Globalization myths and threats

Globalization Myths and Threats

The first myth of globalization has been put forward concerning pro-economic globalization describes it as an inevitable phenomenon. They argue that this is the logical out developments of technological and economic forces evolving over the centuries in their current form just as natural forces. However, while economic global activities and free trade concepts have existed from distant decades, they were not deliberately structured or plotted. In the current modern world, economic globalization has not been any form of an evolutionary accident. It has directly emerged from a collection of rules and institutions created for the purpose of accomplishing the objective of giving priority to specific economic values and processes and placing them above others (Ferrara, 2010).

This has led to the emergence of a different significant myth; globalization is necessary for feeding the hungry. A close analysis of this myth shows that the global hunger crisis continues to be persistent despite the globalization of the agricultural sector. In fact, this trend has even become worse. While total world food rates have increased, we have also seen a significant increase in hunger rates, faster than the growth of populations. This has been attributed to one major problem; globalized production of food has pushed some small self-dependent farmers accounting 40% of the world food and production industry out of their hands. Further, large machine and chemical intensive corporate farms have replaced these farmers. Landless farmers who have been evicted remain jobless, and lacking financial aid to purchase food (Stiglitz, 2009).

While this continues to take a global shape, another myth emerges; globalization alleviates poverty. People across the world have strongly believed that globalization and free trade will remove all barriers ending poverty. However, after one century after this push, the world populations have become hungrier and poorer than before. In fact, this situation has been steadily worsening day by day with the approaching millennium. Recent studies indicate that there has been a dramatic increase in world economic inequalities as a direct aftermath of current trading policies and economic globalization. A market that dominates more than political and social outcome results in the unequal spread of rewards and opportunities while wealth and power concentrates in a selected population, corporation or nation, hence others are left marginalized (Kim, 2010).

Globalization leads to wealth creation: however, this is only for the few elites occupying the hub of the processes. They enjoy benefits accruing from the surge of global scale financial, technology, mergers and consolidation activities. Recent figures evidence how this has worked. Benefits have only concentrated in certain areas that the total number of world billionaires has increased by 30%, only in the last three years. Collectively, these are only 520 individuals whose combined salaries are worth more than combined salaries of 100 bottom employees (Ferrara, 2010). Such a scenario is only poised to prompt threats to the nation of Thailand. While there may be free trade between Thailand and trading partners, products and services manufactured in Thailand are likely to face major obstacles. This is due to increased competition in the labor market, products and service sectors.