The Debate over Globalization: A Brief Overview
Reports about globalization, and the debate surrounding it, appear in the media almost every day. Even more important, globalization affects our everyday lives. For example, the clothes we wear are usually produced in other countries, while music by U.S. artists is heard by people in other countries, too. Some terrorist organizations have their own global networks. These are only a few examples of the how people in the United States are increasingly connected to people and countries around the world. Other examples can be seen when an American company hires workers in India to handle its technology support program, or in the proliferation and rising prominence of international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund, which were founded to deal with global problems including peace and security, economic growth and development, the environment, health, and international trade.
What is globalization, exactly? Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz defined globalization as “the closer integration of the countries and peoples of the world which has been brought about by the enormous reduction of costs of transportation and communication, and the breaking down of artificial barriers to the flows of goods, services, capital, knowledge, and (to a lesser extent) people across borders.” Over the past 50 years, the exponential growth of technology–primarily computer and communication technologies–has improved the ability of people and firms in all countries to access knowledge and to build links with people and firms in other parts of the world. Computers and other technologies have also reduced transportation costs, making it less expensive to import or export goods and services. This has led to dramatic increases in international trade and improved standards of living for millions of people.
Despite that, there are outspoken opponents of globalization. One key issue that divides supporters and opponents of globalization is the role it plays in causing or curing global poverty. Advocates of globalization want to continue to increase international trade and reduce trade barriers, such as tariffs and quotas, because they believe that offers a better chance for promoting economic growth in the developing nations of the world. Opponents claim that, instead, international trade and free markets have been a major cause of increased poverty and growing income inequality in developing nations. Here are two quotations that characterize this part of the debate:
"Globalization, then, is growth-promoting. Growth, in turn, reduces poverty. ... the liberalization of international transactions is good for freedom and prosperity. The anti-liberal critique is wrong: marginalization is in large part caused by not enough rather than too much globalization." (Dr. Razeen Sally, London School of Economics)
"While globalization has led to benefits for some, it has not led to benefits for all. The benefits appear to have gone to those who already have the most, while many of the poorest have failed to benefit fully and some have even been made poorer." (Duncan Green, Policy Analyst at the Catholic Aid Agency for England and Wales; and Claire Melamed, Head of Trade Policy, Christian Aid)