Do you think globalism is a positive or negative force in the world todaty?

Question

Hundreds of companys have moved to Asia to find cheap labor. The workers work for nothing, yet are better than before, or so we are told. Money is the bottom line more and more. Businesses are more ruthless while proclaiming to be people oriented. If companys continue to go to higher technology and less workers, who can afford to consume and provide investment dollars on Wall-Street, and the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, or so it seems....

Answer 1

It's a very positive force. It brings new jobs to areas that need new jobs, allocates capital to capital-poor areas, and enhances infrastructure in developing nations. It also enhances the flow of information and ideas.
The poor don't get poorer, they get richer, and they may not earn the same rate as is paid in developed nations, but they don't 'work for nothing' either.

Answer 2

I think globalism is a positive force in the world. It gives better opportunities to those in poorer countries, like the Nike shoe worker in Malaysia, earning $2.00 a day. Yes, that sounds terrible doesn't it, until you remember that that is a step up for that worker, who otherwise would be on some poor farm earning $2.00 a week while working much harder.

And it gives lower prices to the consumers. Of course, this means worker's in richer countries must find other hi-value work to replace simple labor intensive manufacturing jobs. That is the negative aspect.

But imagine if Nike were paying American workers $15 an hour to make those same shoes. Who'd be able to afford to buy them? The end result would be less shoes sold at higher prices, meaning less consumers could afford them, and less workers employed to make them. Also the effect would be to mire those poorest workers in the worst jobs paying even less.

Globalism is just another aspect of capitalism, which is the most efficient allocator of resources. There is pain, but the benefits far outway the bad.

Answer 3

Globalisation means...

- More jobs
- More goods and services
- At lower prices and better quality
- It promotes international relations ; helping to improve global security

The developed world has been undergoing an incredible boom since the early 1990's. This is driven fundamentally by the end of the Soviet Block, the opening up of China etc. It is a classic example of the benefits of trading (everyone is a winner !).