Criticisms of globalization

Criticism of globalization is skepticism of the claimed benefits of globalization (or Globalisation). Many of these views are held by the anti-globalization movement. Globalization has created much global and internal unrest in many countries. Case studies of Thailand and the Arab nations' view of globalization show that globalization may be a threat to culture and religion, and it may harm indigenous people groups while multinational corporations would profit from it. Although globalization improved the global standard of living and economic development, it has been criticized for its production of negative effects. Globalization is not simply an economic project, but it also influences a country environmentally, politically, and socially as well.

Economic impacts

There is a debate over how globalization affects employment. There is less domestic manufacture of everyday products as a result of globalization. When buyers search for a product, they will usually choose the least expensive option. In affluent countries, local goods are disadvantaged competing with the cheaper prices of goods manufactured abroad.

It was estimated in 2013 that the Chinese import competition as well as American corporations offshoring led to a loss of employment for 548,000 US workers between 1990 and 2000.

Political impacts

Globalization as American hegemony

According to Lisandro E. Claudio, resistance against American hegemony was seen during the Cold War through the Third World or non-aligned movement that resisted Soviet Communism in addition to American hegemony.

According to English Philosopher John Gray, they described globalization as post-Cold War American triumphalism, and stated "global laissez-faire is an American project". Gray argues that the American system of Globalization is past its prime and is no longer sustainable in the modern world. Globalization in the United States began with the common goal of forming a global collective that facilitates a steady stream of trade, internationalism, and collaboration in various sectors to promote peace and prosperity. Some scholars and critics say the Washington Consensus played a role in solidifying the United States as one of the core nation-states as one of the most significant contributors towards promoting global capitalism in the post-Cold War era.

According to Sanjib Baruah, he criticizes U.S.-led globalism as exporting American hegemony that benefits an English-speaking population at the expense of indigenous populations in developing countries. While speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in 2022, United States President Donald Trump challenges this belief by stating that America had lost its former high regard and that globalism caused his country to bear a disproportionate amount of expenses in international initiatives. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, many citizens in Britain and America have a feeling of being forgotten or swept up by globalization and its lasting effects. The survey also reveals these feelings were influenced by the rising cost of living, culture shifts, industry decline, and the rising influence of American multinational corporations.

Power of corporations

Globalization offers benefits for multinational corporations. Domestic and minority groups within nations opting towards globalization may be threatened by the growing power of multinational corporations. For example, this is exemplified with large palm oil companies receiving land to develop from the government that is occupied by the indigenous tribes. According to Jonathan Robins, the experiences of indigenous inhabitants within the palm oil industry had similar experiences where foreign influences caused local governments to push for the promotion and profitability of the commodity with the backing of international economies, consequentially marginalizing locals previously occupying or owning the newly sold off concessions of land. Globalization has been criticized for benefiting those who are already large and in power at the cost of endangering the countries’ indigenous population. In the name of free markets and with the promise of an improved standard of living, local authorities give up some of their political and social powers to international organizations. Globalization has empowered international organizations while diminishing the influence of domestic and local institutions.

Environmental impacts

Case study of Thailand’s Pak Mun River

In the late 1970s and 1980s, hydropower dam projects were conducted in order to recreate Thailand's economy into an export-oriented economy. The projects were funded by loans from the World Bank and was part of globalization efforts. Local villagers whom the project would directly affect were not notified, and the World Bank disregarded their concerns. As a result of the building of the dams, villages that heavily depended on the river lost their livelihood and their means of economic gains (i.e., fishing). The projects contaminated the river, which made the river unfit for villagers to drink, bathe, and do laundry without experiencing negative health conditions such as rashes. Furthermore, the projects resulted in the extermination from the region of 40 edible plant species, 45 mushroom species, and 10 bamboo species, all of which the income of the local markets were dependent on, some of which were important for medical usage. The decline in fish population exterminated fishermen's ways of life, as 169 different fish species were affected and 56 species became totally extinct from the local ecosystem. The globalization efforts in Thailand resulted in environmental impacts that affected the social and economic welfare of indigenous populations. Harmful effects from globalization are visible from reduced genetic diversity in agriculture from the loss of crop varieties and livestock breeds, loss of biological species, increase of "exotic species" which live outside their natural geographic range, pollution in Earth's natural elements such as air, water, soil, rapid climate change, exhaustion of resources, and social or spiritual disruption.

