Positives and Negatives of Industrialization and Globalization

Globalization connects the world.

Stuart Eizenstat, former President Clinton's under-secretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs, said in 1995 that "globalization is an inevitable element in our lives. We cannot stop it any more than we can stop the waves from crashing on the shore." Globalization and industrialization have brought millions of people out of poverty while simultaneously dropping millions into it.

Pros of Globalization

Tashka Yawanawa meets the Prince of Wales.

Thomas Friedman wrote a thesis and book describing a "flat world." He believed that globalization was responsible for creating "global flatteners," things that would "level the economic playing field." Some of these things include the Internet, workflow software, outsourcing, off-shoring and everything wireless. These flatteners create opportunities for the most isolated person to find a market platform online, as well as instant access to suppliers and consumers. Globalization creates instant connections. For example, Chief Tashka Yawanawa of the Yawanawa tribe -- deep in the Amazon -- was able to lift his tribe out of poverty by connecting with various businesses, including the Aveda Corporation. Aveda's founder, Horst Rechelbacher, partnered with the Yawanawa tribe to plant a Urukum tree plantation for harvest and use in their products.

Cons of Globalization

On the night before the 2009 G-20 summit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, "Instead of a globalization that threatens to become values-free and rules-free, we need a world of shared global rules founded on shared global values." The dark side of globalization is exploitation. Often, foreign corporations, under free trade agreements, will purchase the rights to businesses and strip them of their assets. The companies are then abandoned. Zambia is an excellent example of this. Foreign entities bought state-owned mines, but none of the revenue goes back to Zambia. Another negative aspect of globalization is a loss of culture, which often ushers in Westernization. Former President Clinton's national security advisor Samuel Berger stated that one of the major questions facing the United States is "how we can shape globalization so that it spurs growth and lifts the poor as well as the rich, improves the dignity of labor and strengthens protection of the environment."

Pros of Industrialization

Economic globalization is closely tied to industrialization. With a growing availability of the world's market, countries produce more so they can sell more. There has been a significant shift since the early 1980s in terms of who produces and who consumes. Developing nations are often primary producers while developed nations are consumers. China has made great economic strides, since the first decade of the 21st century, in terms of production while the United States has had a significant decrease. For developing nations, this has resulted in significant job growth and economic opportunities for many.

Cons of Industrialization

Workers' rights are often ignored in developing countries.

Due to global industrialization, developed nations are now suffering financially. Many jobs have been off-shored and outsourced, leaving many Americans, in particular, jobless. Small towns that used to have flourishing factories and small mom-and-pop stores are now virtually ghost towns. In developing nations, workers' rights have not caught up to industrialization. These workers typically endure long hours without basic necessities and poor ventilation. On top of that, because of the large number of jobs available, people are moving away from small villages and into the cities. Frequently, young girls are lured to the cities with promises of employment but are instead locked in brothels.

Considerations

Globalization and industrialization are not inherently wrong. Increased globalization has led to increased industrialization. According to Professor Yunus Kaya, "Although economic industrialization seems to result in spreading industrialization around the world, the question of possible exploitation of developing countries by rich countries still merits scholarly attention." Neither of the two will end nor should they. It is now important to solve the problems they have created while continuing the positive growth.

References

• Ashoka: Tashka Yawanawa
• PBS: Zambia's Debt
• Alternatives: Global, Local, Political; "Interrupting Inevitability: Globalization and Resistance;" Amy Skonieczny; 2010.
• The New American: Can Rural America be Saved?
• Social Forces; "Globalization and Industrialization in 64 Developing Countries, 1980-2003; Yunus Kaya; 2010
• "The World is Flat"; Thomas Friedman; 2007

Resources

• Aveda: Brazilian Urukum Favorites
• SouthernAfricanRegionalPovertyNetwork: The Impact of Privatisation on the Zambian Economy (PDF)