Will globalisation make the world a more peaceful or a more conflict filled place?
PEACEFUL
- Economic prosperity for many countries; prosperity promotes democracy and the people will not want to go to war because resources and a stable lifestyle will have to be sacrificed for it.
- Tariffs are reduced in most countries as they become more open to trade
- Countries try to find their comparative advantage (eg. China's labour) and challenge high cost producers in rich countries.
- If every country produces goods based on their comparative advantage, global output would increase and if there is free trade, this would enrich all countries.
- E.g. India's call centre industry may collapse if she went to war with Pakistan, the industry leaders pressured the authorities not to go to war.
- Interconnectivity/interdependence
- Each country's issue becomes part of the world's issue, so a weak link in a developing country may affect the 'supply chain' and the top of these chains (i.e. big, rich economies) would be more inclined to help in the benefit of self-interest.
- If a country wants to go to war with another, other nations can help by mediation (it would not be beneficial to them if they went to war because precious resources would be lost, plus there could be economic repercussions in the world which would directly affect them)
CONFLICT
- Some developing countries may feel that it is unfair that the bigger economies are getting the most out of globalisation. May harbour grudges.
- Some people groups may also be unhappy that only the rich in society are benefitting (no trickle-down effect) E.g. India has young women working and spending like American women, but a short drive out of the urban area can have slums where there is no proper sanitation and running water. The widening income inequality may also contribute to social unrest within a country itself.
- Free trade all over the world may result in say, Country A having a consistent balance of payments surplus (basically more money inflow than outflow) which is okay by itself, but since BoP is a zero-sum game, another Country B would have more outflow of money than inflow (something like losing money). B may not be happy about her citizens buying so many imports from A and this may strain relationships between A and B.
1 comment:
Can we be part of the global economy and still retain our traditions and cultures? or will we end up being mini Americas?
Singapore as a small city-state is extremely reliant on the global economy as well as market forces in the structure of its on economy, and depends heavily on the cooperation of other larger countries and corporations. As a result, our place in the global economy is of key importance to our economic sustainability.
This has certain drawbacks, as our citizens, especially the younger generation, become increasingly exposed to foreign culture and choose to adopt Westernized values in favour of that of our more traditional, Eastern roots. Furthermore, this social shift seems to be amplified because of our relatively small population and diverse culture which sometimes, despite the best efforts of the government, makes it hard for Singaporeans to grasp hold of what makes us “Uniquely Singaporean”. With a sometimes unclear definition of our Singaporean identity, it is at times easier for us as a whole to adopt Westernized values and abandon our own dated traditions simply because most of us find it easier to do so together. For example, surveys done have shown a trend in which younger Singaporeans are increasingly out of touch with their mother tongue, despite a general improvement in their command of the English language. When individuals of different races converse with each other, they do it in English, and not in the languages of their races.
Yet, our diversity remains our greatest advantage in holding out against becoming “mini Americas”. Due to the fact that we are constantly exposed to a whole wide range of cultures and their traditions, we are better able to appreciate the core values and customs of cultures extending beyond that of our own. Although we might not have one true definition of what it means to be Singaporean, our understanding of each and every other Singaporean, whichever race they may be from, serves to tie us to each other and keeps us from becoming a completely Westernized society with no unique identity.
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