Fears of a More Divided World

 Probably the greatest concern about globalization is the way it has widened the gulf between  the haves and the have-nots.  While global wealth has undoubtedly increased, it has become concentrated in fewer hands and fewer countries. The net worth of the 200 richest people on earth now exceeds the combined income of 40 percent of the people who live on the planet-some 2.4  billion people. And while wages continue to rise in wealthy countries, 80 impoverished countries have actually seen a decline in average income over the past ten years. 

Another basic worry involves the environment. Economic globalization has been fueled  by market forces that have much more interest in profits than in the protection of the planet. Agus Purnomo, head of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Indonesia, explains the dilemma:  "We are in a constant race with development. . . .I'm worried that in a decade, we'll all be environmentally aware, but there'll be nothing left to defend."  

People also fret about their jobs. Both jobs and income have become more precarious, as  global mergers and intense competition pressure companies into streamlining their operations. Hiring and firing workers according to the current needs of the market makes sense for a company concerned with increasing its profit, but it plays havoc with people's lives. 

The globalization of money markets has introduced  another destabilizing factor. International investors may sink huge sums of money into developing countries but later withdrew their sums suddenly  when  the economic outlook worsens.  Such massive withdrawals can plunge one country after another into economic crisis.  The monetary crisis in East Asia during 1998 caused 13 million people  to lose their jobs.  In Indonesia, even those workers who kept their jobs saw their real wages cut in half.

Understandably, then, globalization engenders fears, as well as hopes.  Do you have reason to fear globalization?  OR can you expect it to make your life more prosperous?  Has  globalization given us reason to be optimistic about the future? (NO!)  Our following article will address these questions.

Next time: Can Globalization Really Solve Our Problems? 

From the Awake! magazine, 2002