Downsides of economic globalization is its lack of sustainability or the degree to
which earth’s resources can be used for our needs, even in the future. Sustainable development is the development of earth’s resources and its preservation for future use. Development has to be ensured in and for the future generations. The relationship between globalization and sustainability is multi dimensional- it involves economic, political and technological aspects. The continous production of the world’s natural resources, such as water and fossil fuel allows humanity to discover and innovate many things. We were able to utilize energy, discover new technologies, and make advancements in transportation and communication. Climate change accelerated and global inequality was not eradicated. This means that development, although beneficial at one hand, entails costs on the other.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGREDATION Development was hastened by Industrial Revolution that made possible the cycle of efficiency. Efficiency means finding the quickest possible way of producing large amounts of a particular product. Increased demand ultimately increased efficiency. This cycle harms the earth in number of ways. Carbon emmissions from factories damaged the atmosphere. Destruction of coral reefs and marine biodiversity as more wastes are thrown in the ocean. Many experts do not think that the planet can sustain growing global economy. Catastrophies will not adjust to us, especially if increases in living standards lead people to demand more consumer goods like cars, meat and smartphones. Environmentalists argue that environmental issues should be given priority over economic issue. Free trade, through its emphasis on the expansion of manufacturing is associated with environmental damage. For this part Neoliberals see the efforts of the environmentalists as serious impediments to trade. Ecological modernization theory sees globalization as a process that can both protect and enhance the environment. Kyoto protocol aimed at a reduction of global emmissions but failed to take largely because it was not ratified by the USA. It is difficult to find lternatives to fossil fuels. The use of ethanol as an alternative to gasoline has an attendant set of problems- it is less efficient and led to an escalation in the price of corn, which currently serves as major source of ethanol. Although biofules themselves produce lower emissions, their extraction and transport contribute significantly to total emissions. FOOD SECURITY The demand for food will be 60% greater than it is today and the challenge of food security means delivering sufficient food to the entire world population. Security of food also means the sustainability of society such as population growth, climate change, water scarcity and agriculture.
FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA
“Agriculture accounts for 18% of the economy’s output and 47% of its workforce. India is the biggest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. Yet according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations , some 194 millions are undernourished , the largest number of hungry people in any single country. An estimated 15.2% of the population of India are too malnourished to lead a normal life. A third of the world’s malnourished children living in India.
The challenges to food security can be traced to the protection of the
environment. The major environmental problem is the destruction of natural habitats, particularly through deforestation. Industrial fishing has contributed to a significant destruction of marine life and ecosystems. Another environmental challenge is the decline in the availability of fresh water. The decline in the water supply because of degradation of soil or desertification, has transformed what was once considered a public good into privatized commodity. The problem intensified by the consumption of “virtual water” wherein people inadvertently use up water from elsewhere in the world through the consumption of water-intensive products. The destruction of the water ecosystem may lead to the creation of “climate refugees, people who are forced to migrate due to lack of access to water or due to flooding”. Pollution through toxic chemicals has had a long term impact on the environment. Th use of persistent organic pollutants has led to significant industrial pollution. Greenhouse gases, gases that trap sunlight and heat in the earth’s atmosphere, contribute greatly to global warming. In turn, this process causes the melting of land-based and glacial ice with potentially catastrophic effects, the possibility of substantial flooding, a reduction in the alkalinity of the oceans, and destructions of existing ecosystem. Ultimately, global warming poses threat to the global supply of food as well as to human health. Over population intensify ecological problems. Electronic waste aften dumped in developing countries. Sustainability of UN is the answer ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) for the year 2030. World Economic Forum (2010) addressed also the issue through the New Vision for Agriculture (NVA) in 2009 wherein public-private partnerships were established . The forum’s initiatives were launched to establish cooperation and encourage exchange of knowledge among farmers, government, civil society and the private sector in both regional and national levels.
ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION, POVERTY AND INEQUALITY
Hans Rosling a Swedish statistician once said, “The 1 to 2 billion poorest in the world who dont have food for the day suffer from the worst disease globalization deficiency. That globalization is occuring could be much better, but the worst thing is not being part of it.” Economic and trade globalization is the result of companies trying to outmaneuver their competitors. While you search for the cheapest place to buy shoes, companies search for the cheapest place to make those shoes. The result is, that labor-intensive products like shoes are often produced in countries with the lowest wages and the weakkest regulations. This process creates winners and losers. The winners are the corporations and their stockholders who earn more profit. It also include consumers who get products at a cheaper price. The losers are the high wageworkers who are used to make those shoes. A lot of workers are thrown into hazardouz working conditions, but it is also true that many workers in developing countries are at least making more money. These jobs pay above the average wages. People want these jobs and although the pay would be unacceptable in developed countries, they are often the best alternative. Multiplier effect means an increase in one economic activity can lead to an increase in other economic activities. Investing in local business will lead to more jobs and more income. Paul Krugman (as cited in New York Times, July 08, 2013), “The Bangladeshi apparel industry is going to consist of what we would consider sweatshops or it won’t exist at all. And Bangladesh, in particular, really really needs its apparael industry. It’s pretty much the only thing keeping its economy afloat. Not everyone agrees to this. Opponents of economic liberalization called the outsourcing of jobs as exploitation and oppression, a form of economic colonialism that puts profits before people. Few called for protectionist policies like higher tarriffs and limitations on outsourcing. Others focus on foreign workers themselves demanding they receive higher wages and more protection. The root of many arguments against economic globalization is that companies do not have to follow the same rules they do in developed countries. some developing countries have no minimum wage laws. They do not have regulations that provide safe working conditions or protect the environment. Although nearly every country bans child labor, these laws are not always enforced. In the absence of regulations, it is still possible that workers would not be horribly mistreated. International community take steps in protecting the workers. United States produces an annual publication called the list of goods produced by child labor and forced labor. If a company is buying products from the list, they are likely to be blasted by the officials and the media. So awareness is the first step to improvement. The second step comes from that support globalization. Economic globalization has helped millions of people get out of extreme poverty but the challenge of the future is to lift up the poor while at the same time keep the planet livable. One of the best ways to help those in poverty is to enable them to participate in the economy. Microcredit. In 2006, a Bangladeshi professor named Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for implementing a simple idea. He gave micro loans, on average around $100, to low income people in rural areas. The borrowers who are mostly females , often used the money to fund plans that could raise their income. Microcredit has since spread to developing countries throughout the world. Private lenders, governments, non-profit organizations have jumped on board to loan billions to the world’s most disadvantaged. By itself, microcredit is not going to solve the problem of extreme poverty but it supports the idea that enabling the people to participate in the economy can make lives better. Yunus said “In my experience , poor people are the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. Everyday they must innovate inorder to survive. They remain poor because they do not have the opportunities to turn their creativity into sustainable income. Many of the people who have emerged from extreme poverty in the last 25 years have jobs, wages, and working conditions that would be unthinkable in the developed world.
GLOBAL INCOME INEQUALITY
Globalization and inequality are closely related. Countries are divided between the North and South developed, less developed, and the core and the periphery. This reflects key aspect of inequality- global economic inequality. Wealth refers to the net worth of a country- may be in natural, physcal, and human less the liability. Wealth is the abundance of resources in a specific country. Income is the new earnings that are constantly being added to the pile of country’s wealth. Global wealth Report in 2016 by the Credit Suisse research Institute, global wealth today is estimated to be about 3.5 trillion dollars and it is not distributed equally. US and japan were able to increase their wealth. Due to currency depreciation, UK had significantly decline. The report showed income inequality continues to rise. Branko Milanovic, an economist who specializes in global inequality explained all this by describing an “economic big bang” wherein industrial Revolution caused the differences among countries. Through this “explosion” of industry and modern technology, some countries become economically developed while others are developing. The result is economic gap. The gap between the richest and the poorest nations are greater than today than the past. Back in 1820, great Britain and the netherlands were only 3 times richer than India and China, but today the ration is 100:1 (Milanovic) Economic globalization and international trade are the forces responsible in today’s global inequality. Many economists believe that the world’s poorest people gained something from globalization. The rich on the other hand earned a lot more. Richard Freeman noted, “the triumph of globalization and market capitalism has improved living standards for billions while concentrating billions among the few”. In other words, the poor are doing a little better and the rich are becoming richer due to global capitalism. Access to technology also contributed to worlwide income inequality. It complemented skilled workers but replaced many unskilled workers. In modernized economies, jobs are technology-based, generally requiring new skills. This is what economist referred as skill based technological change. Workers who are more educated and more skilled thrive in those jobs by receiving higher wages. Unskilled workers fall behind. They will be left or overtaken by machines or more skilled workers. Manufacturing jobs that require low skills are moved overseas. The result is the widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as the high skilled and the low-skilled workers.
