Blog response on globalization

Is globalization imperialism repackaged?

There is now greater dominant direct control by western nations (where most of the MNCs are based in) over other less economically developed countries (eg. China, India) by utilizing their manpower there. This makes these economies increasingly dependent and beholden to these economies, since most of their employment is dependent on these MEDCs.

Beyond that, media advertising and a growing culture of "brand conciousness" can be seen as a way for established Western brands to gain a foothold in other markets. Soft power, in terms of music and entertainment can also be a way in which new imperialism is being spread, with Hollywood dominating box offices everywhere.

However, the emergence and globalization of the local brand of Bollywood and its growing popularity and success worldwide can be a direct counter to Hollywood and thus, it can be seen that there is a limit to actually the west becoming more imperialistic through globalization, since there are still channels for such local industries to emerge and have a foothold on the world market. Brand consciousness can work both ways, since decidedly Asian ones etc are also making their way to the West.

Thus, it's not so much imperialism, more a cultural mishmash, with the cosmopolitan equilibrium is shifting closer to other countries now that they have access to the same tools as Western countries. There is a global shift from "western-led" globalization, to one which is truly globalized, and a reducing trend of "western imperialism" and proliferation of the world market with china leading the pack.


Will globalization create a more peaceful or conflict-laden world?

The Dell theory suggests that, “No two countries that are both part of a major global supply chain, like Dell’s, will ever fight a war against each other as long as they are both part of the same global supply chain.”

However, the thing is: “Not everyone is an employee of Dell”, so there are people who fall through the cracks.

Globalization makes it easier for them to form covert operations with each other, as can be seen from drug trafficking being on the rise, like how Nigerian drug traffickers can easily come to Singapore to hire drug mules. These drugs in turn fuel violence in other parts of the world, like Columbia.

Increasingly global terrorist networks due to globalisation also make it difficult for government to contain their activities. They are now more connected, and it has become easier to communicate and hold potentially dangerous global terrorist threats, like through spreading terrorist notions on the web, like the Mujahedeen's poison's handbook.

Although at the same time, globalization makes police efforts more concerted and they are able to track these terror suspects together. As they are now more reliant on global communications, it also makes them easier to track. Like how there are international efforts to police the Gulf of Aden, given the pirate crisis.

Overall, we feel that if we compare against previous events, globalisation has created a more peaceful world, with less major large-scale wars. There is now increasing goodwill between governments these days, with closer ties and summits to solve global problems. While random spates of violence stemming from certain margins in society may seem to be on the rise, we are also now more aware and sympathetic to the needs and problems with the marginalized today due to easier access to world news these days, and there are signs of measures to rectify and address these grievances, which will improve conditions and help prevent such acts from happening in the future. World leaders can like pressure leaders of these countries to actually address these issues.

Can we be part of the global economy and still retain our own unique culture and traditions? Or would we end up being mini-Americas?

We can be unique, as can be seen from Singapore’s efforts to preserve heritage, like Chinatown, and promote the arts scene, as they recognize the need to be unique to stand out in this globalized world. It can also help in strengthening our psychological defence, to give citizens a sense of belonging to the country. This is especially important in our globalized world, where many local talents often look to go abroad.

When we say “mini America”, we're already talking about a cross cultural thing. But since America really doesn't have much other than the cultures of its own immigrants, more a “melting pot” of cultures.

However, beyond that, we feel that what is most important is what the citizens of that country choose to embrace, like how there's this village in Italy that kicked out their Macdonalds. Thus, we can't turn into a mini America unless we let ourselves to.

Governments can help prevent the impressionable youths of today from becoming "mini-americans" by promoting our own culture, while not being xenophobic about it.

Response by: Abigail Kang, Xue Qian, Shi Hua, Nicholas, Edith of 09S07A