Thomas Friedman in his book says ” The world is flat “
and goes on to write three hundred and sixty five more pages on the
benefits of globalization and how the phenomenon , right from the fall
of the Berlin wall to the rise of outsourcing, has transformed this
world for the better. It is unquestionable that Globalization changed
the world. But was this change for the better or for the worse, is
debatable. It may seem counter-intuitive at first to so blatantly
deride such a progressive measure such as Globalization, however a
closer look does force us to have second thoughts.
The first evidence that supporters of Globalization
claim as it’s greatest achievement is the economic miracles it has
produced. The Dotcom boom of the late nineties and early noughties
comes across as the proudest child of Globalization. And it is true;
the very famous “India Shining” would not have been possible without
the huge investment that occurred in the service sector at that time.
The services sector contributes roughly about seventy percent to the
nation’s GDP. However this seems analogous to a family car speeding at
150 kmph; the infrastructure needed to sustain such speeds is absent.
With the services sector fueling easy growth, the Indian government
did not consider investing in long term infrastructure development
like roads,ports and airports. Also with cheap IT jobs available, the
manufacturing sector underwent slow growth. If we look at a more
direct impact of Globalization on the economic front, the 2008
economic crisis and the Greek debt crisis pop up. Incidents such as
these are a clear evidence that lax regulations in one country affects
the world in this era of Globalization. Once the economy falters in
any one country, Globalization ensures a domino effect throughout the
world . Such bubbles are extremely difficult to contain once they have
reached the global stage.
Supporters may cite Globalization as the
harbinger of the end of Xenophobia, however the evidence seems to
contradict this. There is a huge wave of protests against outsourcing
services and manufacturing jobs to places like India and China.
Jobless in the developed world feel betrayed by their Governments and
social resentment is rising. Controlling outsourcing seems to be the
agenda used by political parties to remove the incumbent government.
Hence it is absolutely necessary to look at a
phenomenon such as Globalization in its totality and not outrightly
accept (or reject) it. While it has its merits , the social and
economic aspects of it leave much to be wanted. A possible solution
could be proper Government control to hedge the ill effects of
Globalization.