Globalization and its Cons

Wajahat Sultan

Globalization is defined as the dilution of national borders, socio-cultural and socio-political interaction, and cross-border economic and trade cooperation among nations. There is not an iota of doubt that Globalization in the 21st Century repudiated the socio-cultural barriers and paved the way for cross border transactional interactions but the achievements of Globalization are eclipsed by its harm with more intensity. At the holistic level, Globalization is de facto Westernization which only benefitted the Core countries at the expense of the periphery countries. The harm of Globalization overshadowed its achievements.

Firstly discussing the good aspects of Globalization: Globalization helped humanity to broaden and enhance their knowledge and exposure through different kinds of cultural exchange programs. Among 193 countries of UNO the socio-cultural and historical understanding of other nations, ethnicities, and religions amplified under the educational exchange programs like UGRAID and Fulbright Scholarship. UNESCO is the global sponsor for cultural exchange too under the flagship banner of Globalization. Such programs create awareness, tolerance, and diversity in society. The educational exchange among the different nations due to cross-border diversity paved the way to celebrate diversity.

Secondly, Globalization helped to remove the conflicts among nations through different defensive mechanisms to curtail the threat of third world war. The dialogue, negotiations, and agreements helped in recent decades to avoid the threat of war and prevail in peace. Apart from this Globalization connects people in such complicated conditions that nations are interdependent and interlinked which declined the threats of war and large-scale mass destruction.

Coming to the main thesis about the harms of Globalization; Globalization has done more harm than good. Globalization increased the dependency of economies in the world in which if one were lapse of economic mechanism occurs the entire global community suffers. For example, the lapse in the American banking system in 2008 caused the Global Economic Recession. Due to the miscalculation of one country’s economic policies the entire globe suffered. The rising dependence of economies in the world retard the growth of third world countries because First World countries come out from economic recession within due time but the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa came to enormous loss. Greece-oriented Eurozone economic depression put the entire Europe into the economic vulnerability.

Similarly, Globalization also damaged the Gender cause. As economies of third world countries are captured by world organizations like IMF and World Bank so these institutions focused to put spending cuts on the countries. Cutting the spending systematically causes more damage to women and culturally ghetto social classes. Government under social welfare programs provides educational and health reliefs to the marginalized classes and women but spending the social welfare cuts like cutting the funds for education and health put the women in a disproportionate place.

In the percept of World System Theory Globalization only caused disproportional growth in the First World and Third world countries. The flow of raw materials, brain drain, cheap labor, and other resources from the peripheral countries to the core countries helped only the European and Western countries to flourish at the dispense of the periphery countries. Moreover, the decline of traditional patterns and structures of families in the third world countries due to the rising surge of homogenization of cultures is also a cause of Globalization. The vernacular dialects of languages in the third world countries are dominated by English superiority which halts the growth of the regional cultures and languages. The cultural imperialism of Western countries and European-centered Globalization only benefited the First world countries.

Moving towards more harms of the Globalization; it is most common that Globalization caused the Global economic inequalities among nations. If the trajectory of global progress is accessed from the reports of the World Bank and Global Research Think Tanks the First world countries have exponentially grown in the last ten years than the third world countries. Multinational companies and corporates like Exxon Mobile Corporation (XOM) have more economies than entire countries. For instance, the revenue of XOM is $280.4 billion. The enrichment of the global corporations under the banner of Globalization is at the dispense of poor countries.

Discussing the environmental catastrophe and exploitation of labor rights in the third countries by the MNCs is also the outcome consequence of the Globalization. The economies of MNCs like Nestle and Occidental Petroleum are more than the GDPs of countries like Somalia and South Asian countries. Due to strict labor laws and regulations in the First World countries, these multi-national corporations can’t function smoothly. As the labor and environmental laws are not strict in the third world countries these corporations come to the third world countries and exploit their labor and environmental laws. The flexibility in the environmental policies causes the perennial issue of environmental damage in the last decades. In this process, such corporations captured domestic politics by hijacking and campaigning the political campaigns. They empowered the favorable political systems which provide free trade, lenient economic policies, and deregulation of economic policies. The governments under the sway of elites and corporations make elite-friendly economic policies that empowered them at the expense of the middle class. So the rich get richer and the poor become poorer. The cycle of economic inequalities only moves in the favor of the capitalists.

The knowledge economy is a recent concept that empowered the countries through the flow of information and sharing of knowledge. Under the neoliberal economic order, the First World Countries never provide the information and technology which can empower the third world countries. If Globalization is manifested in the way in which the First world countries provide essential knowledge and information for the underprivileged countries to come out of the backward conditions it will serve its true cause.

To sum and substance, the Globalization is a good step by humanity to enhance cooperation and coordination if it is molded into more inclusive and equitable conditions of favor all countries. The De- Globalization is not a solution but the Re- Globalization in which the democratization of institutions like IMF and World Bank. The voting system of IMF and World Bank in which the major voting power is in hands of the First World countries should be minimized and made more equal. Developed countries should provide the flow and exchange of information and technology to contribute to the unfavorable countries in the best manner. To accept the pluralization and heterogeneity of cultures and de attach the notions of progress with only Western Centered definition of civilization. Getting better and progressing the all countries should be the project of the Globalization.