Balancing globalization with social structures

Context

The twin forces of globalization and the market economy are irreversible, but this process is creating tremendous pressures on society.

A series of financial crises has affected the global economy in the 1990s. What became clear particularly through the Asian crisis was that even developing countries which had achieved rapid growth were still vulnerable and that existing international mechanisms were not fully effective in dealing with the crisis. Moreover, contagion resulting from the crisis had a negative impact on international trade worldwide and economic development in many developing countries and countries in transition. While there are indications that recovery is under way, the social consequences of the crisis are still present.

Claim

With the advent of globalization, people feel that they are losing control to an impersonal and freewheeling system.

Globalization is a product of human inventiveness. Its most positive aspects have contributed to the incredible dynamism in the world economy. At the same time, the disparities in the distribution of wealth have been augmented. Markets by their very nature cannot deal with issues of morality and social justice.

The real issue of globalization is that the inequality between a minority group of industrialized countries and the rest of the world is increasing. We should look at the consequences of this increase and figure out ways to cope with the problem.