Should economic globalization be encouraged? why or why not?

"Literature review" of globalization

• I would like to know about the arguments that have been made about globalization. The arguments themselves, the key proponents, and the key sources are all important to me. Widely regarded arguments printed in ink (not pixels) take precedence, though of course web refs to these sources are equally good. Some framing thoughts: much of the literature is about *policies* around globalization. I'm interested in these, but I'd like to see more depth regarding globalization as a *phenomenon*. An example of an argument about globalization as a phenomenon is found in the answer to, "Culture of Venezuelans-Attn: gitana-ga": "As the countries of the world become more interconnected via the structures of globalization, so too do environmental issues in terms of both cause and effect." The globalization as phenomenon aspect is most important to me, though I would like a comprehensive picture. (And I expect you'll find the arguments to be linked--we should have this policy b/c of this phenom, and vice versa.) I understand it's a large topic -- if you can't address certain areas our aspects please just call them out. Please submit your answer by Tuesday April 6, 5pm EST. Thank you!

• Answer:

  Hi, dashman. This is a very interesting question. I hope I've interpreted it correctly, but if I haven't, feel free to ask for clarification. Globalization as a phenomenon is an interesting concept. While you'll see different perspectives painted as 'pro free trade' and 'anti-globalization' and the like, it's actually quite rare for anyone to endorse either pure anarcho-capitalist systems or complete isolationism, as the terms being bandied about would seem to imply. (Note that I'll use anti-globalist and pro-globalist here as a sort of shorthand, but I'll make sure to put quotes around them when I do.) Globalization is at once an inevitability and an impossibility. We can't isolate ourselves completely according to geography, nor can we completely open our communities up to regulation-free commerce. Either extreme would probably be disastrous, if they weren't both almost completely out of the question. One of the central controversies regarding globalization is that of sustainability. That is, can we sustain a global economy in which certain countries serve as manufacturing sectors for others? Different countries have different living standards, different economic policies, different labor laws, and different cultures. Can a uniform global economy exist in such a widely diverse landscape? Many of the 'anti-globalization' side argue that creating a too open global economy facilitates a 'race to the bottom' for everyone. That is, if developing nations can provide goods and services more cheaply due to their lower standards of living and lack of consumer and worker protections, a global laissez-faire capitalist system makes it necessary for industrialized nations to loosen their standards in order to compete. Or, as noted economist (errr, either economist or pop singer) Billy Bragg put it, "The third world is just around the corner." 'Pro-globalization' or neoliberal capitalists, however, would argue that such a global economy is sustainable, and that such policies encourage more competition; so rather than being a race to the bottom, it's a race to the top, as developing nations continue to develop in the increasingly competitive global economy. The argument really rests in the gray areas, though. It's not a matter of eliminating regulations entirely, or of isolating ourselves geographically. It's a question of how much regulation we need, and what type. Bilateral vs. unilateral trade agreements. Raising labor standards for developing nations, or lowering them for industrialized nations. Issues of privatization inevitably arise, as well. Logically, real free trade would open virtually everything up to competition. In fact, the terms of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans often require privatization of various sectors. So the question is not whether to have regulation, but how much? It's probably fair to deregulate the market for, say, animal slippers or scented bath oils. In cases like that, customers vote with their dollars, as the laissez-faire capitalist line goes. It is much more difficult, however, to refuse such services as clean water, heat, and electricity if they're overpriced. And this becomes a global economic issue when public services in developing nations are privatized by corporations in industrialized nations. For a particularly disturbing account of this sort of connection, see Naomi Klein's article on the installation of pre-paid water meters in Soweto, South Africa, at the behest of the International Monetary Fund: http://www.guardian.co.uk/wto/article/0,2763,1040484,00.html To step back for a moment, the modern incarnation of the global economy pretty much began after WWII, with the founding of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. For background information, a brief overview and history of these organizations is available here: http://www.pcdf.org/1995/bretton.htm This page provides links to books, articles, and websites that address various aspects of global economics, and is probably a good place to start: http://www.aworldconnected.org/category.php/37.html This page at GlobalisationGuide.org provides another overview of the issues involved: http://www.globalisationguide.org/index.htm Their list of books on the topic of globalization is probably one of the more comprehensive ones available, in that it offers books with varying messages, topics, and viewpoints: http://www.globalisationguide.org/sb03.html In terms of current literature available, probably the most authoritative published overview of the subject would be Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz' Globalization and its Discontents. While he does tend to focus on existing policy, his insights into those policies are unique. Having served as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for the World Bank from 1997 to 2000, his expertise is solid, and his authority on the issue is almost unimpeachable. Here's Stiglitz' humble home page: http://www-1.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/ You can also use the links at the top of the page to access more information about his experience and his writings. This page provides links to his books, including Globalization and its Discontents and another book, The Rebel Within: Joseph Stiglitz and the World Bank, that addresses many of the same topics: http://www-1.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/books.cfm Again, Stiglitz focuses on economic policy, as that is his strongest area of expertise. As such, his works tend to address more of the actual effects of global economic policy rather than philosophy. Literature addressing the concept of globalization as a phenomenon is a much wider field. One of the most commonly quoted books in this area is probably Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Friedman is unabashedly pro-globalization, and tends to take somewhat of a utopian and romantic view of globalization as a concept. Friedman's Lexus and the Olive Tree webpage is here: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/lexusolivetree.htm And his main website is accessible by backing up a link to this page: http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/ Note that Friedman is Foreign Affairs columnist for the New York Times, so many of the information on his website is related to topics unrelated--at least broadly--to global economics. For good measure, there's an "Anti-Friedman Page" here: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/maxpages/faculty/merupert/Anti-Friedman.htm The page linked above provides a wealth of links to more detailed information on the negative effects of neoliberal capitalism. Especially note the dedicated links page here: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/maxpages/faculty/merupert/Teaching/753links.htm For a somewhat more pragmatic pro-globalization perspective than Friedman's, see the Institute for International Economics website here: http://www.iie.com/ They offer position papers covering a variety of global economic topics, including agricultural reform, outsourcing, and so forth. The World Economics Forum website represents, for lack of a better term, the muckety-mucks of global economics: http://www.weforum.org/ Those opposing current globalization policies offer any number of arguments as well. This page, excerpted from the book Global Village or Global Pillage, provides an overview of several common objections: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Brecher/Race%20to%20Bottom_GVGP.html Global Exchange, one of the primary movers in the shutdown of the WTO talks in Seattle in 1999, has a website here that covers many additional arguments against existing global economic policy: http://www.globalexchange.org/ This webpage, from the Global Policy Forum, provides an 'anti-globalist' perspective on a variety of issues: http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/intropg.htm Again, I hope this addresses what you were looking for. It is, as you said, a large topic, and I realize I've gone all over the map here, as it were, so please feel free to ask if you need more information on a given topic. Search terms: globalization "joseph stiglitz" "thomas friedman" lexus olive tree "world bank" "imf" "race to the bottom" "water meters" soweto "naomi klein"