Globalization: Threat Or An Opportunity

The term globalisation has significantly influenced many countries all around the world. It is a process that happening in most countries and considerably changing many things. Globalisation is proved that it is inevitable; moreover, it is irreversible. In few decades, this process has been running very unbelievably quickly without any control or a plan. Some people see it as it is beneficial and may develop many countries' economy, politics, culture, and environment. It could also be a gate to a happy and povertyless future. As Monbiot believes, "Our task is surely not to overthrow globalisation, but to capture and use it as a vehicle for humanity's first global democratic revolution." (Monbiot 2003, p. 35). Others on the other hand, view this term as it is dangerous, frightening, and a risk. They also believe that globalisation offers inequality income between countries and also cause poverty and ignorance in many countries. There are cultural, ideological dimension of globalisation which will not be covered in this essay. This essay will only discuss about two most important dimensions of globalisations, these are cultural and political dimension which in my point of view are the most important aspects of globalisation.

Many people view the economic globalisation as a process that offers fear or rather threat to many local markets. They also see it as it makes poor people become poorer and wealthy people become wealthier. It is a fact that economic globalisation offers inequality and not evenly contributed throughout the world. Many countries which have not embraced globalisation, either because of their strategic location or the lack of natural resources, face a sharp increase in poverty, squalor, and diseases. As IMF staff notes:

"The gaps between rich and poor countries, and rich and poor people within countries, have [sic] grown. The richer quarter of the world's population saw its per capita GDP increase nearly six-fold during the century [the 20 century], while the poorest quarter experienced less than a three-fold increase." (IMF Staff 2002).

Another fact that proves globalisation is unequally dispersed is that in many countries especially in Asia, per capita income has grown very quickly. Some of them have become more developed and industrial countries even more than most industrial countries; for example, Taiwan and China.

However, if the term economic globalisation were to be understood in a different way, it might help and develop the economy of many countries and it could be the best way to have a developed and happy future. But only as Dunning states, "if we get it right," (Dunning 2003, p. 11). Since the growth of modern electronic communication, a rapid promotion occurred in most business corporations. For example the electronic media has made the world smaller and easy to transmit information or commodities all over the world. Economic globalisation offers solutions for trade problems and unemployment in many countries. It also spreads out knowledge, new types of technology, and cheaper economic policies. It also brings new production methods and management techniques. Markets and products can be exported and imported at a very low cost. The economical dimension gives the developing countries the power to dominate many people attitudes. As Davies suggests:

Business [by the process of globalisation] has the capability of bringing creative and sustainable solutions to many of the ills facing the world such as (...), unemployment, and to reinforce freedoms and choice (...). It is to recognise that responding to the challenges of diversity and transparency is at the heart of successful internationalism of business."

(Davies 2003, p. 301)

This reveals how considerably important the economic dimension of globalisation is and how it can be perceived either as a problem or an opportunity. Davies concentrates on the positive aspects of economic globalisation however, and posits that responding to challenges in a positive manner will inevitably lead to success.

Globalisation also has remarkable impacts in the political arena. Some people argue that globalisation is vanishing nation states and that it is gradually dissolving the power of the nation state. Steger states, "In fact, they [hyperglobalizers] argue that nation states have already lost their dominant role in the global economy." (Steger 2003, p.61). Others believe that while increased global interconnectivity will cause a dramatic change in world politics, especially the relationships between nation states, the nation state be the root of international political activity. Some political theorists link the emergence of the modern nation state with industrialisation and privatisation. They argue that globalisation leads to industrial expansion. It follows from this argument that with the significant changes that globalisation is doing, the nineteenth and twentieth century model of nation state may become obsolete international relations and world politics in the second half of the twentieth century were strongly informed by another global factors. The cold war, for example, that's when the ideological struggle between the Western nations, the United States and its allies, and the Western bloc, the Soviet Union and China and their allies, every nation state fought for independence o the principles of freedom, justice, and liberty. The demise of the cold war promised a new era of world peace and increased openness. A