
May 27, 2021 · 0 Comments
By Jasen Obermeyer
It’s hard to imagine a world without globalization.
And that’s very unfortunate.
Globalization isn’t a new thing; it’s starting point could be argued as the beginning of European settlers to the New World. Or the rise and longevity of the British Empire, or the Silk Road. What we’ve known as globalization began during the 17th century with the Industrial Revolution, and ever since it’s been accelerating with every advancement in transportation and communication technology, in particular the World Trade Organization.
As globalization increases, so do its problems.
Before I continue, not every aspect of globalization is bad. Because of this, we can communicate with others across the world, easily embrace a different culture, access a wealth of knowledge, help others out, and more.But it’s the cons of globalization, which are the dominant aspects, that scares me.
The world seems smaller now, but just as daunting and scary to navigate.
Despite it opening international trade and global markets, the divide between First and Third World countries has only gotten bigger. It’s the 21st Century and many countries still lack basic necessities like education and clean drinking water. Power is unequally distributed, the tentacles of monopolization reaching every corner of the world.
It’s either go big or stay home. The middle class is nearly extinct. It’s way more difficult for small businesses and entrepreneurs to get in, and harder to stay and make a sustainable living.
Though it’s great to access other country’s resources through multi-national corporations, that access has a price. And it’s the exploitation of its citizens, with cheap, or outright slave labour, social injustice and poor working conditions ravaging poor countries like a plague.
And all this access has led to a further increase in supply and demand, leading to heavy outsourcing, a loss of domestic jobs, and a sharp decline in the quality of those products and resources. The only thing going up is unemployment.
Not only are country’s resources and citizens exploited, but so are their cultures and way of life, especially in entertainment consumption. The methods may be different, but the results are the same.
Though it’s great there’s McDonald’s in Beijing, and being able to get Sushi in Toronto, the problems include the so-called “American Imperialism,” the westernization of Native Americans, the increasing Chinese influence, and more.
This exploitation leads to wars and extreme xenophobia, like the Boxer Rebellion, 9/11, or conflicts in the Middle East.
Global warming, pollution, and the destruction of natural environments like the Amazon rainforest, are all because of globalization, to keep feeding the unceasing hungry machine.
In politics, globalization has heavily blurred the line between foreign and domestic policy. Is there much of a difference between a politician and businessman now? This international power and influence leads to further wars and trade battles, because what matters “over there” – wherever over there is – matters over here.
And it shouldn’t. A country shouldn’t be entirely reliant on other nations to function. But nor should we go back to isolationist doctrines like pre-World War One America, or the Japanese Sakoku policy.
Need more reasons? How about the Great Depression and the Great Recession? When one cog breaks, the entire machine shatters. The world shouldn’t have to pay for the mistakes or failures of one or a few countries.
Globalization should be the icing on the cake, not the actual cake.
Because of this connectivity, it means it never stops. It’s a never-ending avalanche, or a tidal wave, and all you can do is struggle to stay on top.
Many of us work longer and unstable hours now, because of globalization, your company demands it. That supply and demand needs to be met and if not, if it’s off a bit or missed by a second, that’s the end of the world. But it’s not.
Covid has shown how too reliant we are on others, how too much connectivity isn’t good for us. And how we must pull back or push forward in certain aspects and take a break. We all need that. You don’t owe the world – however big or small – anything.
Nothing is perfect, and globalization certainly isn’t. Whatever solutions it comes with there will always be problems right behind. But it’s the usage of those problems that make globalization complicated.
We can’t stop globalization now, but maybe how it’s used can be. For the betterment of our future, we must find ways to make that avalanche a little less hard when it hits. Make those theories into practice actually feasible, the machine easier to handle. and truly achieve what it set out to do.