KUSENI​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​TL1

Hanna

Geography​ ​Essay

To what extent does globalisation bring social, economic, political, and environmental
improvements​ ​to​ ​the​ ​world?

Globalisation ​is a process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as

a result of increased flows of trade, cultural exchange, political cooperation across national
borders, and science. Globalisation has sped up enormously over the last half-century. Its
main actors are TNCs, countries or states, supranational economic organisations, but also
political and social supranational organisations. Those, in a way, can bring social, economic,
political and environmental improvements to the world. But globalisation has always faced
strong opposition and there are obviously reasons to it. The drawbacks of this increasing
phenomenon are heavy and numerous but hide well behind the positive impacts it has on
today’s​ ​Earth.

First, globalisation brings economic improvement to the world by favouring trade between
countries and thus stimulating the global economy. Although TNCs are important in this
phenomenon, supranational economic organisations also play a major role. In 1944, the
USA organised the Bretton Woods conference and set up the Bretton Woods system.
Although it lasted until 1971, it still continues to influence the world’s economy. Nowadays, it
is the World Trade Organisation that brings together 164 countries in the aim of reducing
tariffs to stimulate trade. It also gave birth to the two “Bretton Woods Twins”, the World Bank
and the IMF, who lend money to countries, giving them tied loans ; they need to respect
conditions in order to receive financial help. By using Structural Adjustment Policies, they
structure the MEDCs’ economy by asking them to stop being protectionist and spending too
much. It makes the MEDCs even richer, and pushes them to invest in SEZs to attract
companies. The World Bank has longer terms loans and attracts LEDCs. It helps them to
open to globalisation, making it possible for TNCs to set up. TNCs create lots of jobs
especially in construction, manufacturing, and retail services. For example, in Mexico,
Wal-Mart employs over 209,000 people. Moreover, the multiplier effect applies more easily ;
“Every time there is an injection of new demand into the circular flow there is likely to be a
multiplier effect.” For example in Canada, Wal-Mart works with over 6000 Canadian
suppliers, creating around $8 billion of business for them each year. In a way, this helps
maintaining the economy of the country stable. Additionally TNCs bring Foreign Direct
Investments to Nations and they can attract other companies. Local suppliers to Wal-Mart
may be able to expand their business by starting to export their goods to Wal-Mart stores in
other countries, stimulating their economy. Likewise, trade blocs are a very effective way to
bring economic improvement. The most successful one is the EEC, created in 1957 with “the
6”, which became the EU in 1992 and now counts 27 countries. It is only challenged by
NAFTA, created in 1992, a trade-bloc between the USA, Canada and Mexico. Since NAFTA,
trade between the USA and Canada increased and represents 80% of Canada’s trade,
Mexico’s​ ​GNI​ ​has​ ​gone​ ​up​ ​by​ ​46%,​ ​and​ ​by​ ​5%​ ​in​ ​the​ ​USA.

Furthermore, through humanitarian work and the creation of employment, globalisation

brings social improvement to the world. The basic principle of Transnational Companies is
that they use the New International Division of Labour. A TNC’s headquarter will tend to be
located in a MEDC, while their productions tend to be in NICs or LEDCs. Therefore, by
settling factories in poorer countries, TNCs participate in creating employment. For example,
the American corporation Wal-Mart offers skilled jobs to people in emerging, or less
developed countries. All the Wal-Mart stores in China are managed by local people and not
by candidates from the USA. Moreover, in its poorest host countries, working for Wal-Mart
can offer a more reliable wage than other jobs. Furthermore, the company donates hundreds
of millions of dollars to improve things like health in the countries where it operates. For
instance, in 2008, Wal-Mart in Argentina donated 77,000$ to local projects focusing on
reducing hunger, and supported 29 soup kitchens, feeding nearly 12,000 people across the
country. Globalisation equally gave birth to the United Nations, who does humanitarian work
across the world, intervening in Africa after the Dafer Famine in Sudan and in Haiti after the
earthquake. Its commissions have been particularly active : UNICEF and their program for
the education of children and the World Health Organisation. Between 2000 and 2015, the
UN set up a series of 8 Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) to promote long-term
development. It increased access to education, women’s empowerment, and decreased
child​ ​mortality.​ ​It​ ​was​ ​broadly​ ​successful​ ​as​ ​world​ ​poverty​ ​has​ ​dropped​ ​in​ ​those​ ​15​ ​years.

