Although globalization is a broad and ever changing idea, it has had a large impact on societies. Once self-sufficient societies have now become interdependent on other societies. Globalization has transformed societies’ culture, politics, and economies for better and for worse. Globalization brings society both closer and further apart. Looking along economic lines, globalization has brought society closer together through integration of economies, but has also brought society further apart as seen through the growing wealth disparity. Looking specifically at globalization in the United States, economic policies like the North American Free Trade Agreement and China joining the World Trade Organization have increased trade and interconnectivity between societies, but at the same time has driven society further apart with the growing wealth disparity due to competition.
Overall, globalization has brought society closer together through the integration of economies. Looking along economic lines, specifically in the United States, the increase of trade with other countries has brought countries closer together. One transformative economic policy that shows this was the North American Free Trade Agreement. This trade agreement, which took effect in 1994, opened economic borders between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Following in 2001, China entered the World Trade Organization causing exports to surge. As you can see in Figure 1below, these economic policies transformed the United State’s economy, creating an interconnectivity with other countries like China, Canada, and Mexico. The United States has become increasingly dependent on imports and exports with other countries, trading over $599 billion with China, $577 billion with Canada, and $532 billion with Mexico. The United States used to produce most of its goods on its own, but increased trade and globalization has brought them closer to other countries and has connected them in ways they were not previously connected.
 |
| Figure 1 |
On the other hand, globalization has pushed society further apart as seen through the growing wealth disparity. While aspects of globalization like trade have increased interconnectivity between societies, it has also driven people further apart within those societies. Looking at trade, especially the integration of China into the world economy, it has played a role in in the rising income inequality in the United States. Rising import competition from places like China has decreased labor sourced within the United States and has caused labor earnings within the United States to fall. Places like China have much less stringent policies that allow laborers there to produce goods at a much lower cost than most companies based in the United States. This increased competition has forced many people in the United States to lose their jobs or has caused them to see large decreases in their wages. The top one percent of earners in the United States now take home about twenty percent of the country’s pretax national income, compared to only twelve percent in 1978. The largest change over this time period was the increase in trade between the United States and other countries. Not only have the top one percent seen large increases in their total percent of the country’s income, they have also seen much larger increases in their household incomes compared to others. Between1979 and 2007, the wealthiest one percent experienced increases of two hundred and five percent. It only rose sixty five percent for the top fifth percent of households and eighteen percent for the bottom fifth. Overall, globalization through trade has also driven societies further apart as seen through the growing wealth disparity within the United States.
Some people may argue that globalization only brings only societies together or only drives them further apart. As seen through the impact of trade in the United States, however, it is clear that it can do both at the same time. Globalization can bring societies closer together through integration of things like their economy through trade. The United States, once much more self-sufficient and producing most of their goods within the country, now is interdependent and relies heavily on other countries to trade. There is an increased connectivity in the global society. On the other hand, globalization can also bring societies further apart. Trade in the United States has caused the wealth gap between its citizens to increase. Laborers in the United States struggle to compete with laborers in other countries like China who have less stringent policies. It is important to note that globalization’s effects change based on what society is being considered and who is getting closer or further. When arguing that globalization brings societies closer together, the societies being considered were countries and how they were getting closer to each other. When arguing that globalization brings societies further apart, the society being considered was a specific country and how its citizens are becoming further apart.
Comments
Post a Comment