Can Globalization Really Solve Our Problems?

"The global neighborhood we have today is, like most neighborhoods, far from ideal;  it has may imperfections. Its residents are not all fairly treated; they do not have the same opportunities. Millions are so deprived that they do not even think they belong to a neighborhood." -"Our Global Neighborhood."


FATIMA, a resident of a large African  city, considers herself fortunate. At least she has a refrigerator. But her family's home is just a metal shack erected alongside three marble tombs. Like a half a million other residents, she lives in a huge cemetery. And even the cemetery is getting crowded.  "Too many people moving in," she complains," especially here in the tombs." 

About  ten miles from Fatima's home lies an exclusive new housing complex, complete with elegant restaurants and a 27-hole gold course.  The cost of one round of golf is more than the per capita monthly wage in this African country.  Poverty has always plagued the city, but golf courses-a symbol of the elite-are both a novelty and an irritant. In our global neighborhood, luxury and penury coexist uneasily. 

The Wadi Hadhramaut, which snakes through the acrid land of Yemen in the Middle East, is an old caravan route dotted with ancient cities. At first glance it seems that time has stood still in this remote valley.  But outward appearances can be deceptive. In the nearby city of Saywun, the museum has enlisted the help of a university graduate to prepare a Web site listing all its treasures. Although the graduate is a local girl, she studied in Ohio, U.S.A.  Nowadays, both people and ideas can move around the globe as never before. 

A couple of thousand miles to the west, in the Sahara, a convoy of three trucks crawls  south on an isolated  road. Mashala, one of the drivers, explains that he is transporting television, video recorders, and satellite dishes.  He himself keeps in touch with world events by watching American news broadcasts. In my town "we all have satellite dishes," he explains. Few places on earth escape the reach of the global media. 

The constant flow of people, ideas, news, money, and technology has created a new  global neighborhood that can bring  benefits. Globalization helps propagate local culture in Yemen and enables Mashala to earn up to $3,00 dollars for a three week trip.  But the money doesn't filter down to everyone.  Fatima and her neighbors watch a  few people enjoy the benefits of globalization, while they stay stuck in poverty.

Although our global neighborhood is far from ideal, the process of global integration is probably irreversible. Will people turn off their TVs, throw away their mobile phones, destroy their computers, and stop traveling to other lands? Will nations try to isolate themselves completely from the rest of the world, politically and economically?  It seems most unlikely. Nobody wants to discard the benefits of globalization.  But what about the accompanying problems?  they are causing  increasing concern, and they touch the lives of everyone. Let us consider briefly a few of globalization's more serious side effects. 

Next time: The Widening Gap

From the Awake! magazine, 2002