Thanks to political and social supranational organisations, but also to social medias and
the evolution of internet, globalisation brings political improvement to the world. The United
Nations, set up after World War II, continued the social work the League of Nations had
been successful with. However they proved they weren’t like the LON but much more
powerful than them because they can impose sanctions, they have the blue helmets army,
and the USA is a member country. The UN’s first intervention took place in 1950, in the aim
of liberating South Korea from North Korea. Later on, they carried out peace-keeping
operations in Africa : in the 60s in Katonga, and in the 90s in Rwanda. From 1947 to now,
they have been active in the Middle East, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The
EU is also more than a trade bloc, it has programs in Palestine and in Afghanistan and
represents the 2nd most important social and political organisation in the world. Moreover,
social medias, a result of globalisation, have a global importance nowadays. Facebook and
Twitter, and Internet in general, is used nowadays as a real political force for they have a
direct impact on events. For instance, the Arab Spring was sparked off in 2011 after a video
of a Tunisian man immolating himself was posted on Facebook and went viral. This led to
the destitution of Tunisian leader Ben Ali and this created a domino effect, causing positives
changes​ ​in​ ​Egyptian,​ ​Syrian​ ​and​ ​Libyan​ ​governments.
 Lastly, globalisation brings environmental improvement to the world thanks to the UN
and to the TNCs wanting to keep a good, eco-responsible image of their company. Indeed,
after having successfully concluded their humanitarian work, the UN realised that solving
hunger problems brought environmental problems. Subsequently, they created a new
program stretching out from 2015 to 2030, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Each
goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. Moreover, TNCs have
started to adopt a more responsible behaviour in order to respond to the critics and to
prevent boycott. For example, Wal-Mart invests in environmentally friendly technologies and
sustainable development ; in Puerto Rico, 23 Wal-Mart stores are having solar panels fitted
on their roofs to generate electricity. The company Nike also claims on its website that its
aim is to “minimize their environmental footprint” ; they launched an Energy and Carbon
program in 2008, meaning that their contract manufacturers have cut energy use per unit in
half so that today it takes about half the energy and emissions to make a pair of shoes
compared to 8 years ago. They also mention that they are “focused on eliminating waste
through more efficient product design and manufacturing technologies.” 54 million pounds of
factory scrap was transformed into premium materials used in Nike performance footwear
and apparel. In their footwear manufacturing, they diverted 92% of total waste from landfill
and​ ​incineration​ ​without​ ​energy​ ​recovery.

If the phenomenon of globalisation has very positive aspects and brings economic,
social, political and environmental improvement, it can also have a harmful impact on those
fields​ ​and​ ​provoke​ ​the​ ​opposite​ ​outcome.

Indeed, in order to reach maximum profits, TNCs do not hesitate to put the environment
in danger. For example, Nike is known for damping harmful chemicals in rivers, threatening
the ecosystems and the local population. In 2015, Nike has been targeted by Greenpeace
for an important pollution of Chinese rivers. The brand is also suspected of participating in
the Gange pollution. The large supply of rubber and other man-made materials used to
make these shoes are obviously harmful to the environment as well as are the fumes that
the factories are putting out. Also Burger King is very implied in the Amazonian deforestation
for the production of meat ; it threatens local populations and endangered species. Another
example is Wal-Mart, whose stores use large areas of land for factories and stores ; the
largest Wal-Mart store in Hawaii covers over 29,000 m₂. These practices have for only aim
to make the most money out of it, even if it means endangering our planet’s survey. Bill
Clinton said “Globalisation is not something that we can hold off or turn off : it is the
economic equivalent of a force of nature - like wind or water.” Globalisation is dangerous and
unstoppable​ ​like​ ​a​ ​force​ ​of​ ​nature​ ​if​ ​it​ ​is​ ​not​ ​handled​ ​in​ ​a​ ​responsible​ ​and​ ​reasonable​ ​way.

Moreover, globalisation can sometimes have negative social outcomes, especially in

LEDCs where workforce and raw materials are exploited. As it was said above, TNCs will
settle their factories in poor countries so that they can have access to cheap labour supply.
Therefore, they might take advantage of the needful people’s situations. Working conditions
in Wal-Mart may be extremely difficult. For example, some Wal-Mart suppliers have long
working hours. Beximco in Bangladesh supplies clothings to Wal-Mart and although
Bangladesh has a maximum 60 hours working week, it is claimed that Beximco employees
regularly work 80 hours a week. This can be explained by the will to reach a maximum level
of production and thus generating the most profit. A sadly famous scandal that highlighted
the inconvenients of sub-contract made by famous clothing TNCs like Mango, Primark or
Zara is the Rana Plaza collapse, a factory that crawled town in Bangladesh causing 1127
deaths and leading to the boycott of the brands after the dramatic accident. Another
controversial TNC is Coca-Cola, which is known for taking all of the groundwater around
Mexican and Indian factories, threatening the local population access to water by corrupting
the local authorities. This very irresponsible behaviour corresponds to the TNCs’ will of
creating​ ​productive​ ​efficiency​ ​and​ ​maximising​ ​profits.

