3. While globalization has the power to bring different countries together, it also involves a degree of cultural imperialism as the more powerful nations take full advantage of the opportunities presented while smaller nations find themselves treated more markets than as sources for goods. It is interesting, though, that many groups in the more powerful nations see globalization as a threat to their old way of life and as a program that exploits smaller nations and transfers jobs out of the larger countries and into smaller countries where labor costs are less. This is the view taken by many who had formerly worked in the manufacturing sector in the United States, a sector that has been largely dismantled as the manufacture of many goods has been transferred to factories in other countries in order to reduce labor costs. Political developments like the passage of NAFTA only speeded up this process and created more tensions as people lost manufacturing jobs and blamed the process of globalization for that fact. The promise of retraining for newer and more high tech jobs has not been fulfilled an cannot cover everyone affected in any case. Manufacturing has not been the only sector so affected, with other shifts affecting white collar jobs, such as people working on compute help desks and in customer service jobs, jobs that are more and more outsourced to English-speakers in India and similar places, again for reasons of economy. Globalization is a process that moves quickly, and preparations to address the disruptions that can be caused have not kept pace with the changes being made. Some in developing countries also see these changes as exploitive and as not brining the benefits promised, and protests at the World Bank and other global institutions have shown how widespread this view is.
4. When Friedman refers to the Lexus and the...
While Friedman may have provided a plausible explanation as to why the rush to join the globalization bandwagon, he, however, fails to explain the politics behind such policy actions of nation-states. That the more powerful, developed nation-states which have more resources at their disposal to turn international economic policies that influence domestic macroeconomic policies to their favor is lost in the author's discussion. He is keen to caution that
Lexus and the Olive Tree" by Thomas L. Friedman. Book Review of "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," by Thomas L. Friedman We begin our essay on this highly informative yet brilliantly written magnum opus with a certain reflection on the title of the book, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree." The Lexus in the book title offers a great deal of priceless smattering on the technological advancement that the constant
In my opinion, there is no excuse for them not accomplishing the objectives they have been created to attain. 6. Regarding the economic situation and the context of the current financial and economic crises, things are not as clear as they are about environmental issues. In my opinion, the policies that must be implemented in the following period of time should take into consideration economic stagnation, and not economic evolution. The
Third, massive investments should be made in research and development of alternative sources of renewable energy. This will positively impact not only the environment, but also the socio-economic conditions of numerous international players. Relative to the financial crisis, this should be addressed from its roots -- the real estate and credit crisis. In this line of thoughts, the mortgages should be bought by the U.S. Government, rather that having the
Wealth does not equate to happiness, a sense of purpose, dignity or respect. One of the key underlying assumptions of neoliberal philosophy, as derived from Milton Friedman, is that financial wealth is the ideal end goal of all activity. While financial wealth solves many problems it does not solve all problems. Opponents of globalization, whatever their other arguments, incorporate this understanding into their protestations. Naomi Klein goes further, suggesting that
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT- JORDAN-U.S. Middle East has been the most volatile and conflict-infested region of the world, which has not only led to political instability but has also adversely affected economic conditions of the area. While the rest of the world is encountering a slow down in the economic activity primarily due to external factors, Middle Eastern areas have no one to blame but their violent history, which is fraught with
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now