Against Globalization

Not only the word globalization has amplified over the last few years, but the term anti-globalization has appeared and is still growing. Anti-globalization or against globalization is the umbrella term for a collection of diverse protest grounds, incorporating: conservationism, third world obligation, animal rights, child labor, lawlessness, against capitalism and disagreement to MNCs.

World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank are the institutes which has been the focus of anti-globalization disputes. As the industries are flourishing globally, anti-global operations and disputes are also growing aggressively.

The disadvantages of globalization are as under:

1. Big companies with international businesses are charged of social inequality, poor working conditions, turning blind eye towards environmental issues, unprofessional handling of natural resources, and biological harm. Anti-globalization supporters feel that the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are the leaders of economic globalization and blindly follow only those guidelines which yield them corporate interests.


2. Anti-globalists feel that the economic growth is not the only factor which make people happier but can often make their lives depressing with organizations like WTO making the rich richer and the poor poorer. These organizations get away with their share of profits by ignoring nature and human interests.


3. Globalization elevates the inflow of skilled and non-skilled employment opportunities from the developed economies to third world in search of cheap workforce.


4. Growth in chances of monetary commotions in one country effecting all other countries.


5. Corporate control of nation-states is greater than that of civil society associations.


6. The privatization of world media and its authority in the hands of a few restricts the artistic and ethnic expression.


7. Globalization might lead to greater risks of violent behavior from people at the receiving end in an effort to conserve cultural inheritance.


8. Restriction less international travel and influx of foreign visitors generate greater chances of spread of diseases carried accidentally between countries.


9. Anti-globalists predict that the globalization is responsible for altering people's mindset, outlook and lifestyle and promote materialistic way of living.


10. They also hold international organizations like the World Trade Organization responsible for violating national and individual independence.


11. Greater probability of civil war within the third world nations and open conflict between them as they compete for resources.

Reasons stating anti-globalists stand on opposing the World Trade Organization:

1. The WTO norms only serves the purpose of MNCs – The WTO, as per the anti-global campaigners, is not an autonomous establishment. The guidelines of WTO are formed by and for institutions with close access to discussions. Moreover, this international organization heavily depends on its 17 "Industry Sector Advisory Committees" for the supply research data for the purpose of trade consultations. Contributions by consumer, human rights, labor and environmental organizations are deliberately and repeatedly overlooked.


2. The WTO ignores labor and human rights – Probable solutions to curbing child labor and human rights abuses are wedged by the WTO clarifying that it is beyond the legal jurisdiction for an administration to prohibit a product on the basis of the way it is manufactured and secondly the administration can neither consider the code of conduct of the firms that do business with governments nor can take the behavior of companies into account that perform business with brutal despotism.


3. The WTO is a foe for environment – The WTO terms the environmental policies as "hindrance to trade" and encourages firms to break them. Practices such as removing tax on wood products by WTO were a deliberate attempt for amplifying the timber demand which would eventually trigger deforestation.


4. The WTO is responsible for slaying people – The vicious resistance of intellectual property rights-official documents, copyrights and trademarks by WTO is implemented at the cost of ignoring wellbeing and human lives. The administration of developing nations has been pressurized by the international organization to trigger the utility of standard drugs and remove the practice of producers providing monetary help to medicos who recommend their products which permits firms to import medicines from other nations where cheap drugs are available.


5. The WTO is increasing social disparity – The phenomenon of free commerce is not helping the majority of the world. Social disparity worsened during 1960 to 1998 both internationally and within nations. This period on the contrary witnessed a rapid increase in global commerce and investments. As per the UN Development Program the 20% of world's richest population devour 86% of world's natural resources while the 80% of the underprivileged are left with 14% of the resources.

Last Updated on 5/18/2011