The Two Faces of Globalization

In his book Artists of the Floating World, Rob Burton says that “Globalization has become a seductive catchword to describe the increased flow of capital (both financial and human), commodities, and creative ideas around the world in the last half of the twentieth century and early part of the twenty-first century” (125).  Indeed, globalization has increased trade and travel between all nations of the world, resulting in the sharing and improvement of technology, global economy, and cultural exchange.  As citizens of the world, we now have more understanding and cultural knowledge of bordering as well as far-off nations.  Globalization has had some extreme negative results though.  The increased industrialization of all nations has contributed to problems such as the depletion of natural resources, resulting in climate change and global warming.  It has contributed to the destruction of unique cultures by imposing a global (or sometimes “American”) identity and set of morals upon them.  It has forced people in third-world countries into working in low-wage, dangerous, sweatshop jobs.

I have increasingly become conflicted with my own personal view of globalization.

On one hand, the effects of globalization have truly shaped me as a person.  Because of the increased contact and cultural exchange between cultures caused by this global movement, I could be exposed first-hand to people of differing cultures at a very young age.  I can follow my current strong interest in foreign cultures all the way back to an international fair that was held at my elementary school when I was about seven years old.  Foreign volunteers from our county’s YMCA came and taught us about their history, customs, food, language, and clothing.  Before that week of cultural immersion, I had been completely uninterested and unmotivated to learn anything that I didn’t already know.  Why did it matter anyway?  I was stubborn.  After the international fair I had become a different kid.  I spent my free time in the library reading every book I could that would improve my knowledge that I had gained that one, wonderful week. China, Ireland, Bolivia, paper cranes, saris, Australian Aborigines, chopsticks, vegemite.  Nothing was out of bounds, thanks to the global trade and contact that brought this information into the realm of the English language. 

Though it wasn’t obvious to me at the time, this was a huge turning point in my life.  Growing up, it was the source of my interest in foreign food, music, languages, and world history.  I grew increasingly curious and did everything I could to get my hands on spicy Indian curries, raw sushi delicacies, and Scandinavian sweet bread.  In high school and college, I’ve studied German, Japanese, and a little bit of French and Spanish.  My knowledge of the Japanese language enabled me to study abroad for a year in Tokyo, Japan.  If I had been born 30 years earlier, I may have never had these opportunities and may have become a completely different person.  It is because of globalization that I could hear this music, eat these foods, and learn about these cultures, customs, and languages.

Since embarking on my journey abroad, however, I have been exposed to a different cultural perspective.  All is not well in the world.  The forest depletion in Borneo has forced natives, people who have been living there for more than several centuries, to flee their homes and their way of life.  This wood is sold to Japan and other countries to build homes.  This is all in the name of commerce and competition.  Is this right?  People all over Southeast Asia are forced into working in sweatshops or even worse, into the sex slave trade, in order for their families to scrape by.  “Half of the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day and has no access to proper sanitation; 20% of the population in developed nations consume 86% of the world’s goods; 0.13% of the world’s population controls 25% of its financial assets” (Burton, 125).  How can this be right?  Where is the social justice in this?  I never in my whole life truly realized how privileged I was until I left the U.S. for a year.  When I once thought that globalization was only the amazing and wonderful force that allowed me to experience the rest of the world, I now saw its other, hideous face.

I wonder, shouldn’t the goal of “globalization” be that all citizens of the world can work together without disadvantaging each other, without forcing the weak into menial and dangerous jobs, without destroying our planet?  It may be too ideal a concept.  If so, I believe that the process of globalization should be reconsidered and rethought.  If we cannot protect our people, our Earth, there is something seriously wrong with our plan.