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http://www.socialtopia.gr/afieroma/globalization/G8.htm Andre Giddens defines globalization "as the intensification of world wide social relations which link distinct localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa" (quoted in Waters, 4). The initial stages of globalization arguably can be traced to a 1970's meeting between European corporate leaders in Davos, Switzerland followed by the creation of the G6, now G8, in 1975. The aim of both meetings was "to bring the leaders of the biggest national economies together to examine the world through the prism of economics" (in Saul, 35). Globalization, presented as the inevitable and inescapable internationalization of world markets, manufacturing, media and culture, operates as an ideology grounded in the replacement of the power of the nation-state with that of global markets. Globalization means that transnational corporations replace local industries as geographic borders are (supposedly) erased, enabling the seamless flow of capital from one country to another. These same transnational corporations in turn are meant to provide a new kind of international leadership, free from corruption and political influence. Global free-markets are presented as a means to ensure the equitable distribution of goods and services, with the lowering of economic barriers functioning as beneficial for all countries. Important to note is the fact that globalization is always tied into neo-liberalist policies, based on the deregulation of markets and the "idolatry of the market". In 1995, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade became the World Trade Organization, an organization "designed as a meeting place where willing nations could sit in equality and negotiate rules of trade for their mutual advantage, in the service of sustainable international development" (Rosenberg: 30). Unfortunately, the WTO has become an institution controlled by the United States and European nations, most notably the agribusiness, pharmaceutical and financial service industries. This points to one of the major drawbacks of globalization, the unequal distribution of decision-making power.
Related Terms:
Capital: material wealth in the form of money or property that is used to produce more wealth. Capitalism: An economic system characterized by open competition in a free market and by private or corporate ownership of the means of production and distribution. Transnational: Across national borders, involving more than one nation. Industry: The commercial production and sale of goods and services. Commodity: A transportable item of business or trade. Proletariat: The working class, especially industrial workers who earn their living by selling their labor. Consumer: A buyer of goods or services. (All terms as defined in Webster's Dictionary). REFERENCES: Rosenberg, Tina. "Have Not*: A Way To Make Globalization Work For Everybody Else". The New York TImes Magazine, August 18, 2002/ Section 6, pgs. 27- 33 and 50-52. Saul, John Ralston. "The Collapse of Globalism And the Rebirth of Nationalism", Harper's Magazine, March 2004, pgs. 33-43. Waters, Malcolm. Globalization. Routledge, 1995.
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