Examining Alternatives to Globalization

The world is witnessing the effects of globalization on the information and technology, systems of governments and the economy. These effects eventually result in the globalization of various cultures. This is the reason why many anti-globalization organizations try to oppose the issues of globalization. The reason for resistance to globalization is to try and safeguard their respective threatened peculiarities.

Opponents of globalization believe that globalization is a financial institution that seeks to impose a uniform kind of thinking while erasing all other countries historical heritages. The critics also don’t perceive globalization as a way of trying to bridge the gap between the rich nations and the aspiring to develop nations (Gaston, 2002). The main rationale of global markets is to rapidly increase the wealth which never meets social and human needs. Free trade around the world favors the powerful and developed countries. As the economy becomes more interconnected and independent, developing economies such as Africa and Latin America becomes more vulnerable (Tschudin & Davis, 2008).

The new global economic is presenting negative impacts on the consumer culture. New values that are propagated by new economies are changing traditional values and also weaken values that are responsible to improve the economy. For instance, one corrupt country that accepts investment funds from various multinationals. The citizens of such countries have no option but to work for those multinationals. However, the multinationals provide very poor working conditions and low wages. The families of the workers cannot afford proper health care and lack food and education. The corrupt government officials and the multinationals make huge profits while local people live in poverty (Petras, 2000). Poverty has resulted to lack of proper housing and health facilities. In most developing countries, there is a huge problem of housing. A large population of the city residents lives in slums with no piped water and sanitary facilities.

Critics of globalization accuse multinationals for taking their companies in low income nations. The citizens of such countries earn a half the salary of what an Americans or other citizens from developed countries can get. Many countries that go through hard economic conditions are normally pushed and pulled by global powers like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The global powers require the nations to make local financial decisions of business which are not conducive to the popular morality. Poor citizens tend to migrate to other developed countries with the hopes of finding better paying jobs. However, the immigrants find life harder in foreign countries and they end up doing other things to find money for their basic needs (Rieger, 2010).

Some countries have engaged in activities that encourage immigrants in the sex trade. Many immigrants also involve in activities such as robbery and illegal drug trade resulting to the erosive and crushing influence brought by globalization and the need to have big money. Critics believe that such vices will be hard to stop. The current humanitarian aid in Africa and other poor countries has attracted more criticism (Msafiri, 2008).

People in such countries require urgent help and thanks to the developed nations for their efforts. Conversely, the efforts made by this developed countries to provide food and medicines is not enough. Humanitarian organizations and donor countries should focus on building infrastructures and coming up with projects such as irrigation to empower people to look for themselves (Wahab & Cooper, 2001).

References

Gaston, N. (2002). The effects of globalization on Unions and the Nature of collective

Bargaining. Journal of Economic Integration, 17(2), 377-396.

Msafiri, A. G. (2008). Globalization of concern. Dar es Salaam: Dar es Salaam

University Press.

Petras, J. (2000). Globalization: A critical analysis. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 29(1),

3-37.

Rieger, J. (2010). Globalization and theology. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Tschudin, V., & Davis, A. J. (2008). The globalisation of nursing. Oxford: Radcliffe Pub.

Wahab, S., & Cooper, C. P. (2001). Tourism in the Age of Globalisation (Vol. 10).

Psychology Press.