Globalism (or globalization), as is often pointed out, is one of the most potent forces―probably the most potent one―that have changed our lives and physical environment for the past decade or so. By bringing down the barrier of national borders, it has made it easier for transnational (or multinational) corporations to move the venue of production to wherever they like, usually to where labor cost, tax rates and environmental regulations are most favorable to them. By liberalizing the major financial markets around the world, it has made it possible for international capitalists (i.e. financiers, investors, and speculators) to put a huge amount of money into the markets at the same time. And, most importantly, by drastically changing the means of communication and data-processing, it has enabled the people around the world to be ever more tightly connected to each other, have access to infinite amount of information, and make the most of the data acquired.Globalism (or globalization), on the other hand, has brought about serious problems, some of which have been familiar but others quite unheard-of. Because of the fierce competition among themselves, transnationals have had to largely ignore the rights of the local workers, keeping their wages at a subsistence level and providing little protection at the workplace. Because of the lack of rules and regulations, the markets of the world have been unstable or precarious to the extent that those in Asia, Russia, and Latin America had to call for an IMF bailout or declare default. Even the network society, which is expected to promote democracy and general welfare of the people, has been faced with grave dangers, such as the bursting of bubble economy, the lack of privacy and security and, among other things, the so-called digital divide between those who are computer-literate and those who are not.The principles of neoliberalism, upon which the current international trade and transactions seem to have been based, are quite insufficient―even defective―in protecting the people around the world, not only those in developing countries but those in developed countries, who have to compete with each other in their "race to the bottom," i.e. in their bid for lower salaries and poorer conditions (otherwise their jobs will go abroad). Lower salaries mean lower consumption and, combined with over-production, tend to depress commodity prices, which doubtlessly will cause deflationary pressure on a worldwide scale. Worldwide deflation, in turn, will lead to corporate restructuring, which will push up unemployment rates still higher. Nor is the Washington Consensus―the much-touted bailout plan of the IMF―a good solution, as evinced in the violent protest against the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999 or the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos in 2000.Is "globalism with a human face"(Bill Clinton), or "integrationist social-safety-nettism"(Thomas L. Friedman) good enough? What should be done to remove the thorny parts of globalism? In this part of the essay, an overview of globalism (or globalization) has been very briefly presented from a historical point of view.
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