The article Is Globalization Reducing Poverty and Inequality by Robert Hunter Wade explores the phenomenon of globalization and its influence on the poverty and inequality ratios all over the world. The author discusses the data provided by the neoliberal economies on the decreasing poverty ratios of the past two decades. The globalization-related evidence confirms the neoliberal theory on the fact that the more liberal economies are more prosperous and develop faster than those who do not share the liberal values.
However, despite the fact that poverty ratios have been decreasing during the past two decades, it is yet impossible to say whether its scale is decreased as well. It happens so due to the ratio’s previous growth that lasted for a long time. Hence, though the numbers have decreased, the issue still remains relevant as the poverty-related figures and statistics are rather unstable and may change unpredictably. In addition, the poverty numbers provided by the World’s Bank may be imprecise, so it is hard to establish the real state of things when it comes to the poverty ratio. As for the income inequality ratio, it is hard to say whether it increased or decreased because it is highly influenced by the Indian and Chinese ratios on income inequality. If these numbers are taken out from the formula, the numbers for the rest of the world change drastically. At the same time, income gaps in particular countries continue to grow as well, so it is hard to find out the real numbers of the income inequality for the world in general.
The article How to Judge Globalism by Amartya Sen explains the phenomenon of globalization and its role not only in the modern world but in the past as well. It is stressed in the writing that globalization is often regarded as global Westernization or Western dominance. Globalization is often referred to as Western imperialism due to the fact that history, in many cases, concerns only the events that happened in Europe or North America, such as the Age of Enlightenment, the Renaissance, or the Industrial Revolution. It is usually those who tend to look at the world’s history from only one angle consider globalization a Westernized process that happened and happens while the rest of the world remains unaffected.
However, this point of view should be regarded as wrong and imprecise. Globalization is a phenomenon that has existed throughout the whole course of humankind’s history. It became the driving force for the majority of discoveries and offered a bunch of opportunities for the countries’ and worlds’ development processes. However, it is wrong to regard globalization as a thing that affects only advanced nations since it influences all people despite their income level, social status, and the country they live in. When it comes to the influence of globalization on people with lower income, it is wrong to ask if they get something from the process. The right question here is if globalization grants them a fair opportunity and fair share. However, at the same time, globalization needs further reformations that will contribute to the equal distribution of the resources and benefits granted by it to the whole world.