On Friday, 1st -February-2013, we had a tutorial class with Mr.Britto. We discussed about globalization and its effects on various aspects.
From what we shared , i can define globalization as the process of international integration ,arising from the interchange of world views , products and other aspects. In particular, advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the internet , are major factors in globalization, and precipitate interdependence of economic and cultural activities.
The major aspects under globalization are; the economic aspect, trade and transaction , the political aspect, social and cultural aspect, and the environmental aspect. All these frames are both positively and negatively affected by globalization. Some of it’s effects can be seen below.
One positive effect of globalization is that it can help the economies of developing countries. This is due to the global nature of the market. In the 1800s, it would not have been feasible to manufacture goods in China, then ship them across the Pacific in a sailboat. This meant that no matter how well the American economy was doing, the Chinese economy could not benefit from this as the two nations were too far apart. With globalization, though, developing countries are able to make goods and sell them to developed countries, which in turn helps the developing countries create more wealth by bringing in money from overseas. In this, we also see a lot of investments, industrialization, open competition, open boarders among others. But all these also have negative effects in one way or the other.
While developing countries gain jobs and foreign money as a result of globalization, the converse happens to developed countries. Manufacturing jobs, for example, have been dramatically cut in the U.S. and Canada as a result of globalization. This means that while developing countries’ citizens have more opportunities, this comes at the expense of developed countries’ labor markets.
Globalization has contributed to unemployment because of what is referred to as “labor fragmentation.” In other words, globalization brings about the interconnectedness of economies, which has contributed to the current global economic crisis. Even the current crisis in the euro zone affects most other countries. In a sense, “globalization spreads instability.”
Globalization is benefiting developed economies. He views this in light of “brain drain,” whereby improved transport and communication networks between countries have made it easier for developed economies to attract professionals from developing economies, thereby “leaving behind people who do not have the necessary innovative and entrepreneurial skills” to take developing countries forward.
The exchange of information has made cultural barriers less distinct. More people are watching the same TV, listening to the same music and reading the same books than in the past. This makes people less different from one another, which in turn makes it easier for people from different cultures to empathize each other.
While cultures are becoming less distinct, this is not necessarily an equitable shift. Rather, it is an increase in the influence of wealthier Western cultures at the expense of other cultures. This means that cultural globalization is really a matter of Westernization, with more people speaking English and following American ideals. While cultural distinctions are eroding, they are also being consumed, which is a negative effect of globalization. Also other areas like health, sports, international tourism ,among others, are all affected.
Globalization has had a positive impact on the environment to some extent but there are still some crucial negative impacts of globalization in play. The negative impacts are mainly export-orientated destruction on the environment whilst the positive impacts are increase awareness and multinational corporations’ research into Eco-friendly technology. The main positive impact that globalization has on the environment are that there is improvements in the use of resources and awareness and that due to globalization research is being conducted that creates greener technology.Globalization has assisted in improving the use of resources and saving the environment by promoting growth through development, improving education and incomes.The main negative impact of globalisation on the environment is the impact of export-orientated destruction. The overuse of natural resources due to increased demand and also the removal of ecosystems due to population growth have had a large negative impact on the environment. Globalization has also had a negative impact on the environment through global warming which is due to greenhouse gas emissions which are caused by a growth of industrialisation in the developing world and by a heavy reliance on fossil fuels.
In conclusion , among all aspects, i realized that the environment is highly negatively affected by globalization, but there is still a lot to discover as this topic is concerned.
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