Trade Organisation can also impact sovereignty
however, realists believe that the decline of the state is exaggerated and that states are still the major actors in the global system
case study into the impact of globalisation on the nation state and national sovereignty
CASE STUDY: THE 2007/08 GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
the crisis began in the USA, where mortgage lenders faced difficulties in the sub-prime mortgage market because risky loans were not being paid back
these bad debts were packaged and sold on in complex financial products to banks around the world, which had then taken on these risks themselves
the ensuing uncertainty in the global banking system led to a credit crunch, with banks refusing to do business with each other
what started out as homeowners in the USA unable to meet their mortgage payments almost led to a global financial collapse that no state could isolate itself from
this demonstrates that the world is deeply interconnected
globalisation and contemporary issues
globalisation involves a shrinking, more interconnected and interdependent world, meaning that issues like poverty, conflict, human rights and the environment are increasingly shared issues
for example, poverty in sub-Saharan Africa leads to the movement of people to Europe, mass migration like this causes tension and ensuing inequality and resentment can inspire terrorism and lead to conflict
conflict and war in one country or region can easily spill over into neighbouring countries
how does globalisation affect poverty?
some argue that globalisation has caused poverty
with the transfer of jobs to low-cost countries, such as outsourcing call centres to India or producing clothes in the Far East away from Europe and the USA, unemployment can occur in countries that lose these industries
likewise, the opening up of developing markets to Western competition can kill off local companies
the theory of comparative advantage can condemn developing nations to remain focused on the primary sector such as crop production, thus limiting their economic growth
however, there is considerable evidence that globalisation is lifting countries and people out of poverty — those countries that have opened themselves up to trade in recent decades have seen economic growth and the improvement of living standards
while not all citizens benefit equally, there have been positive changes due to globalisation
how does globalisation affect conflict?
poverty, inequality and fear caused by globalisation can lead to conflict
conflict and tension arises as western states do not want to lose the considerable advantages they already have, but developing nations do not want to be deprived of the gains of globalisation and growth that they think they have earned and are entitled to
around the world, nationalism (which has a tendency to blame others for a nation’s misfortunes) has been rising due to the perceived threat of globalisation
nationalism is a well-known threat to peace and conflicts have a habit of spreading
this has been the case in Syria where the civil war has led to increased regional tensions involving Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran
millions of refugees have been forced to leave their homes and flee to Europe or neighbouring countries, which has contributed to the migration crisis in Europe
this migration crisis in itself has led to serious tensions and conflicts within Europe
how does globalisation affect human rights?
the humanitarian plight of Syrian refugees and the human rights abuses they have suffered in the civil war have caught the attention of many
however, the inability to protect these people has also damaged the reputation of the international community and its organisations
how does globalisation affect the environment?
climate change is a significant challenge for humankind and one which no state can solve by themselves
as people in developing nations start to consume at the levels of western citizens, a tremendous strain is being placed on the world’s resources
food and meat production, fish for human consumption, oil, coal and gas extraction, CO2 omissions into the environment and pollution in the air, land and sea are some of the challenges facing the environment
arguably, globalisation has increased these challenges
although, globalisation has also led to the development of international institutions and agreements to tackle such environmental issues
economic globalisation promotes prosperity and opportunity for all
THE MARKET IS THE ONLY RELIABLE MEANS OF GENERATING WEALTH FOR ALL
economic liberals argue that the market is the only reliable means of generating wealth and the surest guarantee of prosperity and economic opportunity
competition and the profit motive provide incentives for work and enterprise and allocate resources to their most profitable use
the transborder expansion of market economics is a way of ensuring that people in all countries can benefit from the wider prosperity and expanded opportunities that only capitalism can bring
the world is becoming flatter as globalisation has levelled the competition playing field between advanced industrial and emerging economies
economic globalisation promotes prosperity and opportunity for all
EMERGENCE OF NICS
the rise of newly industrialising countries (NICs) are a key illustration of the benefits of globalisation
NICs have based their development on a strategic engagement with the global economy, rather than any attempt to opt out of it
