By Marina Pustilnik, Moscow News

Globalization refers to the increasing unification of the world's economic order through reduction of such barriers to international trade as tariffs, export fees, and import quotas. The goal is to increase material wealth, goods, and services through an international division of labor by international relations, specialization and competition. It is the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through communication, transportation, and trade.

(The free Internet-based encyclopedia, Wikipedia)

Recently Russia's ROMIR Monitoring, part of the international research company Gallup International, published the results of a public opinion poll which sought to determine how Russian citizens view the process of globalization. The results showed that 61% of Russians believe that globalization creates more problems than it solves. The research was conducted within the framework of the project "Voice of the People" in more than 60 countries.

Only 19% of the Russian respondents disagreed with this statement. Another 20% were unable to provide a clear answer. Such figures make Russia stand out in the overall picture, especially in terms of the people who disagreed with the statement. The experts at ROMIR Monitoring say that this can be explained by the fact that worldwide globalization processes have not overtaken Russia yet and many people have not been able to clearly define their priorities.

Personally, it is surprising that only 20% of the polled were unable to give a clear answer; I believe that the percentage of Russians who don't clearly understand the term "globalization" is in reality much higher. I am more than sure that globalization, at least economic globalization, has not touched the lives of these 61% and that they are simply making judgments based on what they see in the TV news. And what they see are violent protests and the destruction of McDonald`s restaurants; they see anti-globalism becoming a fashion fad among young people, where protesters are driven away with water cannons. And it is a well-known trait of Russian people - they side with the weak, the ones who are being offended. This is why I believe that the 61% who answered that globalization does more wrong than it does right, did so not because globalization hurt them in some way, but because the television - which for many is the only connection to the outside world - tells them that it's bad.

In this connection it is very interesting to compare the Russian figures with those of Africa, where the majority of people are much poorer than Russians, but where 50% said that globalization solves more problems than it brings. Other interesting figures come from Japan, whose hi-tech corporations and automakers are the outposts of economic globalization and where 70% of those polled called globalization a problem.

I am not saying that globalization is without its faults. I am not saying that it doesn't hurt certain people, like for example when automakers close factories in one country and transfer production to another one, where the workforce is cheaper. But it seems to me that Russia and its citizens could in fact reap the benefits of globalization instead of eating its sour fruits. And if so far globalization hasn't acquired a positive image in Russia, may be it's the fault of the over-protective government which is afraid for its "national sovereignty" and not of globalization per se.

2750