Is globalization good for those in developing countries? What is the link between globalization and poverty? What about globalization and democracy? Today in IS210 we watched a documentary in which the narrator argued that more globalization is good for the poor in developing countries. He argued that countries that have (and are) globalizing, such as Taiwan and Vietnam, have become richer, more democratic, and poverty levels have plummeted. On the other hand, countries that haven’t democratized, regardless of whether this is the result of domestic or external policy, have done poorly. They’re less democratic and poorer than they otherwise could be.
Here’s a link to the documentary, and some questions that you may want to think about:
- Has globalization been beneficial or detrimental to Taiwan’s economic development? Explain.
- What role, according to the narrator, do multi-national corporations (MNCs) play in globalization? Should LDCs embrace the arrival of MNCs into their economies? How can the example of Vietnam inform our answers to these questions? Is there a link between MNCs and worker productivity?
- According to the narrator, what was the role of sweatshops in the development of Taiwan’s economy? Were they necessary?
- What is the link between globalization and democracy? What is the process that causes this empirical link?
- What is the reason for Africa’s slow growth, according to the narrator? Which of Collier and Gunning’s [from Chapter 9 of Essential Readings) four categories would apply? How does the situation of Kenya inform our answers to this question?
- What is the e ect of developing countries trade policies on economic outcomes in Kenya and in other parts of the developing world?
Clouds, Clocks, and Sitting at Tables 
A response from Young Ae Yune to the question ‘Is globalization good?
Liberalists think that globalization is good. They follow a view that humans are basically good creatures and are capable of wide cooperation. Liberalists also think that international free trade makes states interdependent with one another. Cooperation, therefore, is necessary among countries. Globalization will lead states to coexist peacefully and secured.
Poverty makes people live with few human rights and little dignity. The poor can only concern themselves with daily survival. It is thought that in a healthy international community, wealth will trickle down from the developed countries to the less developed ones through international cooperation and free trade. Liberal trade and democracy open up the door of an ‘opportunity’ for all poor states to overcome their long standing poverty. What kinds of states would reject globalization? In the short term of course, realists can see trade problems and inequality; but in the long run, liberalism is the best answer for world development.
p.s. I noticed that my reponse was posted in as ‘timshohn1014′. I can’t figure why. He is a kid who used our computer, earlier. I’ve tried to log in again as ‘youngaeyune’, but somehow, it does not allow. I’m trying to repost it with my name at the top.
Though the video seems a bit biased – I feel that the narrator examined very ideal cases – I agree with the main points presented. Globalization provides people with options, they have the choice to work for a MNC, whereas before they usually simply did not work. When people are formally employed, it provides the state with a tax base, and thus the state can afford to carry out its tasks. Globalization may not be a pretty process (neither was the industrial revolution), but I think the end result will be worth it.
Liberalists think that globalization is good. They follow a view that humans are basically good creatures and are capable of wide cooperation. Liberalists also think that international free trade makes states interdependent with one another. Cooperation, therefore, is necessary among countries. Globalization will lead states to coexist peacefully and secured.
Poverty makes people live with few human rights and little dignity. The poor can only concern themselves with daily survival. It is thought that in a healthy international community, wealth will trickle down from the developed countries to the less developed ones through international cooperation and free trade. Liberal trade and democracy open up the door of an ‘opportunity’ for all poor states to overcome their long standing poverty. What kinds of states would reject globalization? In the short term of course, realists can see trade problems and inequality; but in the long run, liberalism is the best answer for world development.
A response from Young Ae Yune to the question ‘Is globalization good?
Liberalists think that globalization is good. They follow a view that humans are basically good creatures and are capable of wide cooperation. Liberalists also think that international free trade makes states interdependent with one another. Cooperation, therefore, is necessary among countries. Globalization will lead states to coexist peacefully and secured.
Poverty makes people live with few human rights and little dignity. The poor can only concern themselves with daily survival. It is thought that in a healthy international community, wealth will trickle down from the developed countries to the less developed ones through international cooperation and free trade. Liberal trade and democracy open up the door of an ‘opportunity’ for all poor states to overcome their long standing poverty. What kinds of states would reject globalization? In the short term of course, realists can see trade problems and inequality; but in the long run, liberalism is the best answer for world development.
p.s. I noticed that my reponse was posted in as ‘timshohn1014’. I can’t figure why. He is a kid who used our computer, earlier. I’ve tried to log in again as ‘youngaeyune’, but somehow, it does not allow. I’m trying to repost it with my name at the top.