What Are the Pros of Globalization?

What are the good sides of the globalization process? Well, there are several. First, it seems that time, space and physical boundaries are more relative than ever. State borders are not as rigid as they used to be. Communication is easier, quicker and allows people from all over the world to be informed about anything that happens on our planet. Traveling is easier and faster. Even those who cannot travel very often can use the Internet to see and hear from people who live on other continents. Goods and merchandise from all over the world are being sold and available in nearly every country.

Cultures, music, arts and lifestyles are mixing, creating universal values and each of them has a great contribution to a global culture and global public spheres that are forming before our very eyes. People are getting more and more familiar to other cultures, foreign values and customs are getting less foreign, and more accepted everywhere. People feel like they all belong to a universal community of man kind. Xenophobia is not an issue anymore and people tend to accept each other easier, regardless of religion, race or political views.

What Are the Cons of Globalization?

Some countries are afraid of losing their own identity and tradition. The main issue here is whether it is possible to harmonize tradition and foreign influences or it is not possible (nor desirable) to let that happen. There were suggestions that various traditions and influences are not mixing at all, but rather being colonized by one or two dominant cultures. Some theorists suggest that this process has a tendency to develop into a cultural, political and economic hegemony over the small countries that do not have enough political and economic influence in international relations. What do you think?

In addition, the countries and regions are getting more interdependent. This interdependence is not only seen in their mutual economic collaboration or competition, but in political affairs as well. What is happening outside the state can strongly affect the internal politics of a state. Economic crisis affect everyone, due to economic interdependence. Global problems also have a huge impact on every region.



"Globalization" is the sort of word where everyone is expected to know what it means, but where few people could offer a clear definition. Globalization is a controversial issue for business and governments throughout the world. We recognize globalization mainly through its effects. It's a bit like electricity - we can not see it, but we certainly observe what it does.  Globalization can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces. It's a movement of people, goods, capital and ideas due to increased economic integration.  Globalization is a controversial issue mainly because different groups interpret it in different ways. For its opponents globalization is a threatening word. It prompts visions of large multinationals dominating the world in pursuit of ever-higher profits. Many pressure groups fear that globalization threatens the environment as well as national cultures - they predict that it will make the rich nations richer and the developing countries even poorer than they are. But its supporters have another point of view. They believe that increasing and freer trade between nations will offer prosperity and economic growth for all countries and businesses. So globalization is likely to be a hot potato for the twenty-first century. 

I personally think that globalization is an extremely complex web of many things and like any other process it has its positive and negative sights. As far as the benefits are concerned there it's possible to name next statements: " An opportunity to get acquainted with cultures of different nations; " A variety of choice for consumers: when they can buy in their local stores and supermarkets not only home-produced goods but also foreign ones; " Transnational corporations create additional work places for local people, at the same it' convenient for these large corporations as well: they may locate the labour-intensive part of their production process in countries with a relative abundance of labour in order to minimize their costs; " Another point is risk-sharing. It's more reasonable to invest money not in one company but to create an international company with great amount of subsidiaries in various countries, so it won't have so serious consequences if one of them will not stand cut-throat competition; " This cut-throat competition in the local markets between domestic and foreign producers leads to production of high-quality goods. And we turn to the disadvantages of globalization, they are: " Pollution of the environment (and there one peculiarity should be admitted - developed countries try to locate their harmful for the environment factories and works hot in their own countries but in developing countries); " Globalization destroys cultural identity, for example Europeans usually try to impose their customs and traditions on Asian people; " Multinational corporations prefer to use cheap labour-force of developing countries for instance in Asia. And at the same time they provide their workers with bad and sometimes even awful working conditions; " It's difficult for domestic producers to compete with multinational corporations especially if it's an infant industry; to cut a long story short globalization causes inconveniences for local companies; " And last but not least is that we don't actually know to what globalization can lead, we don't realize its consequences. And it's necessary to say that globalization causes antiglobalization. Anti-globalists are protesting against the dominance in the world economy of large (usually American) multinational companies. They consider that these companies spread their own western culture on the other cultures and that they exploit developing countries and the environment in general. As a result anti-globalists try to struggle against globalization in forms of demonstrations and rallies.

For example in November 1999 a collection of 50,000 environmentalists, students, anarchists and ordinary people gathered in Seattle, USA, to protest against a meeting there of the WTO. The demonstration began peacefully, but by the end of the day protestors had smashed shop windows and destroyed property; as a result the police had fired plastic bullets and gas into the crowd. It should be said that American companies, such as McDonald's, GAP and Starbucks, are often become targets for violence and vandalism. In 1999 Jose Bove, a French farmer, became a national hero when he demolished a new McDonald's as a protest against the standardization of food, the impact of McDonald's on local business and the high level of US taxes on imported European food. And in the end I'd like to say that globalization is still a controversial issue for businesses and governments throughout the world and nobody knows when a compromise will be found.   Globalization is an inevitable phenomenon in human history which is bringing the world closer together through the exchange of goods and products, information, knowledge and culture. Over the last few decades, the pace of this global integration has become much faster and dramatic because of unprecedented advancements in technology, communications, science, transport and industry. While globalization is a catalyst for and a consequence of human progress, it is also a messy process that requires adjustment and creates significant challenges and problems. This rapid pace of change can be unsettling and most societies want to control or manage it, something which can only go wrong — if at all, globalization can only be managed and controlled by the international community i.e. together it is possible to not just face the challenges involved with globalization but also manage them.

Globalization can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society. This process is a combination of economic, ecological, technological, sociocultural and political forces.       — Markus Gattol

Or in short: Globalization is the growing integration of economies and societies around the world.

Globalization has sparked one of the most highly charged debates of the past decade. When people criticize the effects of globalization, they generally refer to economic integration. Economic integration occurs when countries lower barriers such as import tariffs and open their economies up to investment and trade with the rest of the world. These critics complain that inequalities in the current global trading system hurt developing countries at the benefit of developed countries.

On the other side are the supporters of globalization who say that countries like China, India, Uganda and Vietnam, all of which have opened up itself to the world economy, have significantly reduced poverty.

Money can't buy happiness,but neither can poverty.(Leo Rosten (1908 - )

Critics argue that the process has exploited people in developing countries, caused massive disruptions and produced few benefits. But for all countries to be able to reap the benefits of globalization, the international community must continue working to reduce distortions in international trade (e.g. cutting agricultural subsidies and lifting trade barriers) that favor developed countries and to create a better (read fair and more efficient) system.