Globalization: Global Concerns of Global Development

Globalization has progressed over the past years in different fields such as migration, education, technology, travel, trade, knowledge, and spreading cultural influences. Globalization has on the whole been very beneficial for people and has had a positive impact in terms of politics, economy and culture on the whole; however, there have also been issues in relation to inequality between nations.

In recent years, more economic activity seems to be taken place between people who live in different countries. As a result, this has increased the scale of cross-border trade of commodities and services, along with the flow of international capital. As it is discussed in the book, free trade is supposed to reduce barriers like tariffs, and “the goal was to create an international forum based on membership that would both promote free trade among its member nations and provide a forum for dispute resolution. In relation to this, it helps to aid economic growth, which creates more jobs and lowers prices for consumers. At the same time globalization creates jobs, it can also create higher rates of unemployment and poverty. The more than a company grows, the more power that company has. This especially effects employers from undeveloped countries, since more often than not they exploit their workers and force them to work in bad conditions without a liveable wage. This problem is a big concern that happens with a lot of big companies that take advantage of their power, due to the dominant role that developing countries play in economic globalization.

Moreover, people buy goods and services in a global way. There is a worldwide market online, since anyone with access to the internet can buy anything online from anywhere in the world. It gives consumers a much wider variety of products to choose with more competitive prices, and this would be the same for companies that import and export goods to and for other countries. Since the United States is the largest trading nation in the world, they have a negative impact on local businesses overall, because due to globalization, they will be extinguished.

Another global concern is the environment. China is becoming a bigger economic power, and it is one of the countries with the ability to produce goods at extremely low costs. However, this means that factories in China have increasingly released a huge amount of industrial gases that cause pollution into the earth’s atmosphere. This creates a big problem for the environment, and for health/respiratory problems for people living in the areas affected by this pollution.

Cultural globalization is another phenomenon that has happened among all these changes. Many people have left their homelands to live somewhere else for a short time, but there are big differences between the two groups: immigrants and refugees. The first group normally leaves their country willingly, but the second group are forced to leave due to extenuating circumstances. Due to this, people with different cultures are now co-existing in the same place more than ever before. This implies different languages, religions, beliefs etc are also forced to coexist in the same areas as well, particularly in many parts of Western Europe. Additionally, all of this could help to implement diversity and help people to adapt to live with others that think differently. The opposite can also happen, since due to these differences, conflicts could happen between the different groups. Another aspect that has affected cultural globalization is food. In recent years, fast food has been promoted by big companies such as Starbucks or McDonald’s. The spread of these corporations has changed people´s eating habit, since many people now go to these corporations instead of going to the local or traditional stores from their country instead. People change their lifestyle due to the trends and global cultural influence every day, and the changing eating habits are just one example of these changes. The effects of globalization have brought changes to education in relation to learning systems, knowledge and communication. Nowadays, learning any subject or language is easier due to the access to information and the use of electronic devices to teach students. Also, the creation of online studies, what anyone has study online at anytime, anywhere. This provides an opportunity for anyone that wants to study without any schedule attachments or hindrances. The same can be said for the spread of international education programs, in which students can study abroad for a long term or a short term.

It is also important to mention the international aid and support to other countries has been created due to globalization and also how governments can learn from each other. It also helps against invasion and solve problems within countries, but it also gives more power to develop countries that take decisions that benefit themselves. In conclusion, globalization is a serious issue that affects every nation, and it is not stopping anytime soon. The important thing to remember is understanding one another to fix the issues created by globalization, and also to respect one another, despite whatever differences may exist between different cultures or belief systems.