According to David Ehrenfeld, agricultural effects have been documented for all food plants from vegetables, grains, and tree tops. Since 1970, over a thousand independent seed companies have been purchased by pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and other transnational corporations. Of the 7,600 FAO breeds logged in the farm animal genetics resources, 190 have gone extinct in the past 15 years with another 1,500 species at risk of extinction. According to a 2001 study, a relationship was linked between economic globalization and open trade leads to increases in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions that impacts the environment. International trade relies on various means of transportation including trains, motorized vehicles, planes, boats, and ships, each emitting a large quantity of emissions. The relationship of global trade and the consumption of fuel contribute to CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. According to a 2022 study, the transportation sector in the United States emits 1.9 billion tons of CO₂ annually, connecting the proliferation of global trade to increase the impact of greenhouse gasses on the atmosphere. The further a good travels, more fuel is burned in its contributions towards releasing . These CO₂ emissions contribute to climate change, ocean acidification, and decreased biodiversity.

Moreover, the good being traded is created using electricity and intermediate goods, which are oftentimes products from international trading. In 2018, countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and ten countries of ASEAN) accounted for 39.1% of global emissions. Through globalization, trade partnerships have been created to facilitate easy international trade for intermediate goods. This ease allows for more goods to be traded internationally for a cheaper export price, encouraging foreign countries to continue transporting goods, and thus increasing emissions.

Invasive species

Globalization intensifies the spread of invasive species through the increase of trade transportation. Today, the development of trading has open trade routes and markets across the globe. The increased methods of transportation allows living organisms to latch on to the shipping containers and travel to a new location where it can grow invasive without the checks and balances present in its natural environment. Rising volumes of air and ship transport are identified as the main source of marine invasions.

Decreased renewable resources

Globalization promotes the transportation of materials from one country to another, allowing more finite resources to be used up. The need for coal in the world is seen through the trade and transportation of the material across the globe. Coal is most desired due to its cheap extraction price, local availability, and necessity in basic items such as steel, concrete, and electricity. In fact, 23% of all electricity in the United States is generated by coal, demonstrating reliance on the resource.

China joined the world trade organization in December 2001 with an average of 2.5 billion tons of coal being supplied each year, and by 2011, their coal usage nearly doubled to 4 billion metric tons. However, coal is not an infinite source of energy. The U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated in 2020 that the recoverable coal reserves will last 470 years, and the coal produced from mines will last 25 years. As a result of globalization, more resources are being used up in a faster period of time, which will eventually lead to the demise of resources.

Social impacts

Prejudice

Professor Conor Gearty, of the London School of Economics, has suggested that global freedom of movement, brought on by globalisation, has increased the scope for prejudice within societies.

Education

Globalization creates an incentive for nations to produce individuals who are competitive and marketable. In many countries, educational policy and administration has shifted to emphasize efficiency and marketability instead of traditional 'soft' skills. Education is being restructured on market principles - thus, in the realm of higher education, knowledge production and dissemination is becoming commodified. As knowledge management is coming to outweigh labour on the global stage, there is an increasing prevalence of neoliberal economic ideologies. A direct result of this change is the mass privatization of institutions of higher education. Because of privatization and corporatization, public universities are coming to run like for-profit businesses. Thus, universities must find alternative sources of funding, leading to a reliance on the market.

Bicultural identity is defined as one adapting to the global culture while simultaneously being familiar with local traditions. As a result, two identities are formed: global identity and local identity. One's global identity allows one to participate and succeed globally by being able to relate to those outside of one's local sphere. One's local identity allows one to still be relevant to family and friends nearby. Often, those experiencing globalization in their country are seen to develop a hybrid identity in which their global and local identities are merged. This can also be seen with immigrants.

Despite the differing opinions of globalization, there is wide consensus among Arab authors that globalism is Americanism— the implementation of American cultures and ideals into other countries. Globalization forces languages into unequal interactions with each other where languages of developing countries with many speakers dominate those with fewer speakers and of developing or undeveloped areas. Speakers of minority languages are pressured economically and socially to abandon their languages in favour of global ones such as English, which results in decline and eventual disappearance of minority languages.

Globalization drives nations to adopt monolingual practices and pressure speakers of minority or marginalized languages to speak the majority language instead. Because globalization entails dominant cultural groups imposing their ways of social, economic and political organization on weaker cultures, Salikoko Mufwene considers it a product of colonization.

See also

• Criticism of capitalism
• Criticism of neoliberalism
• Criticism of the International Monetary Fund
• Criticism of the World Bank
• Criticism of the World Trade Organization
• Development criticism
• Disneyfication
• Global labor arbitrage
• Nationalism
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• New world order (politics)
• Westernization
• Social stratification
• Societal collapse

References