China is the most notable example of how an NIC can make globalisation work for its benefit — by Chinese calculations of poverty, which are based on the amount of food needed to sustain a human being, absolute poverty fell from 250 million at the start of its reform process in 1978 to 28 million in 2001
the World Bank accepts that China has brought about the most spectacular reduction of poverty in human history and the UN acknowledged in 2008 that China had already achieved the key Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people in extreme poverty by 2015
states such as India, Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia and the East Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) have adopted similar strategies
economic globalisation promotes prosperity and opportunity for all
BENEFITS OF SPECIALISATION
international trade benefits countries because it allows each country to specialise in the production of the goods and services that is best suited to produce — this is known as the comparative advantage
free trade therefore draws economic resources at the international level to their most profitable use and so delivers greater prosperity for all
specialisation also enables production to be carried out on a larger scale and therefore offers the prospect of great efficiency
for instance, economies of scale can be gained through the greater use of the division of labour, the ability to buy raw materials or components more cheaply and the lower cost of overheads
in addition, consumers benefit from this because they have a wider choice of goods, including foreign produced goods as well as domestically produced goods — more intense competition, particularly from more efficient and low-cost producers, also tends to keep prices down
as international trade allows countries to specialise in the production of goods or services in which they have a comparative advantage, it makes the rich richer but also makes the poor less poor
economic globalisation promotes prosperity and opportunity for all
EVERYONE IS A WINNER
everyone is a winner in economic globalisation
although it makes the rich richer, it also makes the poor less poor because international trade allows countries to specialise in the production of goods or services in which they have a comparative advantage
similarly, transnational production is a force for good — TNCs spread wealth, widen employment opportunities and improve access to modern technology in the developing world, helping to explain why developing world governments are usually so keen to attract inward investment
economic globalisation is therefore the most reliable means of reducing poverty
economic globalisation promotes prosperity and opportunity for all
ECONOMIC FREEDOM PROMOTES OTHER FREEDOMS
economic globalisation does not just make societies richer, an open market based economy also brings social and political benefits
social mobility increases as people are able to take advantage of wider working, career and educational opportunities
the despotism of custom and tradition is weakened as individualism and self expression a given wider rein
economic globalisation is also linked to democratisation, the two processes coinciding very clearly in the 1990s — this because people who enjoy wider economic and social opportunities soon demand greater opportunities for political participation, particularly through the introduction of multi-party elections
economic globalisation does not promote prosperity and opportunity for all
DEEPENING OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY
critics of globalisation have drawn attention to the emergence of new and deeply entrenched patterns of inequality
they argue that the winners of globalisation are TNCs and industrially advanced states, particularly the USA, while the losers are in the developing world where wages are low, regulation is weak or non-existent and production is increasingly orientated around global markets rather than domestic needs
by being forced to serve the needs of the world economy, developing countries are locked into the production of food and raw materials, thereby preventing them from making further economic progress
similarly, the advance of globalisation has been associated with growing rural poverty — rural areas account for 3/4 of the people living on less than one dollar a day
this occurs largely because pressures from the global economy have massively disrupted agricultural practices in the developing world, encouraging peasant farmers to convert to cash crops, produced for export, and abandon subsistence farming geared to local needs and local communities
economic globalisation does not promote prosperity and opportunity for all
DEEPENING OF POVERTY AND INEQUALITY (continued)
China’s remarkable success in poverty reduction has not been without its costs, including greatly increased pollution, enormous migration shifts through rapid urbanisation, concerns about safety at work and the fracturing of family structures
although Chinese economic reforms since 1978 have substantially boosted average incomes and dramatically reduced absolute poverty, they have also been associated with fast rising income inequality, particularly reflected in the widening of the urban-rural divide
while between-country inequality is diminishing, within-country inequality has generally been growing
Cornia (2003) found that 2/3 of the 73 countries he analysed appeared to have widening within-country inequality rates between 1980 and 2000 — most evident in the USA and the UK, which have most enthusiastically embraced neoliberal economics
income inequality has widened because of financial deregulation, checks on social security spending and cuts in personal and corporate tax levels
