Globalization consists of the integration of views and ideas into an international perspective. It is the emergence of a network of social and economic systems. The concept helps in raising the standards of living of people in developing countries through the spread of knowledge. It tends to bring people of different cultures together, thereby creating a community bound by diversity.
Amartya Sen’s article, ‘How to judge globalism,’ captures the concept of globalization from the perspective of anti-globalists. Sen suggests that anti-globalists feel upset because of globalization and see it as a curse. Globalization is not a curse. Over the years, globalization has contributed to economic progress through trade, tourism, and the spread of cultural diversities and knowledge. Global interrelations have contributed to the advancement of different countries. The rejection of globalization would result in economic retrogression for world states. Sen presents the concept of global civilization as a world heritage and not just a collection of different local cultures.
Globalization is not exclusively an initiative of the West. The West has not made many global improvements. Anti-globalists propose that developing countries should oppose globalization because it is a foreign concept. The belief by anti-globalists undermines the benefits of globalization. Certain globalization issues may relate to imperialism. Sen points out that all nations should address the issues of distribution of economic gains and losses among the rich and the poor. Extensive economic interrelations among world states have reduced poverty levels in the world. Appropriate use of globalization may lead to the mitigation of poverty in the world. Countries should formulate strategies that address wealth sharing between the rich and the poor. World economies must create institutional reforms to address the sharing of wealth among rich and poor countries. Globalization should address wealth distributional factors.
Equal distribution of wealth among rich and poor countries may expose economic indicators that contribute to imperialist perceptions among poor countries. Anti-globalists do not believe that poor countries that participate in global trade may improve their economies. They do not believe that poor states can fully benefit from the economic benefits of interrelations. Peaceful relations among countries constitute the first step towards economic stability in the world. Anti-globalists cannot prove the view that a distributional arrangement is unjust. They cannot also justify that the global system is unfair because poor countries gain from globalization. Sen argues that poor countries benefit from social and economic globalization by integrating their economies into the global market. This aspect happens due to their consistency with various ownership structures, resource endowments, social systems, and rules of operation. According to these conditions, the market economy generates variance in prices, terms of trade, and income distribution.
A market-based economy may be the only way of achieving economic prosperity for poor countries. A market-based economy does not work without peaceful relations among world states. Appropriate conditions like human resources and regulations of trade relations depend on all systems that feature both regionally and internationally. From earlier studies, market outcomes are influenced by government policies in education, land, credit opportunities, and appropriate legal laws. All the mentioned concepts can change global economic relations.
Sen concludes by pointing out problems related to globalization. He captures various omissions that countries need to address institutional frameworks. Appropriate regulatory frameworks like laws hold the solutions to the unequal distribution of wealth among poor and rich countries. Another common problem that relates to globalization involves global ethics. These commissions include ineffective trade restrictions that reduce exports from poor countries and patent laws. Sen also views institutional inequality as a major setback for globalization. International relations experts need to assess the concept of globalization in order to measure the availability and nature of the national and global institutional arrangements. Proper institutional structures may strengthen economic and social relations among countries.
Multinational companies can contribute to the economic prosperity of world states by donating funds that help in the alleviation of illiteracy and poor health conditions in poor countries. Although Sen presents the positive side of globalism, he does not capture the negative impacts of globalization. Globalization is strengthened by cultural diversity. Sen does not evaluate the demerits of cultural diversity. Movies, music and art can negatively affect children due to exposure to drugs, crime, and deviance. Governments must regulate globalization to ensure that it does not negatively interfere with the productivity of society — evils like drug-trafficking, human trafficking, and child labor related to the aspect of globalization.
World states must strengthen labor laws and unions to regulate the effects of globalization like trade. Globalization may result in the loss of skilled workers from one region to another. Sen does not bring out the demerits of international companies in developing countries. The companies exploit human resources in developing countries by underpaying them. Globalization tends to make particular countries rich while impoverishing others. Countries can only tackle the negative effects of globalization through the creation of sound legal systems and trade monitoring and evaluation structures. In conclusion, Sen’s article does not counter environmental issues. Globalization has brought about many industries in various countries. A number of the industries
release poisonous gases into the air that lead to environmental degradation. Many international companies take advantage of the inexistence of environmental laws in different regions in the world. As a result, the companies interfere with natural resources like water catchments by releasing chemical substances into them, making them unhealthy for human use. The anti-globalists advance that rich countries control the wealth of poor countries, and hence, the excluded states do not access resources for their utilization and sustainability. Deforestation, a major evil, ruins the value of agriculture, a major economic activity of the developing economies.
Sen’s article does not suggest an appropriate legal framework necessary to safeguard globalization’s negative effects. Western countries should develop a global convention that addresses the gaps created by the unequal distribution of trade. Anti globalists always view the concept of globalization from a negative perspective because developed countries benefit from world trade than developing states. Sen does not address the need for additional research to counter the effects of trade imbalances of word trade. Anti-globalists see globalization as a way through which rich countries exploit poor states.
They see globalization only as a means of provision of knowledge about international cooperation without tangible benefits. World states must adopt measures that address the costs and benefits of globalization. International trade ought to be beneficial to all countries. World states should create an international economic crimes court that would arbitrate cases involving trade among countries. This aspect would help in the alleviation of economic exploitation of poor countries by rich states. It would also help in the mitigation of graft and economic exploitation of developing states by developed countries.