Globalization Studies

Globalization is the economic reality of today’s world. From the United States to Guinea, workers and capital are interconnected on a scale unheard of in human history. Globalization is in many ways the natural result of capitalist development, the natural result of a growing, creeping system of an economic culture that is insatiable in its desire for more and more resources and markets. Globalization has been a system that has changed the world irrevocably and tightened the distances between nations. Globalization has, more than anything else it has done, promoted interests of capital over the interests of labor.

Globalization has been a persistent reality for capitalist nations and their unfortunate subordinates for over three centuries. As early as, and perhaps before, the time of Adam Smith, the powerful and highly developed nations of Europe were descending upon far flung regions of the world and, with the superior naval and military technology they possessed, subjugation of the peoples they encountered to further their economic goals. Arthur macEwan writes in his article, “What is Globalization?”, found in the Dollars and Sense text Real World Macro, that in addition to the gains and destruction wrought by the advent of globalization, there was also an “equally momentous” consequence to the expansion of capitalism between borders, “huge cultural transformations that were tied to the great expansion of economic contacts among the continents”. In other words, the cultural shifts brought about by the spread of globalization and backed up by the military might of the globalized nations were culturally destructive and disastrous for the cultures that were set upon.

Much like a Catholic priest, globalization has the effect of breaking contract with the very people it is supposed to help by promising safety, security and a higher standard of life while simultaneously acting in manners which are specifically contrary to these ideals. One can make the case that policies of globalization are almost completely contrary to the interests of the working people of the world and in the favor of the ruling class. macEwan refers to the evolution of capitalism and globalization from the 19th century to today as a gradual homogenization of culture and economic activity in general. Production is no longer concentrated in the home, as it was in some respects in the past. Thus the family must increasingly rely on goods produced within the world factory for subsistence, and survival becomes connected to the production of others and the resources of others. The problem becomes apparent when one regards the plight of the family in the broader context of their labor, when one realizes that in order to attain this subsistence, the family must engage in the globalized labor market.

Apologists for globalization tout the conceptual benefits of increased competition in the labor market as a form of ends justifying the means, but the reality is far different. Globalization has brought about massive changes in domestic industries and the employment of the worker in many countries. macEwan: “With labor markets existing throughout most of the world, virtually all workers are placed in competition with one another”, which predictably leads to the workers willing to do the most work with the least recompense getting the jobs. This in and of itself is not a problem, given certain assumptions such as a level playing field and perfect competition. It is when this philosophy runs up against the facts on the ground, when the truth of the global labor market is made apparent, that the philosophical framework of the globalized apologia falls to pieces. The ability of capital to range about the world in search of investment opportunites allows it the freedom to exploit whichever labor market it wishes for production. But labor does not have this freedom, being based, as it is, in the physical world far more than capital is. Thus, to go again to macEwan, we see “labor does not enjoy the same freedom in the globalized economy as does capital..since ‘freedom’ means having alternatives, and having alternatives means having power”. In many ways, the growth of globalization has made the case for unions and regulation of the movement of domestic industry better than the most dogmatic Marxist ever could.

This essay has only touched on the effects of globalization on the world of capital and labor. It is an overview intended to introduce themes to be expanded upon throughout this quarter. But despite the loose framework and somewhat disjointed focus, it does attempt to address one of the pressing questions of our world economic system, such as whether or not globalization has had a positive effect even on the countries that have ostensibly benefitted from it and what the real effects of a globalized economy are upon the psyche of the working classes. These issues will be explored further in the next essay.