Globalization - winners and losers
Uploaded by hollyn on Jan 05, 2002
Despite the views of many optimists, there are clearly losers as well as winners from the process of globalization.' Evaluate this statement.
The statement at the head of the page assumes that Globalization creates both winners and losers. This is a view shared by many, but not all, theorists and commentators. There are many trends of thought regarding exactly who the winners and losers may be as well as what may be considered a prize or a punishment (e.g. some may sight the availability of McDonalds fast food throughout France an enrichment and some may see it as an unwelcome and unsavoury invasion.) Comparison between these opinions paints an interesting picture of what Globalization is, what certain parties want it to be seen as and what kind of world it could create. Anthony Giddens says “Globalization, some argue, creates a world of winners and losers, a few on the fast track to prosperity, the majority condemned to a life of misery and despair.” This is a view shared by many theorists, however positive Globalists (perhaps naively) claim Globalization will lead to winnings for all and extreme pessimists exist who see ‘Globalization’ as the path to mass ruin and exploitation and as a vague buzzword umbrella from under which Governments may defend unjast or unpopular policies.
The other query I would raise when initially evaluating the statement is what exactly we mean by a ‘process of Globalization’ and does it mean the same thing to different people? The statement assumes there I a defined and universally accepted reading of the term and yet there are many differing views as to what ‘Globalization’ entails. ‘Globalization’ is a process said to affect several different aspects of the social world, mainly economics both global and local, global and local politics and global and local culture.
There are various definitions of what ‘Globalization’ is, and the effect it has on the world. Globalists believe Globalization is a real and evident process. They argue that examples of a significant shift in the geography of social relations can be seen in terms of economics, culture and politics. For example the recent effects that the US economy’s down turn had on the share prices of British companies who trade and deal largely within US markets. We can see that international trade and investment has increased in recent years...