Realities of Globalization: Theory and Vision

“What is called ‘globalization’ is really another name for the dominant role of the United States.”

— Dr. Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, from his lecture “Globalization and World Order,” Trinity College, Dublin, October 12, 1999.

 

From the AP PhotoArchives

Credits:Coca Cola CanBy Ric Feld

Michael JordanBy Michael Conroy

MadonnaBy Andrew Medichini

Marlboro BillboardBy Microsoft Corp.

Anthrax DrugsBy Kevin Frayer

B-2 BomberAP PhotoArchives

How much waste is in 500 million computers?Plastics 6.32 Billion PoundsLead 1.58 Billion PoundsCadmium 3 Million PoundsChromium 1.9 Million PoundsMercury 632,000 Pounds

Map depicting the location of Guiyu in the Chaozhou region of Guangdong Province. Most of the waste arrives by sea-going containers via ships at the port of Nanhai. ©BAN

Competing Theories of Globalization

Neoliberalism

commercial trade guided by “free” market forces (comparative advantage) reduction of trade restrictions (tariffs, quotas, quality standards) multilateral agreements (NAFTA) privatization of State-Owned, public sector enterprises (Chinese Railroad)

withdrawal of public/state intervention in commodity production such as

corporate tax and consumer subsidies (corn price supports for Mexican tortillas) nurture Liberal-Democratic national institutions (competitive political party

system) encourages supranational coordination of global trade/development policies

through international institutions such as International Monetary Fund (IMF),

World Trade Organization (WTO), and World Bank intense competition for Foreign Investment emphasis on aggregate income growth. Social inequality is perceived as a necessary and temporary condition that will

be ameliorated over time with maturation of democratic political institutions

and

economic development policies.

Neoliberal Performance Measures

• Gross Domestic Product• Gross Domestic Product per Capita• Commercial Trade Growth (cash not barter)• Growth of Export Sector (hard currency)• Inflation Rate• Currency Exchange Stability• Percentage of Urban Population• Electricity Consumption• Unemployment Rates

“The rising tide of the global economy will create many economic winners, but it will not lift all boats… [It will] spark conflicts at home and abroad…[Its] evolution will be rocky, marked by chronic financial volatility and a widening economic divide. [Those] left behind will face deepening economic stagnation, political instability and cultural alienation. They will foster political, ethnic, ideological and religious extremism, along with the violence that often accompanies it.”

– Quoted from an unclassified report by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 1997. 

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Promotes societal or national development that emphasizes the satisfaction of Basic Human Needs over economic growth within individual countries.

Focus on Quality of Life that balances economic growth with such political measures as - civil liberties (Human Rights, democratic institutions), - social equality (reduce race and gender discrimination), - basic labor (work conditions, employment, unions) and

environmental standards (toxic waste disposal)- equitable distribution of economic growth (household

income and wealth). Challenges Neoliberal assumption that economic growth is

linked with political democracy (civil liberties) and higher household incomes that substantially

improve living standards over time.

Social Development Theory Performance Measures

• Literacy Rates

• Infant Mortality

• Life Expectancy

• Educational Attainment/ Teachers per 1000 students

• Hours worked per week• Empowerment of Women (participation in paid labor activities)

• Medical Care/Doctors per 1000 inhabitants

• Consumed Calories per Week

• Political Freedom (assassination of journalists)

• Environmental Standards (water quality, access to sanitary waste

disposal)

• Income Distribution

• Employment Rates