​In addition, the many economic organisations born thanks to globalisation have
drawbacks. They could cause interdependence between nations, which could lead to
regional or global instabilities, if local economic fluctuations end up impacting a large number
of countries relying on them. Economies of scale can hurt many small businesses attempting
to compete domestically. Indeed, a positive outcome for a TNC can be a negative nay a
dramatic outcome for the host country of the TNC. To maximise their profits, TNC apply the
“horizontal integration”, meaning they buy their competitors to have the monopoly of a
certain field in a country. Many companies will invest offices and factories in LEDCs and
then, by attracting plenty but cheap labour, quickly dominate and crush the lesser
companies. For example, local companies suffer in competing with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart
stores cause smaller shops in the area to shut because they cannot compete with the low
prices and range of products on sale. This means less competition, which equals more
money, sales and success in the TNC, but it obviously hurts the others. Finally, the profits of
one company usually goes to the country where the headquarters are located, so mostly in
MEDCs. People from the host country spend their money in the Wal-Mart stores, but most of
the profits are sent back to the USA rather than contributing to the host country’s economy.
In the same fashion, trade blocs between MEDCs make it harder for LEDCs to have access
to their market : 95% of the European trade represents the inter-EU trade, and it is harder for
standard companies to compete with EU-subsidised companies. One of the major issues is
that the benefits of globalisation can be unfairly skewed towards rich nations or individual,
creating greater inequalities and leading to potential conflicts both nationally and
internationally as a result. Nelson Mandela qualified globalisation as “A new mean to enrich
the rich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker”. Some can also see
the rise of nation states, multinational or global firms and other international organisations as
a threat to national sovereignty. Ultimately, this could cause some leaders to become
nationalistic​ ​or​ ​xenophobic.

Finally, globalisation and the organisations it gave birth to are often criticized for having
the wrong influence on politics. For example, the UN is repressed because their Security
Council, who decides of interventions, is dominated by 5 permanent members, but Germany,
a major economic power, is not included. Also, there has been a controversy because from
1949 to 1971, Taïwan was representing China, and it was considered a “puppet” of the USA
who were obviously manipulating the country which was under their govern. This system led
to frequent vetos by the Soviet Union, and was accused of being over-representing the
West. Equally, the interventions in Korea were controversial because even though the
operations occurred under the UN flag, they were led by the USA and they wanted to go
further and invade North Korea which was quite risky and reflected their immaturity for willing
to fight only to beat the communists and not to really save South Koreans. Another major
problem is that the UN usually intervenes to keep the peace, not instauring it. They are not
enough involved in the war and only operate in countries where the war has already stopped
: the UN troups did not help preventing the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, nor the massacre
of Bosnians in former Yougoslavia in the 50s, notably in Shernica where they were killed.
Subsequently it is understandable that globalisation faces strong opposition, especially by
some NGOs that are often pressure groups. One example is the movement ATTAC, created
in 1986 in France but now spread worldwide, who uses meetings and demonstrations to
make their voice heard : they want every global transactions to be taxed. Linked to the issue
that globalisation creates inequalities between the North and the South, the creation of a
trade bloc between the USA and Mexico increased illegal flows of drugs, immigrants and
weapons, which had a direct impact on the national american presidential elections. Those
elections highlighted the big role social medias and Internet have, since Donald Trump was
elected thanks to his clever use of fake news. Nowadays there is more and more
lawlessness in the border region of Mexico and less and less presence of the local
government. Therefore it is clear that globalisation can be a source of division and conflicts
in​ ​the​ ​political​ ​world,​ ​and​ ​that​ ​it​ ​still​ ​has​ ​not​ ​convinced​ ​everyone​ ​of​ ​its​ ​efficiency.

It would be fair to affirm that globalisation brings economic, social, political and
environmental improvement to the world somehow. Globalisation favoured trade between
countries and thus stimulated the world’s economy, it created employment in LEDCs and
permitted humanitarian work, facilitated the access to information and communication with
Internet and created an army against the villains of this world, and it helped in raising
awareness on our dying planet. Nevertheless, globalisation has a darker side, and it is not
difficult to realize that these good actions hide negative aspects of this new increasing
phenomenon. Indeed, TNCs put the environment in danger by desiring to produce more, an
the workforce and raw materials in LEDCs are exploited by them. The economic
organisations born with globalisation have drawbacks like interdependence and the
increasing of inequalities between the rich and the poor. And lastly, globalisation has the
wrong influence on politics, from the way the UN acts for its own profit to the way Internet
gave access to fake news more easily and allowed Trump, an extremist, to be president of
the biggest power in the world. Globalisation still has not convinced everyone of its efficiency
and faces a lot of opposition because of its numerous disadvantages, which is why it
probably​ ​would​ ​have​ ​been​ ​better​ ​not​ ​to​ ​launch​ ​it​ ​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​place.