What Does Globalization Really Mean?

From an article by the international Trades Union Congress:

"Globalisation is a term that is frequently used but seldom defined. It refers to the rapid increase in the share of economic activity taking place across national boundaries. This goes beyond the international trade in goods and includes the way those goods are produced, the delivery and sale of services, and the movement of capital."

Is that good or bad?

"Globalisation can be a force for good. It has the potential to generate wealth and improve living standards. But it isn't doing that very well at the moment. The benefits from increased trade, investment, and technological innovation are not fairly distributed.

The experience of the international trade union movement suggests that the reality for the majority of the world's population is that things are getting worse.

Globalisation as we know it is increasing the gap between rich and poor. This is because the policies that drive the globalisation process are largely focused on the needs of business.

The relentless drive to remove trade barriers, promote privatisation, and reduce regulation (including legal protection for workers), has had a negative impact on the lives of millions of people around the world.

In addition, many of the poorer countries have been pressured to orientate their economies towards producing exports and to reduce already inadequate spending on public services such as health and education so that they can repay their foreign debt. This has forced even more people into a life of poverty and uncertainty."

The article states that, although globalization is being promoted as some inevitable force, the truth is that governments are making the rules that allow globalization, in its current exploitative form, to grow so it infects every transaction on the globe.

Globalization could be a good thing, but under current laws, it is not.

But laws can be changed.

E-mail the link above to your representatives. Ask that the laws governing globalization be made fairer so that they do not further impoverish the poor of the world. And watch who you do business with. Shop free trade whenever you can. Compose a short letter based upon the article above and, once a week or once a month pick out one of the companies whose products you buy and send a personalized copy of your letter to that company.

If we let corporations abuse the most vulnerable and powerless in the world, it won't be long before those same corporations reduce our standards of living. In fact, we are seeing the results of their actions now.

Remember, we're all linked. Ultimately, what happens to one of us must affect all of us.