Globalization

Globalization 1991 - Present Notes:




 * MI: Globalization was a force already present since the 13th century, with Columbus' opening of China to Europe, but it wasn't until the 20th century that it began to become a prevalent, international force that had profound effects on the world economy.**
 * June 2003, riots with tear gas, broken shop windows, and bonfires in the streets erupted to protest the meeting of the world's great economic super powers, when thousands of demonstrators gathers in Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland, the G8, near Evian, France
 * G8 were prominent symbol change brought by globalization
 * Globalization is not new --> characterized by increasing free movement of people, products, and money all around the world
 * began w/ early humans, ie. Macro Polo, who opened trade b/w Europe and China in 13th century
 * occurred at slow rate
 * The Cold War and the electronic age of the 20th century gave way to greater communications, the pace of change accelerated to the point that people had difficulty keeping up
 * developed into a world consciousness, a heightened sense of global interconnections and influence b/w nations near and far
 * global awareness became worldwide phenomenon
 * success for world economy:
 * value of exports from all countries = 1.9 trillion in 1985
 * 2000 = 6.3 billion
 * globalization caused dislocations in local economies:
 * lower tariffs = benefits of inexpensive foreign labor preserved as products manufactured abroad went into local economies
 * many jobs of all kinds began to move from high-wage countries to those with cheaper labor
 * folk cultures of developing countries could be overwhelmed by Western social influences that often accompanied influx of money
 * globalization seemed to widen the gap b/w wealthy countries and poor ones
 * some countries left behind
 * two million citizens of Middle East, sub-saharan Africa, and Soviet Union have seen poverty rise

__**Origins of Globalization:**__
 * MI: Globalization is largely the product of a chain of international agreements that began in 1947 with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, supported by modern telecommunications. GATT laid out 123 rules for reducing tariffs b/w 23 signatories.**
 * later negotiations continued to decrease tariffs, as number of signatories increased
 * last series of talks, the Uruguay round, concluded in 1994, with the 1995 creation of the World Trade Organization to succeed GATT
 * in that same year, North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, signed by Canada, Mexico, and US.
 * NAFTA and WTO differed from previous trade arrangements, in that they have the legal authority to enforces its provisions, many of which limited its nations' freedom of action in unprecedented ways
 * 1999 - California banned gasoline additive MTBE
 * Methanex, the Canadian manufacturer of the chemical, sued California under NAFTA provisions against expropriation, arguing that the action would cost them $70 million over the next 20 years
 * environmentalists are not the only group concerned with the power invested in the WTO.
 * Human rights proponents also point out that laws of the kind used to discourage business with South Africa during that country's era of segregation under the apartheid would be illegal according to WTO provisions
 * similar economic efforts of one country to improve freedom of expression and other human rights and wages, or reduce pollution in another were also at risk

__**Of Fruits and Vegetables:**__ __**An Irresistible Force:**__ __**Terrorism:**__
 * MI: Government subsidiaries to farmers have also been a point of contention.**
 * Developed countries use such payments so farmers can sell food on the world market at competitive prices
 * w/out such subsidiaries, many farmers would migrate to cities, which would lack the jobs, schools, sanitation systems, and other forms of infrastructure to support population growth
 * less developed countries see gov't subsidiaries as an obstacle to increased food exports, the best opportunity for many of them to finance development and narrow the widening gap b/w them and developing nations
 * globalization cares little for local customs and traditions:
 * countries that decline to adopt world financial standards, b/c they cause short-term hardship, may find it impossible to attract capital
 * globalization affronts states with governments and other institutions grounded in religion
 * Koran, Islam's holy book of scripture, prohibits a profit from loans
 * more literal interpretations distress secular globalization
 * US = Christian fundamentalists see much of contemporary Western culture as morally and spiritually corrosive
 * Arabs believe this is true, also. Images depicted on television that are forbidden in the Koran may be offensive, and to combat this, rather than yielding to cultural onslaught, some use terrorism as a method.
 * MI: Globalization may slow in the face of such difficulties, but as a phenomenon that has been on the march since prehistory, it likely will not stop or retreat. According the the World Bank, several steps will cushion the blow as globalization progresses and improves life for all.**
 * reduce tariffs and agricultural subsidies
 * World Bank points out that workers in developing countries are burdened by tariffs twice as high as those paid by workers in rich nations. In 2002, rich countries paid farm subsidies of $350 million.
 * reduce corruption in those nations and better enforce contracts and protect property rights, which will attract more foreign capital
 * reducing farm subsidies could free money for increased aid to help create a better climate for investment, and to improve health care and advance education
 * to help countries that own the World Bank, it recommends that the world financial community reduce the debt of developing nations, and with less money flowing out to repay loans, more could be used for development
 * progress would be difficult, and as globalization continues, rich and poor countries alike will confront social and economic forces rarely seen in history of mankind
 * industrial revolution brought similar upheaval, but occurred at slower rate; we hope that all nations can come to terms with globalization as they did that change
 * the alternative seems to be endless strife as poor nations seek to become wealthier and rick nations strive to hold onto what they have
 * MI: On 9/11/2001, nearly a score of Saudi Arabian and Egyptian men, members of al Qaeda international terrorist organization, commanded four airliners, flying them into the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. The fourth crashed into a Pennsylvania field after passengers rushed the hijackers to try and retake the plane. No other terrorist attack had such a high death toll of over 3000.**
 * such suicidal acts almost defy explanation:
 * poverty is not necessarily the cause; all terrorist involved in the 9/11 tragedy came from middle class families
 * tyrannical gov't may have played a role, inducing terrorists to lash out at oppression's supporters, the US has long supported an authoritarian regime in Saudi Arabia
 * when given the opportunity to choose new management, an electorate sometimes votes in a gov't a repressive as the one they oust out., ie. Algerian ousting of corrupt socialist regime in 1992, in favor of an Islamic slate that seemed unlikely to hold another reelection
 * extremist ideology may be the denominator common to terrorists, a zealousness so intense and strong that it overpowers all other thought and emotion.
 * Mau Mau in Kenya were among the first groups to use terrorism
 * Catholics and Protestants in Ireland both resorted to terrorism to achieve disparate goals
 * Muslims true to their vision of a holy war against West planned and executed the 9/11 tragedy
 * terrorism is not new, but in a world brought closer by globalization, it has grown more powerful and more terrifying
 * its targets may fight it, diminish it, contain it, but never conquer it, and until then, no real peace will be attained.