Globalisation Is a Force for Good? Discuss

Globalisation is a force for good? Discuss.

This essay will aim to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation. To assist in constructing this essay references will be made to ‘Globalisation’ (BBC Bitesize) and (Heywood, 2013, pp. 143-144) to help define what is meant by the term ‘Globalisation.’ This essay will then go on to highlight and explain the positive followed by the negative effects of Globalisation, with references from a range of different sources.

It is incredibly hard to define Globalisation as ‘there is no commonly accepted conception, far-less definition, of globalisation in the existing literature’ (Dunne, Kurki, & Smith, 2016, p. 282). However if looked at in generic terms, Globalisation is a process which helps to bring the world together through trade and cultural relations. An arguably good example of an organisation which promotes globalisation is the European Union. It was initially formed in order to politically and culturally stabilise relations between members, however over time it grew to not only stabilise and globalise relations between countries culturally and politically but also economically. As a result of globalisation the world has experienced more freedom in terms of movement of goods, services and capital; moreover production of goods and services has increased significantly. Globalisation has also changed the way businesses are now viewed as many of the previously largest and well known national firms have taken second place to multinational corporations who now hold a substantial amount of power in certain states (BBC Bitesize). There are 3 different types of Globalisation; economic, cultural and political globalisation. Economic Globalisation is the idea that ‘no national economy is now an Island; all economies have, to a greater or lesser extent, been absorbed into an interlocking global economy’. ‘Cultural Globalisation is the process whereby information, commodities or images that have been produced in one part of the world enter into a global flow’ which then creates a commonality between citizens of the world. (Heywood, 2013, pp. 143-144) Political Globalization refers to the formation of international organisations such as NATO and the UN, the unique thing about these being that the jurisdictions of these states are exercised across many states and not just the one (Heywood, 2013, pp. 143-144).

It is believed by many that the advantages of Globalisation outweigh the disadvantages of Globalisation; however there is no simple answer to this debate as the pros and cons of Globalisation are very subjective for different groups of states, people and organisations. Hyperglobalists are all for globalisation and believe that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, realists support the idea that globalisation does have its positive effects but also argue that it should be more regulated in order to reduce the negatives consequences and sceptics simply believe that history has proven there are more negative effects than positive effects of globalisation so it’s not a force for good. (Globalisation Good Or Bad Economics Essay, 2015)

The most apparent positive effect of Globalisation is that it helps provide jobs within certain countries. This benefit is one which is extremely valued in third world states and in states which have a high unemployment records as it helps to provide an income to citizens, which can improve standard of living. Not only is the standard of living improved via earning but also the fact that potentially uneducated workers or those who have never been employed before are being skilled which will increase their competencies and possibly enhance employability skills. However all is not as it seems because it is common for multinational corporations especially manufacturers of mass produced items for example clothing items from Primark to neglect working conditions and salary in order to minimise costs and maximise their own profit. This is considered as one of the most crucial and potentially damaging drawbacks to Globalisation in third world countries such as India as it is fuelling social and economic divide between workers and employers. As the saying goes ‘the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer’ this saying supports the drawback mentioned above as for the organisations who are outsourcing labour the low cost may be very appealing however when you look at it from the workers perspective they are spending countless amount of hours trying to maximise output however they are being paid a very marginal amount of the profit. So the only people who are reaping the fruitful benefits of this advantage are the Multinational companies, the governments of third world countries and or the proprietor of the business which is providing outsourcing facilities. Sceptics argue that globalisation has failed to work for the vast majority of the world’s population and that from ‘1968 through to 1998’ inequality has risen (Services, 2015) . A study conducted by World Centric found that ‘a minority of the world's population (17%) consume most of the world's resources (80%), leaving almost 5 billion people to live on the remaining 20%.’ (World Centric). These numbers clearly support the idea that social inequality is a massive negative externality of globalisation as if almost a quarter of the world’s population has the power to purchase and use 80% of the worlds resources, it is astonishing to think what great amount of power they wield within the world.

Another advantage of globalisation is that it improves product quality as it increases competition between foreign companies, who make like for like products, which then in turn benefits the consumer as high quality products are provided for lower prices than they usually would be. As a result of Globalisation the ‘price of commodities has also become cheaper especially because of the fierce competition noted in the market. There are different products for consumers to choose from making it a necessity for producers to price them competitively.’ (Services, 2015). This is one of the most prominent advantages of globalisation and would be greatly beneficial for developed countries however as mentioned above if production is outsourced then this would mean that whilst the sellers and purchasers of the items would benefit from the quality, cost and range of products the labourers would not reap the same benefit, so in reality the effects of globalisation are hugely subjective. A risk associated with this is demotivation of labourers. Most outsourced labourers are evidently aware of the fact that the labour they provide would hold more value in other countries, and as they are being given less money this has the potential to cause a lack of productivity, especially in markets such as