FREE ESSAY ON "GLOBALIZATION: MYTH, REALITY, PROBLEMS"

"GLOBALIZATION: MYTH, REALITY, PROBLEMS"

"Globalization: Myth, reality, problems", America; New York; Feb 19, 2000; by Victor
Ferkiss. Examining the reasons of why globalization is the enemy of democracy.
Demonstrations against WTO (World Trade Organization) suggest that nations need to
reclaim their freedom from external control by controlling cross-country negotiations. 
A demonstration like no other in Seattle last fall had two results. It paused the World
Trade Organization and reintroduced the issue of globalization to the political scene.
America today has a very healthy economy. Very low unemployment rates. Stock markets
soaring with new highs nearly every day. Although many economist are arguing contrarily
to what's factual. Some economist believe that our economy is entering a new stage of
Capitalism where the old rules no longer apply. Economist believe that this new stage of
globalization of all nations is increasingly being nurtured by the computer and above all
by the Internet. 
Global political and economic mutual action is a new topic. As far as the 15th century,
countries combined and made worldwide empires in which almost everything flowed smoothly.
In the 1900's the percentage of foreign born in the US was 14% compared to what it is
today at only 8%. Most of American growth was financed by Europeans and unpaid loans were
plenty. 
Today the prospects of globalization are far from reality. The recent World Trade
Organization can vouch for that due to their un-collaborating disputes. For example, the
war between the US and Europe over genetically enhanced resources is a long time issue
that hasn't been resolved. To get down on a cultural level, many local cultures are in
opposition to American domination. 
In times of war the economy was torn apart but after war there was a sudden urge of
self-sufficiency aided by the President. It seemed to have a momentum of it's own. It
reintroduced the fact that globalization is not new and that it's far from irresistible.
Could globalization be desirable? Perhaps, as most critics argue that it is a re-run of
earlier control by one power, with the US being the one overwhelming power and the
internet being the instrument of choice. For many nations there is high costs to join
world economy and as for local economies, they are torn by the changes of international
markets. Globalization is an enemy of democracy, mostly in underdeveloped nations. No
matter who the nation elects to power, they will always be helpless under the ruling
principle of the international marketplace. 
The free market is un-stabilizing both economically and socially. a primary negative
result of globalization has been to increase disparity of distribution, both on a world
scale and within nations. There are rising inequalities throughout countries, among firms
and among individuals. The inequalities are even more obtrusive internationally.
Globalization is sealing the gap between rich and poor nations and increasing American
domination of the world's economic and cultural markets. There are statistics that show
that in 1985 the average income for each person in the richest country was 76 times that
of the poorest and in 1997 it was 228 times greater. In Seattle there have been critics
that have argued that highly paid workers are being concerned exclusively with themselves
to object the attempt of workers in poor nations to better their work conditions. Yet
workers in developing nations really don't have that choice as how they work and really
have no intentions to challenge their work conditions.
Other bad results of globalization is that economic growth has always interfered with the
environment. Soon economic growth will make environmental protections possible yet there
is a race between protection and growth. Plagues have also accompanied globalization by
its speed of travel. Makes bacteria and viruses much more likely to travel from nation to
nation. Introducing them to new nations through the ease of transportation brought by
globalization. 
Terrorism also affects the world and has created the greatest problem of nations losing
the ability to control their own matters in the vast global economy. 
With in this large world economy, nations have a long way to go before a global economy
can be achieved. To support it we need a global society. Countries in Europe are working
toward that step by merging national economies into a larger European Union. The World
Trade Organization have already set the issues on the table, I believe it marks the
beginning to work toward solutions to correcting all these problems within nations and
within our own country if they can ever collaborate and do their jobs.