Globalization, who needs it?!

Globalization is a process of growing interdependence between countries; it is an increase in and a speeding-up of the exchanges between countries of people, goods, services, finance and information. Globalization is largely due to the revolution in communications technology: we can now talk to anyone, anywhere, and Internet allows us to know what is happening in the world in real time. It is a process that affects everyone, both in the rich countries, mostly in the North, and the poor countries, mostly in the South. The controversial issue is: does globalization contribute to or in fact hinder the development of all the world’s countries?

The free-market thesis is that globalization reduces inequalities within and between countries; it increases wealth for all. The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is an annual meeting of leading entrepreneurs and financiers; it defends this idea that globalization strengthens links between countries. Exchanges are not only between the wealthy Triad members but also with and within regional organizations like ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).

Anti-globalization activists seek an alternative to “laissez-faire” economics which, for them, is the cause of the inequalities in the world. They organize social forums every year, following the example of the one in Porto Alegre in Brazil. Free trade has not, according to them, helped the poorest countries; they are unable to compete on a globalized market in which rich countries’ agriculture is subsidized. Small producers in poor countries have been run out of business. Globalization, in which tax barriers have been lifted, has just made the rich countries richer at the expense of the poorer ones.

In my view, to renounce globalization would be to halt development; it represents hope and opportunity for most countries. However, it is largely an uncontrolled process dominated by the powerful nations. The solution to the excesses of globalization would be to give more power to regulatory bodies like the World Trade Organization.

Article by Julie Laveyssière