Advocates See That Globalization
|
Critics See That Globalization
|
• Creates growth, spreads prosperity, and increases opportunity—note emerging market economies .
|
• Does not result in promised levels of growth.
|
• Promotes equality. Competition will ensure that the U.S. does not remain the world’s only superpower—is creating a new world economic profile, in which India, Korea, Brazil, China, perhaps Russia replace Japan, Germany, France …; free trade is defined as the absence of discrimination (against foreign suppliers or buyers).
|
• Concentrates power and wealth in fewer and fewer hands—debt avoidance and relief, global tax evasion by the most wealthy.
|
• Maximizes income and develops infrastructure, resulting in better lifestyles—everyone gains, on average, though some gain more than others.
|
• Promotes inequality and poverty, especially in developing countries: “haves” benefit more than “have nots,” salaries and dividends grow more than wages, unemployment is exacerbated.
|
• Spurs an increase in productivity and efficiency, overcoming complacency. The U.S. had 20+ years of low productivity gains followed by a rapid 3-fold increase—half of these productivity gains are linked to globalization. Globalized companies are 10-20% more productive than domestic only companies and enjoy 2-4% higher sales growth.
|
• Undermines democracy, both nationally and internationally—disproportionate corporate influence on the rule-making process.
|
• Creates jobs by creating new industries (IT).
|
• Ruins the environment—changes the climate, results in habitat and species loss, depletes resources with inadequate compensation to residents.
|
|
|
• Disregards human and worker rights, especially those of indigenous populations.
|
• Increases the choices available to individuals, groups and countries.
|
• Encourages market failure, regulatory imbalance, and financial market volatility.
|
• Lowers prices—the globalization of IT/hardware, for example, resulted in 10%-30% cut in prices beyond those due to technological advances.
|
• Homogenizes (westernizes or Americanizes) the world, squeezing out cultural diversity and policy autonomy, eroding community values.
|
• Promotes best-practice worldwide.
|
• Requires macroeconommic austerity, privatization, and a laissez-faire approach to economics—the “Washington .Consensus” conditionality.
|
• Requires high-level skills, rapid skill improvement, and flexibility, thus it encourages education.
|
• Focuses on large infrastructure projects prone to corruption, indebtedness and environmental degradation.
|
• Can suppress terrorist financing and support reconstruction efforts.
|
• Does not result in promised levels of growth.
|
• Ensures technological development.
|
• Imposes expensive health, safety and environmental standards on developing economies.
|
• Has been the dominant force for change in international affairs for the past 50 years.
|
• Promotes secularism and “wasteful diversity”—excessive variety and provision of luxury.
|
• Increases economic “fitness” and results in economies of scale.
|
• Mortgages the future to reward those living now.
|
