Globalization And The Laws Of Gravity

We live in a time of worldwide change. What happens in one part of the world impacts people on the other side of the world. People around the world are influenced by common developments.

Kofi Annan, a UN diplomat, once said,“...that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.” He is undoubtedly correct in this assessment. Indeed, globalization is no longer something to be skeptical of, it is very real and is changing our world exponentially. The affects of globalization, however, continue to be a heated topic for debate. Proponents praise the overall economic lift provided by free trade, the diffusion of cultures, and the spread of democracy and capitalism. Critics cry foul at the loss of national identity, the accelerated and uncontrolled use of natural resources, and the redistribution of wealth into the hands of a few very powerful people and corporations. Globalization is a

Jagdish Bhagwati, a renowned economist from Columbia University and author of “In Defense of Globalization”, at his speech at IMF Economic Forum in 2004 “argued that when properly governed, globalization is in fact the most powerful force for social good in the world today.” ⁷

Globalization can be described in a lot of different ways because it covers a large amount of topics including political, social and economic/commercial areas. According to Killic (2015), Globalization can be really challenging for different factions to come to one common agreement of what the term means because it has a ‘multi-dimensional’ structure. This means that up to this day, it is impossible to write a clear definition for what Globalization means as, although they share a similar understanding of the concept, different people in different parts of the world will have separate and sometimes conflicting views on what it means. Hopkins (2002) also describes Globalization as the “process of transformation of local phenomena into global ones”, this means that people from all around the world are brought together and function as one.

The world we live in today has witnessed a variety of changes, improvements and important events overtime. Yet, the most significant incident for many and especially for business related people is Globalisation. It is a term that is used to describe the exchange of knowledge, services, trade, information, cultures and capital between people, governments and organisations of different societies.

In today’s global society, it has become difficult to find someone that has not been impacted in any way by Globalization. Some societies will be more or less affected but we cannot deny the idea that Globalization impacts everyone, which resulted in a large number of economists and philosophers writing their own opinion and theories on the subject. Based on this idea, I came up with the following question: What drives a company to globalise and what are the implications? I will tackle the question in this essay by first defining what globalization is, explain why companies become global and what are the implications of globalization on different social classes. My arguments will be backed up with evidence from the following authors: Adam Smith, Branko Milanovic and Harry Braverman. It is difficult to come up with an exact definition of Globalization; however, we could define it as the idea of trying to make the world communities become one by integrating world economies. This ongoing process that contributes in making the world look “smaller” by merging economies, societies and cultures to improve global communication and trade has not only economical impacts but also social and cultural.

Globalization is the interaction of world economies to become one big economy, for the sole purpose of enhancing free trade, growth and efficiency and employment. It emphasizes the neo-liberal economic policies – commonly referred to as the ‘Washington Consensus’ – of free trade, financial and capital market liberalization, deregulation and privatization (Juhasz, pg 408). The supporters of globalization argue that it is essential to an individual’s advancement and economic progress, and constantly reiterate that an integrated market economy will bring prosperity worldwide. Whereas, critics of globalization believe that without a proper framework and policies, the consequence of globalization will have a great impact on world politics,

* Weber, Steven, Naazneen Barma, Mathew Kroenig, and Ely Ratner. "How Globalization Went Bad." (n.d.): n. pag. Foreign Policy. Web. 10

"Modern globalization, coupled with condemnations, unnecessary death, matador corporations, puppeting your frustrations, with the blinded flag, manufacturing consent, is the name of the game, the bottom line is money, nobody gives a f***. 4000 hungry children die per hour, from starvation, while billions spent on bombs, create death showers" (System of a Down).

1. In order to identify the three types of nations discussed in the texbook, I would like to first start by defining what the world system theory is. “The modern world system is a capitalist global economy which contains multiple states and a single dominant international division of labor” (Doob, 2008). This definition helps us understand that the economy is not scattered accross the globe equally between all countries, instead only a few countries are posses a sucessful industrial, economical, and ploitical history. Being born and raised in Albania, and moving here to the US only 3 years ago has given me the opportunity to view these concepts clearly.

Globalization is a movement that evolves over time. It heavily involves trade and business that builds relationships with border countries and overseas. Technology is a critical part of globalization as it involves connecting people in many ways. “The number of minutes spent on cross-border telephone calls, on a per-capita basis increased from 7.3 in 1991 to 28.8 in 2006” (IMF Staff, p. 271). The growth of technology has made it possible for people to connect almost instantaneously. Snapchat, Skype, and FaceTime allow people to have live conversations from far distances. Sharing information and ideas allows for innovations. Many opportunities can occur from globalization such as growth in Capita, better health care systems, advancement in technology.

Nowadays the world has now evolved into becoming a global village and business organisations are in one way or the other operating in interconnected global economies. Globalisation has increased the awareness all parts of the world. For example, the UK was quickly made aware of the 2004 tsunami tidal wave and sent help rapidly in response, this are few of the positive changes made by globalisation. Although many look at it as a threat to the survival of international business, others view this development as an opening for the growth of businesses. This essay will discuss what makes globalization a threat and also how it has affected the world and the market economy.

Globalization and the use of new technologies and how it strengthens or weakens global inequalities

Globalization as ‘the acutely adamant affiliation of economies, societies and cultures into a borderless accepted communications [technology] and accumulation arrangement [is] a world-transforming process, not all which is pleasant,’ (Morrison, 2010, p. 32). Although globalization is, and will apparently abide for some time, one of ‘a lot of ambiguous and misunderstood’ concepts, there is some accepted arena to be beginning an allotment of all the confusion (White, 2008). That is the abstraction of admission and relationships that go above the immediate, bounded ambiance. ‘Globalization is the action by which all peoples and communities appear to acquaintance an added accepted economic, amusing and cultural environment; but globalization as a theory, deals with the compression of the region and accession of alertness of the region as a whole’ (Robertson, 1992, p. 8).

Globalization is the foundation in which our world economy formed to what they are today. Globalization isn’t anywhere near being perfect and still comes with its pros and cons. These problems fall along free trade agreements and free/cheap labor. The issues could have their fixes, which President Donald Trump addresses, if everyone is willing to help about and conform. Globalization formed the world as we know it today, and it especially formed the world’s economies, but not always perfectly.