The Modern Era Globalization

Colonialism left new nations “Underdeveloped.” This table shows how shares of world Gross Domestic Product changed between 1870 and DateIndiaChinaAfricaJapan Western Europe and U.S What might we learn from this table about patterns of economic development in the world?

In the 1960s, as the colonized people gained independence, the world-wide split between the North –rich industrial nations—and the South – poor “third world” nations—grew wider.

How did Western leaders try to restore world trade after World War II? In 1944:  Created the World Bank.  Established the International Monetary Fund.  Established stable currency exchange rates.  Ushered in global economic cooperation.  Eventually led to Free Market Capitalism However, these agreements did not include the Soviet bloc nations

Post WWII, move towards Free Trade In theory, free world trade encourages greater economic specialization, more productivity, and greater wealth.  Efficient use of world resources  Tariffs (trade taxes) are eliminated.  Businesses can move where make more profits.  More jobs are created.  People have more money And each country can concentrate on what it does best.

In the 1990s, Globalization now embraced the majority of the world’s economies. U.S., the major world power, became the chief advocate of free market capitalism for the global system. What is Globalization ?

 Increasing global connections  Faster communication and transportation  Rapid growth of worldwide social relationships.  Swift and free flow of money, goods, people, & ideas across national borders Globalization

billions yrs yrs yrs yrs 1986 – 13 yrs The time it takes to add one billion people grows shorter. World population has been rapidly increasing. Wow! More than 6 billionpeople now alive.

Life expectancy is rising, but it varies world wide. Country Average Life Expectancy Sweden79.2 France78 United States 71.1 Bangladesh62.8 Botswana40.1 Zimbabwe39.2 Average life expectancy for the world is 70 years.

Speed of travel has increased dramatically. World wide communication is almost instant Look at this antique computer. It doesn’t even have a hard drive! 1962

The computer has been changing billions of lives. Where are the books I ordered? I’m applying to college. IT Engineer seeks house.. We’re catching up with the U.S. economy. Will you be my E-pal? I raised my campaign funds via the internet.

But what does globalization have to do with me? Jeans from Malaysia Backpack from China Shirt from Mexico Cap from Bangladesh Video game from Japan Sneakers from Indonesia Soccer ball from Pakistan

Expanding technology makes possible a cornucopia of new products for us New technologies allow humans to control nature like never before

More goods are being produced, bought, and sold worldwide than ever before. What shall I buy next?

Globa lization also spreads ideas and values.

Democratic ideas have spread to more countries than ever before. IndiaKoreaJapanTaiwanMalaysiaQatarMaliBrazil South Africa

But globalization brings high human costs. Although the world’s people are producing more than 47 trillion dollars in wealth, these riches are not distributed equally.

 20% get most of the wealth.  The U.S. owns 11 trillion dollars of this wealth.  2 billion of the world’s people live on less than $2 a day.  Peasants are forced to leave the land as money and wage economies spread.  Workers without education and skills are often left behind. The growing gap between the rich and the poor continues to increase.

Some big multinational corporations have more wealth than many nations. RankingGDP/value added$trillion 1United States9.9 2Japan4.7 7China1.23 $billion 40Malaysia Colombia Philippines Chile Wal-Mart Stores Pakistan Peru Algeria Exxon Czech Republic New Zealand50 51Bangladesh United Arab Emirates General Motors Hungary Ford Motor Mitsubishi Mitsui Nigeria Citigroup Itachu38.4 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Selected Countries and Corporations2002 Corporations in bold face

In poor countries child labor is widespread. Some 212 million children of ages 5-14 are working instead of going to school. These young girls work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, earning $2-3 per week. Most child labor involves high energy work.

Outsourcing is increasing. In 2003, U.S. lost 234,000 information techn jobs. An estimated 14 million more jobs may move overseas. But U.S. loss is a gain for India, China, Ireland, Korea and other nations Narayana Murthy (right) and his Infosys Information Technology complex in Bangalore, India.

Keep business away:  Strong labor unions  High wages  Environment protection laws and  Unstable governments Manufacturing and capital flows to the areas of the world where they can make the most profits..

The speed of globalization results in environmental problems from  over-cutting forests.  burning fossil fuels.  producing more industrial and consumer waste.

Growing threats to the environment affect all people

Lots of people question globalization.. Hollywood is ruining ourchildren. Globalization is forcing my child to work. Free trade is destroying us farmers. Free trade is destroying us farmers. Industrial countries are leaving us out of Globalization. Development is destroying our rain forest. We have 50 million people living in poverty.

Globalization involves contradictions.  Profitable industry but widening gap between rich and poor?  Lots of cultural pluralism but people becoming “homogenized?” (losing culture, becoming the same)  Increasing interdependence but small communities banding more tightly together?  Huge wealth in industrialized nations but great poverty in other countries? You mean it’s not good for everyone?

Some people believe that globalization is “cultural imperialism”. Can you interpret how this cartoon depicts the idea of “cultural imperialism?”

Some:  wholeheartedly embrace it.  seek to maintain their traditions  fight for more economic fairness.  turn to religion.  turn violent  try to manage it for greater human good. People respond to globalization differently. A house in Figuig, an oasis in Morocco on the edge of the Sahara Desert. This family reaches out to the world through its satellite dish.

Terrorism has ushered in a new global threat.  Modern military strategies and weapons are often ineffective against suicide attacks.  Terrorists communicate and spread their ideologies using cell phones and the Internet.  Terrorist groups may have cells in many nations.

In 2002, the United States government adopted policies of massive military intervention as part of a war on terror – U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan to topple the government of the Taliban, which was cooperating with international terrorists – U.S. forces invaded Iraq to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein. The U.S. accused him of supporting terrorism. Are we entering a new era of international relations?

In this new era will the U.S. act as democratic leader, the supreme world power, as an empire?  owns about one fourth of the world’s wealth.  working to create democratic institutions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries.  has military force equal to the next 20 countries combined.  striving to be a model of democracy for the world.  maintains 725 military bases, valued at $118 billion, with 254,000 military personnel in 153 nations. Do these factors help us answer the question?

Your decisions and actions will help shape the future. Will we cooperate to fight terrorism and work to ensure that all people live in dignity? How these issues turn out is really up to us. One person can make a difference.