Lately, the world is becoming more and more interconnected. People around the globe are more connected to each other than ever before. Information and money flow more quickly than ever. Goods and services produced in one part of the world are increasingly available in all parts of the world. We live in a world where the relationship between the economy, international trade, culture, politics between humans across the planet is growing. However, we also live in a world where the minority of humans have almost everything, and the majority of humans have nothing. This world has produced lots of greedy people that care more for materialistic possessions than the rights and well-being of other people. “… 1.3 billion people living less than a dollar a day. Three billion people, or half of the population of the world, live on less than two dollars a day. Yet this same planet is experiencing unprecedented economic growth.” (Bigelow & Peterson 9) A big reason why this is happening is because of economic globalization. Globalization refers to increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid increase in cross-border movement of goods, service, technology and capital. Globalization affects everyone in many ways. It affects the food we eat, the cars we drive, and the devices we use. It has sparked controversy and injustice all over the world. “The general complaint about globalization is that it has made the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer. It is wonderful for managers and investors, but hell on workers and nature.” (The Cons of Globalization 2004) Globalization has two perpectives on the issue. The people who benefit from it say it’s a good thing, and the people who do not say that it is bad.
When people refer and talk about globalization they usually talk about the economic impact of globalization. However, along with the economic globalization, other types of globalization have sparked. It has not only impacted the world economically, but also socially, culturally, and politically. Out of all of these, the economic side is the one who has been the most affected. “In 1960 the poorest 20% of the world’s population had just 2.3% of the wealth of the world. Today this has shrunk to just barely 1%.” This shows how much globalization has impacted the world economically during the last sixty years. A lot of companies are seeking for new markets and opportunities for cheap production, in countries with low wages and soft environmental regulations. Big companies that want more products done cheaply look for countries in South America, Africa, and Asia, where they pay barely pay the workers and exploit them. In the economic globalization, the dominating country is the western culture. As a consequence, it has destroyed cultural diversity because of the distribution of western music, products, and customs. We can see across the world the popularity in American music and western culture. One example is the country of Fiji. Before 1995, big was beautiful and bigger was even more beautiful among women. Women complimented other women because they had a lot of weight. However, western television came to Fiji and symbolically gave them a slap to the face. The Fijians saw the women there and decided to assimilate to western culture. Within 38 months, a survey was conducted and 74% of Fiji teens in the study said that they felt “too big or too fat.” (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, & Walters 2010) This shows the consequence of globalization and how countries diminish their culture to assimilate to the dominant western culture. The act of western TV coming to Fiji was a result of economic globalization, which impacted the country culturally as well.
The issue that I chose for the fire project was Capitalism. “Capitalism, also known as the free-enterprise or free-market system, is the economic structure that permits people to use their private property however they see fit, with minimal interference from the government… Globalization refers to the worldwide phenomenon of increased technological, economic, and cultural interconnectedness between nations. It is essentially capitalism on a global, rather than a national, scale.” (Murphy 2007) Globalization is based on capitalism, so it is extremely connected and similar to my issue. One example the globalization is connected to my issue is the gap between the rich and the poor. In United States capitalism, the rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer, and the same is happening in the world because of globalization. According to the Census Bureau there are approximately 311,591,917 people living in the country. The average income per family of 90% of Americans is $31,244. 280,432,725 people make up 90% of the population in the United States. The average income per family of 0.01% of Americans is $27,342,212. This means that 30,000 Americans earn that average yearly income. This shows the huge income gap between 90% of Americans and the other 10%. As already said in the first paragraph, the poorest 20% of the world’s population own 1% of the world’s wealth. Globalization is capitalism. Capitalism, as a result, promotes economic inequality because it’s a system based on the haves and have-nots. Yes, capitalism has made people richer and has benefited the country in so many ways. However, it has caused a lot more people to suffer economically. In China, economic globalization has enabled 500 million people to leave extreme poverty. On the other hand, there are whole regions who are suffering more than they are benefiting, which is the case in many other countries, like Sub-Saharan countries. Globalization and capitalism have everything in common, and they also have more costs than benefits socially, economically and politically.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. It’s a system meant to keep peace between nations, and to allow disputes to be handled constructively. However, it only serves the interests of multinational corporations; it tramples over labor and human rights, the cause of the exploitation of the environment and people. Also, it’s undemocratic. If the WTO served the 155 countries that consist of it, and not only the elite western countries, then globalization wouldn’t be as bad as it is now. There should be a system that helps to make trade easier, keep peace, and help the countries in need. Trade shouldn’t be private and free from a superior system, there should be a non-corrupt system running it. If this happens then trade would be legitimate and more countries would prosper and everyone would get a share of the world’s wealth. The United States are a big influence on the world’s economy. If a system puts the in place and regulate them, then it would also impact the economy in the United States. No more companies would move to third world countries and exploit the workers and environment. The solution to the downsides of globalization and capitalism is for a system to put order and regulation, and not favor only elite countries.
