Globalization
...outh America due to the cheaper shipping costs. This process would turn into a global division of labor that had the core countries like Britain and the U.S. specializing in manufacturing, while the less developed countries specialized in providing the primary products. Wide range foreign trading dealing in high priced goods has been around for centuries, but due to technology, global commerce became commonplace and was no longer reserved for the wealthy. Now, for the first time, specialization of production on a worldwide scale was a central element of economic life in all the countries that participated. Between 1870 and 1913, exports as a percentage of national income doubled in India and Indonesia and more than tripled in China. Japan had the most dramatic turnaround going from a country in total isolation to a free trade economy that saw its exports increase by seventy percent from 1860 to 1875. This era of globalization and booming global economies during the late 1800’s came to an end with the World Wars, the Great Depression and rising dictatorships of the 20th century, only to reemerge during the last 40 years. A common myth in the today’s society is that globalization is something new and has only occurred within the past 10-20 years. As reported earlier, globalization began in the 19th century, and much of what occurred during that century has a striking resemblance to 20th century globalization. The main differences between these two centuries are the more advanced technologies, modernization of electronic communication, and more integrated financial markets; however, some of the discussions Americans as well as many other individuals worldwide had around the turn of the 19th century, shared the same reflections and concerns as those discussions of the 20th century. In the 19th century, life was rapidly changing with the inventions of the telephone, railroad, automobile, large industrialized factories, politics and emerging world powers. Computers, Internet, television, satellites, airplanes, and new emerging world powers are all cause for concern as well as promise in the 1900’s. Between 1910 and 1950, political and economical upheavals dramatically minimized the need and importance of globalization. World trade flows almost halted between World War I and World War II, but soon became increasingly important immediately after these wars ended. Approximately 1970, the world began to realize the benefits of free trade as well as the disruptive and devastating effects globalization causes. Some of the signs of the benefits could include the faster paced trade, which has resulted in faster paced growth of world economies. Increased trade across all nations has led to a stronger global financial and telecommunications infrastructure. With recent technologies, transborder data flow occurs as well as a greater international travel and tourism. This has also led to a stronger awareness of global cultures and immigration. More importantly, lower prices of consumer goods and reduction of tariffs are the result of globalization. Some of the less beneficial and possibly even considered detrimental aspects of globalization could be an increase in each country’s need for more power and money. This has possibly led to an increase in terrorism across the globe and illegal immigration. World involvement has developed into a need to regulate trade, which has resulted in organizations such as the WTO (World Trade Organization), IMF (International Monetary Fund), and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization.) These organizations have increased the number of standards applied globally and continue to place a great amount of control on free trade. These various harmful aspects of globalization have led to an “Anti-globalization” movement. Critics across the globe claim that free trade benefits only the rich, and has caused a severe gap between the rich and poor. Many activists proclaim the wealthy countries are the only survivors in this type of world economy, and the countries not able to partake in new technologies are left behind. This gap isn’t just between countries, but also within each country. One of the most noticeable and detrimental social issues we have experienced in the United States is the working class have suffered severely from loss of jobs to third-world countries. Companies have realized workers from countries, such as China, India, and some South American countries can produce and work for much less than Americans. From a big picture perspective, this produces lower cost of goods for Americans and higher profits for American companies, but at the cost of thousands of jobs. Thus, anti-globalization activists continue to object to the fact that globalization organizations are controlling free trade, but with no reverence to the individual. Contrary to the “Anti-globalization’ organizations are groups trying to make globalization fair and work for all countries. They have demanded reforms to the free trading system to benefit the poor in developing countries, as well as begin to try to pave the way for the unity of workers’ protection in poor and wealthy countries. These demands also include better quality education and health systems across the world, which are free from some of the WTO current rules. The ‘Pro-globalization’ activists aren’t against the standards of the WTO and other free trade organizations; however, they believe there are many rules and regulations, which need revisiting and reform to ensure equality for all. The general goal is to represent the will and integrity of all World citizens. When it comes to economics for the past two hundred years, the United States has been the single most powerful country in the world. Now, as we enter into the beginning years of the 21st century, the U.S. finds itself looking in the “rear view mirror.” The country that is emerging is China and the threat is real. China is now the world’s largest producer of coal, steel and cement. They are the second largest consumer of energy and the third largest importer of oil. This explains why gas prices are skyrocketing out of control. They have created such a huge demand that was never there before. They are a country of 1.3 billion people; roughly four times the population of the good old U.S.A. In the past, China was known as a very big, but very poor country. The new China finds itself with an ever-growing middle class, one that is about the same population of the entire United States. Chinese exports have grown by over 1,600 percent over the past 15 years, and the U.S exports to China have only grown by 4...