Globalisation: Marginalisation of the Poor print this page

Summary: Has the rise and spread of trans-national companies Discuss topic
exacerbated global economic inequalities?

Introduction
Author:

Heather Begg ( United Kingdom )

Heather is a student at Cambridge University reading Geography.

Created: Sunday, June 24, 2001

Last Modified: Friday, August 28, 2009

Context
Globalisation is the process, which brings about the spread of economic, political (and
social and cultural) activity across national boundaries and the increasing integration of
internationally dispersed activities. Globalisation is often typified in the media as the
spread of (often American) culture (characterised as fast food restaurants, Hollywood
movies, etc.) but academic debates centre around more fundamental economic factors.
The proposition side are putting forward the "radical" view that globalisation, driven by
MEDCs (More Economically Developed Countries) and by TNCs (TransNational
Companies) expands ‘the North’ and weakens ‘the South’, erodes global and national
solidarity and brings about the increasing impoverishment and exclusion of the ‘Third
World’ (LEDCs - Less Economically Developed Countries). The opposition argue the
"neoliberal" viewpoint that globalisation spreads affluence and erodes the North-South
divide.

Arguments

Pros Cons
The poor are being marginalized.
Globalisation is a means for exclusion,
deepening inequality and reinforced division
of the world into core and periphery: it is a
new form of Western imperialism which
dominates and exploits through TNC capital
and instrumental global governance such as
the World Bank and IMF.
Globalisation has intensified global and
national inequality. There is an increased
economic and social gap within countries and
between countries, the richer are becoming
richer and the poorer are becoming poorer.
Globalisation is an uneven process causing
world fragmentation. There has been
increasing inequality in trade too, resulting in
the amplification of the trade gap. Through
increasing globalisation the value of world
trade is 17 times greater than 50 years ago, but
North-South differences are being eroded.
Globalisation is a progressive force for
creating global prosperity. Through free trade
and capital mobility, globalisation is creating a
global market civilisation in which prosperity,
wealth, power and liberal democracy are being
diffused around the globe.
Globalisation has increased world prosperity
and organisational efforts to stabilise the world
economy have significantly improved. By
historical standards global poverty has fallen
more in the last 50 years than in the past 500,
and the welfare of people in almost all regions
has improved significantly over the past few
decades. Globalisation will bring about the end
of the ‘Third World’.LEDC’s fall in their share
of world trade can be attributed to the internal
economic, social and political conditions in
Latin America’s share has fallen from 11% to individual countries.
5% and Africa’s from 8% to 2%. The terms of
trade have increasingly moved against LEDCs
and their poor.
Globalisation exploits LEDCs and their poor Globalisation promotes development in
through TNCs. The World Guide (known as LEDCs as well as spreading the technology
the Third World Guide) says that globalisation and knowledge of the MEDCs.There is some
is a ‘euphemism for transnationalisation’ - the evidence to suggest that those countries largely
spread of powerful companies over the globe, by-passed by globalisation are amongst the
wherever suits corporate interest best. poorest.
Increased global integration means that poorer Globalisation has brought about huge benefits.
countries become more vulnerable to world The emergence of a single global market, the
financial markets. The East Asian Crisis was a principles of free trade, capital mobility and
direct result of globalisation and resulted in global competition has allowed the diffusion
intensifying poverty. The crisis shows that of prosperity, wealth and power and these
even the strongest developing states are at the aspects of globalisation are the harbingers of
mercy of global economic forces that serve the modernisation and development. New
interest of the dominant capitalist powers. opportunities and possibilities have been
Globalisation also meant that there was a opened up. On the contrary, globalisation was
speedy transition of the crisis to the other East
the very force that led to the successful
Asian countries - the ‘contagion effect’ - development of Eastern Asia and its
having devastating human consequences.The ‘economic miracle’.Far from making LEDCs
benefits of the global market accrue to a more vulnerable, increasing global integration
relatively small proportion of the world’s means that there are better organisational
population. The stronger become stronger and structures in place to deal with world political,
the weak become weaker. economic and social problems including those
associated with natural hazards.
Globalisation is a form of disempowerment. Global market civilisation has been reinforced
Outside interference of the World Bank and by the policies of the major institutions of
IMF has made LEDCs economies worse and global economic governance, namingly the
has constrained the development strategies that IMF, World Bank and the G7. Global
nation-states may pursue. International governance The World Bank restructured
negotiations to reduce and eliminate foreign LEDCs economies in SAPs (Structural
debt have led to increasing exports of capital Adjustment Programmes) manage indebted
and the further indebtedness of the countries economies. Outside intervention allows the
affected. dissemination of effective economic
management strategies.

Motions
This house believes that globalisation marginalizes the poor
This house believes that globalisation will bring about the end of the Third World
This house believes that globalisation is a euphemism for transnationalisation

Useful Sites
CAFOD: Globalisation resources
EU report: Making Globalisation Work for the Poor
Forbes Investopedia article: The Globalization Debate
Collection of Observer articles
Global Edge - excellent resource hub with many valuable links
 Yale Center for the study of Globalization

Useful Books
Poverty and Development into the 21st Century
By: Tim Allen
New Patterns: Process and Change in Human Geography
By: Michael Carr
Entering the 21st-Century World Development Report 1999/2000
By: Paul Chapman
Global Shift - Transformation of the World Economy
By: P Dicken
Opposing Viewpoints Series - Globalization
By:
Editor: Louise I. Gerdes
The Globalization and Development Reader: Perspectives on Development and
Global Change
By: J. Timmons Roberts (Editor)
Editor: Amy Bellone Hite