When people refer and talk about globalization they usually talk about the economic impact of globalization. However, along with the economic globalization, other types of globalization have sparked. It has not only impacted the world economically, but also socially, culturally, and politically. Out of all of these, the economic side is the one who has been the most affected. “In 1960 the poorest 20% of the world’s population had just 2.3% of the wealth of the world. Today this has shrunk to just barely 1%.” This shows how much globalization has impacted the world economically during the last sixty years. A lot of companies are seeking for new markets and opportunities for cheap production, in countries with low wages and soft environmental regulations. Big companies that want more products done cheaply look for countries in South America, Africa, and Asia, where they pay barely pay the workers and exploit them. In the economic globalization, the dominating country is the western culture. As a consequence, it has destroyed cultural diversity because of the distribution of western music, products, and customs. We can see across the world the popularity in American music and western culture. One example is the country of Fiji. Before 1995, big was beautiful and bigger was even more beautiful among women. Women complimented other women because they had a lot of weight. However, western television came to Fiji and symbolically gave them a slap to the face. The Fijians saw the women there and decided to assimilate to western culture. Within 38 months, a survey was conducted and 74% of Fiji teens in the study said that they felt “too big or too fat.” (Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, & Walters 2010) This shows the consequence of globalization and how countries diminish their culture to assimilate to the dominant western culture. The act of western TV coming to Fiji was a result of economic globalization, which impacted the country culturally as well.
The issue that I chose for the fire project was Capitalism. “Capitalism, also known as the free-enterprise or free-market system, is the economic structure that permits people to use their private property however they see fit, with minimal interference from the government… Globalization refers to the worldwide phenomenon of increased technological, economic, and cultural interconnectedness between nations. It is essentially capitalism on a global, rather than a national, scale.” (Murphy 2007) Globalization is based on capitalism, so it is extremely connected and similar to my issue. One example the globalization is connected to my issue is the gap between the rich and the poor. In United States capitalism, the rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer, and the same is happening in the world because of globalization. According to the Census Bureau there are approximately 311,591,917 people living in the country. The average income per family of 90% of Americans is $31,244. 280,432,725 people make up 90% of the population in the United States. The average income per family of 0.01% of Americans is $27,342,212. This means that 30,000 Americans earn that average yearly income. This shows the huge income gap between 90% of Americans and the other 10%. As already said in the first paragraph, the poorest 20% of the world’s population own 1% of the world’s wealth. Globalization is capitalism. Capitalism, as a result, promotes economic inequality because it’s a system based on the haves and have-nots. Yes, capitalism has made people richer and has benefited the country in so many ways. However, it has caused a lot more people to suffer economically. In China, economic globalization has enabled 500 million people to leave extreme poverty. On the other hand, there are whole regions who are suffering more than they are benefiting, which is the case in many other countries, like Sub-Saharan countries. Globalization and capitalism have everything in common, and they also have more costs than benefits socially, economically and politically.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. It’s a system meant to keep peace between nations, and to allow disputes to be handled constructively. However, it only serves the interests of multinational corporations; it tramples over labor and human rights, the cause of the exploitation of the environment and people. Also, it’s undemocratic. If the WTO served the 155 countries that consist of it, and not only the elite western countries, then globalization wouldn’t be as bad as it is now. There should be a system that helps to make trade easier, keep peace, and help the countries in need. Trade shouldn’t be private and free from a superior system, there should be a non-corrupt system running it. If this happens then trade would be legitimate and more countries would prosper and everyone would get a share of the world’s wealth. The United States are a big influence on the world’s economy. If a system puts the in place and regulate them, then it would also impact the economy in the United States. No more companies would move to third world countries and exploit the workers and environment. The solution to the downsides of globalization and capitalism is for a system to put order and regulation, and not favor only elite countries.