Steven L. Johnson
(HIS-213254-02-13SP1) Globalization: MOD. 06
Professor: Aileen Schlissel
Cover
Abstract
Is Globalization ultimately positive or negative, or somewhere in between? The easy
answer is, somewhere in between. That may a very good answer but it is not the
only answer. It depends on the topic and the perspective, global multinational
corporations may have one view and out of work low skilled manufacturing worker
may have another view. Through this paper we will explore the geo-political, global
economic and the environmental impact of globalization. We will also take a look at
the effect on individuals, families and communities.
Globalization is a phenomenon that touches almost every aspect of our lives in
some way. Many people detest globalization and protest against it, normally
focused on a single concern or several that may be closely related. Others see no
problem with the expansion of multinational corporations. These same people are
often unconcerned about the global reach of powerful NGOs such as the World
Bank, The International Monetary Fund, The World Trade Organization and the
United Nations.
This paper is sprinkled with commentary from some of my other works in this class,
we have covered a lot of material and recalling details previously researched and
pontificated is beneficial to the globalization, positive or negative analysis.
Table of Contents
2
Cover...........................................................................................................1
Abstract.......................................................................................................2
Children & Families........................................................................................4
Population & Aging......................................................................................4
Food and Agriculture......................................................................................5
Education & the Arts......................................................................................5
Energy & Environment....................................................................................6
Health & Health Care.....................................................................................8
Infrastructure & Transportation........................................................................9
Political structures........................................................................................10
Science & Technology...................................................................................11
Looking Ahead.............................................................................................11
References:................................................................................................12
world that may have not had the opportunity to attend a university. I feel that we
will see education evolve with public domain lectures and texts that can greatly
reduce cost while addressing a larger number of students.
The Arts also have a very strong tie with technology. Movies, music, and the ability
to discover almost anything on the internet is amazing. I am fond of the classic
books that you can download for free from Project Guttenberg. An amazing amount
of images and paintings are cataloged on Getty Images and can be found through
Google Images.
Language is evolving as it has forever here in the US and in many parts of the
world people use terms, phrases and greeting that are not native to their home
land. English has become the most prominent language of business worldwide. The
common spoken English language is picking up bits and pieces of other languages,
words like: ciao, amigo, sayonara, and many others. Many people that I meet in my
travels and at home incorporate these non-English words into their vocabulary.
Overall: Positive
Resources are an important issue, not only metals and minerals used for producing
goods but food and water resources. On our planet we have more than seven billion
people and the population is growing. Without deforestation we will not gain a
significant amount of arable farm land, yet there is a constant growth in the
number of people on the planet to feed. Advancements in agricultural technologies
and methods are helping to produce enough food for all. People are starving in
some parts of the world for several reasons, political strife, a poor means of food
distribution and a lack of water. It makes you wonder why we see people living in
areas with little in the way of water resources. They are unable to raise livestock or
grow crops effectively. I am thankful that I live in an area with an abundant water
supply and productive agricultural resources.
Our environment has been taken for granted for a very long time. Now with high
density population centers creating so much air pollution that it becomes a visibility
problem governments even those third world countries are starting to take action.
Lets hope that it is not too late. Water and soil has also been polluted in many
areas, most of them industrial. As regulations have become stricter in the Western
world these issues have moved to the east. In the area that I live in there are many
industrial sites with soil contamination.
Overall: Negative
Political structures
Government, I say government and the first thought is the US government and
those of sovereign states. You may say yes and I agree that that is our government
but government too is becoming global. We already have many pseudo world
government entities. The first that comes to mind is the United Nations of course
and it can even assemble a military. We have sub agencies of the UN like the
committee on global climate change; you may recall the Kyoto protocol. United
Nations Children's Fund UNICEF; certainly a good organization put in place to
protect children. Other global organizations such as the World Bank, The
International Monetary Fund, WHO The World Health Organization, The ICJ
International Court of Justice The World Court and there are more.
Overall: Negative
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Overall: Positive
Looking Ahead
References:
The Economist, The new maker rules, Big forces are reshaping the world of
manufacturing,
Nov 24th 2012 | NEW YORK |From the print edition.
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21567127-big-forces-are-reshapingworld-manufacturing-new-maker-rules
The Rand Corporation, Think Globally, Manufacture Locally: Redrawing the Map of
Manufacturing, by: Robert Gunther,
http://smapp.rand.org/ise/ourfuture/Manufacturing/sec8_think.html
The Economist, Greedand fear, The golden age of finance collapsed under its own
contradictions. Edward Carr (interviewed here) asks why it went wrong and what to
do next, Jan 22nd 2009
http://www.economist.com/node/12957709
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Cato Institute, The Blessings and Challenges of Globalization, By: Daniel Griswold,
This article appeared on Cato.org on September 1, 2000.
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/blessings-challenges-globalization
The Hamilton Project of The Brookings Institution & The Center for American
Progress:
The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market, Implications for
Employment and Earnings, David Autor, MIT Department of Economics and National
Bureau of Economic Research
April 2010, http://economics.mit.edu/files/5554
Time Magazine: U.S. Economy Adds Just 88,000 Jobs in March; Unemployment
Rate Falls to 7.6% By Christopher Matthews, April 05, 2013,
http://business.time.com/2013/04/05/u-s-economy-adds-just-88000-jobs-inmarch-unemployment-rate-falls-to-7-6/
http://www.gpn.org/topics-globalization.html
The United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) - Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC), Linking globalization and families through family
policies, Tuesday, 07 June 2011
http://social.un.org/index/Family/WhatsNew/tabid/1558/news/107/Default.aspx
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