Globalization: A Gift or a Curse?

The wheels of globalization –international organizations uniting under a common goal to protect humanity, global trade, and investment – have been spinning through history, from the wheelbarrow and horse and buggy to the automobile and tractor, symbols of our nation that has developed an interdependence between economics, culture, and politics. However, as critics are quick to point out, the wheels of globalization often get stuck in the mud, slipping and sliding across an icy road, and Americans often find themselves forgetting the reason we ventured into the great abyss of globalization in the first place: human rights and serving the interests of all social classes. The international community often gets so caught up in the crushing power of economic, technological, and ecological forces that consumers are mesmerized by the fast paced lifestyle and abandon tradition and values, clinging onto the image of a fast paced sports car and an order of fries at McDonald’s. Globalization is therefore often viewed as a type of Western dominance over the rest of the world, a continuation of Western imperialism and a factor in larger corporations running the show.

In the article, “The Hidden Promise: Liberty Renewed,” John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldrige point out that the roots of globalization can be traced back to Marx’s belief in The Communist Manifesto 150 years ago in which he believed globalization was an international movement. They comment that globalization can be written as a story of “spreading a political culture that is based on individual liberty to areas that have been longing to embrace it for years,” a story of making the liberal dreams of success and personal identity worth the fight and the perseverance. And yet, Amartya Sen in her article “How to Judge Globalism,” addresses the larger issues underlying the surface of this supposed utopian concept. She argues that the critical question is “not just whether the poor, too, gain something from globalization, but whether they get a fair share and a fair opportunity.” Sen concentrates on the unequal distribution of globalization’s benefits. Reading both of these articles, I have come to the conclusion that globalization is neither a gift nor a curse. It is caught in some weird limbo between the two, where the positive fruits of globalization can be seen in Europe, America, Japan, and East Asia, in all the economic interrelations that are constantly being developed across the globe, but also in the overwhelming poverty that still is such a pervasive influence in underdeveloped nations. As Sen concludes, “Globalization deserves a reasoned defense, but it also needs reform.” The article “Jihad vs. McWorld” by Benjamin Barber explains the overwhelming choice between the two halves of our worlds, radically opposing forces that both blindly pursue their own goals and are indifferent to civil liberty. This is where the “reform” Sen speaks of should take play, in the communities that have been forged out of consumption and profit and politics and a clash of cultures, instead of human welfare and overall happiness. Humans need to rediscover the backbone of globalization: a safe blending of the two worlds and a recognition of the connections of the global culture to the local culture.