Is globalization the way to go?

[Ivegon]

Most people think globalization is the future. But, is it truly the future? Like if point A is localization and point B is globalization.

 

The walls between nations, economies and cultures is getting thinner and thinner. Creating good but also creating bad. Of course, the good is that it's much easier to communicate. Economy wise via trading and culture wise via human interaction. It's that inter-connectivity that's being created. Today, contrary to 100 years ago, one person can connect with a multiple array of things. We, as human beings, are a part of a bigger web. A true butterfly effect. Every time we cross the street, every time we go to bed earlier, every time we smile at a person in need of positivity, we create this ripple effect that's so big, we don't even see it ourselves.

 

Every ripple hits more ripples. Creating a chain of changes that no one can see coming. But, with any inter-connection, if one points falls, all the points around them falls with them. If someone dies, that ripple effect creates a shock for a large number of individuals. But, it's the fact that humanity is so resilient to that shock, that the individual doesn't fall with that point. That resilience is because of one thing: adaptation. How you cope is how you adapt. How long you grieve is how much you are in shock.

 

And, interestingly enough, we can adapt that concept to nations and economies. Most nations, at the moment are one point in the vast web. Within those nations, we have states and provinces, which are another sub-web filled with points. And, then there's towns, another sub-sub web filled with a multitude of connections. So, the inter-connection is really big.

 

Though, it's those walls between the sub-webs and the bigger webs that guarantee that if one sub-sub point falls, the rest wont. Because, they adapts. The shock isn't so immense when you have those walls. But, what we're seeing today is the destruction of those walls.

 

It could be good, it could be bad. One example would be the current situation in the Euro-Zone. Because of one country, one point. The ripple effects was so big that countries around Greece got effected. And the countries around them to. That ripple was dramatic because those walls were to thin. Some countries, like Poland, still operate with their own currency. And, they are seeing through a glass the effects without much shock on their economy. That's because they have a wall in terms of economy.

 

Another issue would be one thing: Power. With absolute power comes absolute corruption. The more power you have, the more temptation you get to "join the dark side". And, that's just the facts of humanity. We can't go against that. But, because of the falls of those walls, less people are getting more power. At some point, those walls will fall. Creating a massive web of cultural and economical interconnectivity. But also creating a massive web of power connectivity. Which is tempting, to most.

 

But, what localization is, to popular belief, is going backwards. But, is it truly going backwards? Or insuring that those walls stay strong. Back in the Renaissance, a wall between powers was erected to guarantee justice. But, now those walls between Legislative power, Jurisdictional power and Executive power is, in most cases, a façade. So, what are your thoughts?

 

*Edit*

The poll was removed to incite a discussion instead of a simple yes/no question.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Ivegon

[JimboUK]

Globalisation is great if you own stock in a large corporation, it's not so great for those who see their jobs go overseas to counties that allow what is in reality slave labour. Globalisation is really hurting the west, we no longer make anything and we've not adjusted to that, we've been borrowing more and more in a vain attempt attempt to keep our way of life. It's not all bad though, the global mess is starting to lead to real localism, an example of that is communities in Greece and Spain setting up their own currencies free from corrupt banks and state interference.

 

Globalisation would be fine if everyone played by the same rules, sadly they don't and that's what will bring it crashing down. If the west fails so does China, the money that's gone into China is concentrated in too few hands, they don't have a home market with the wealth to support their businesses and thus when we go so do they. China is also facing a housing a bubble that is staggering in size along with huge inflationary pressures, if keeping your currency artificially low was the key to sustained economic success then every country would do it, it isn't and China will pay a huge price for that.

 

The Eurozone problem is a disaster not caused so much by globalisation but rather by incompetent politicians setting up a currency that was doomed from day one, you cannot have one currency for 17 very different sovereign nations. All the Euro has done is suck money from the periphery into the core.

[Ivegon]

Globalisation is great if you own stock in a large corporation, it's not so great for those who see their jobs go overseas to counties that allow what is in reality slave labour. Globalisation is really hurting the west, we no longer make anything and we've not adjusted to that, we've been borrowing more and more in a vain attempt attempt to keep our way of life. It's not all bad though, the global mess is starting to lead to real localism, an example of that is communities in Greece and Spain setting up their own currencies free from corrupt banks and state interference.

 

Globalisation would be fine if everyone played by the same rules, sadly they don't and that's what will bring it crashing down. If the west fails so does China, the money that's gone into China is concentrated in too few hands, they don't have a home market with the wealth to support their businesses and thus when we go so do they. China is also facing a housing a bubble that is staggering in size along with huge inflationary pressures, if keeping your currency artificially low was the key to sustained economic success then every country would do it, it isn't and China will pay a huge price for that.

 

The Eurozone problem is a disaster not caused so much by globalisation but rather by incompetent politicians setting up a currency that was doomed from day one, you cannot have one currency for 17 very different sovereign nations. All the Euro has done is suck money from the periphery into the core.

 

Couldn't agree more. What I would see happening is a total social and economical collapse. Not the end...but, rather, an end. Our current world is mainly being ruled by people who's values can't be applied realistically. So, I wouldn't be a surprise to have a country like the US fall and rebuild. Because, a crescendo effect of crashes and rebuilds will most likely happen. China rely as much on the west as the west rely on china for debt.

 

Heck, the US debt officially got up to 16 trillion dollars yesterday. Just shy of .4 trillion until they hit the debt ceiling. Meaning, hyperinflation will be a major issue once that happens. Petrodollar won't be able to keep the dollar from inflating, I fear. And, the fact that the corporations moved to the east only proves that human rights...meaning, human dignity is simply an inconvenience for them. So, why support them? Not only that, but, fissile fuel won't last us long. It's an archaic power source that can't really be used today without costs that we may not be able to pay off in the future.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Ivegon

[JimboUK]

Massive social unrest is a real fear, we're already starting to see the beginnings of that in Southern Europe. The other fear is the rise of the extremes on the left and right, they've already got Nazis in the Greek parliament. Something has to give, the levels on debt have reached a point where they're never going to be paid off. You can see governments are trying to inflate the debt down but that is a dangerous game, keep debasing your currency and investors will soon go elsewhere or start demanding ever greater yields.

 

The U.S is heading for a big fall, the IMF have even been talking about using something else as the reserve currency because the Dollar is so volatile. Meanwhile the Eurozone has descended into farce, nations already up to their eyeballs in debt are being forced to borrow so they can bail out other nations that are up to their eyeballs in debt thus increasing the debt all round. Meanwhile central banks are buying up debt with printed money because no private investor with a brain will touch the Euro. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but you look at world leaders and senior bankers and wonder how the hell did these lunatics end up running the show, the level of stupidity on show is mind boggling.

[Ivegon]

Massive social unrest is a real fear, we're already starting to see the beginnings of that in Southern Europe. The other fear is the rise of the extremes on the left and right, they've already got Nazis in the Greek parliament. Something has to give, the levels on debt have reached a point where they're never going to be paid off. You can see governments are trying to inflate the debt down but that is a dangerous game, keep debasing your currency and investors will soon go elsewhere or start demanding ever greater yields.

 

The U.S is heading for a big fall, the IMF have even been talking about using something else as the reserve currency because the Dollar is so volatile. Meanwhile the Eurozone has descended into farce, nations already up to their eyeballs in debt are being forced to borrow so they can bail out other nations that are up to their eyeballs in debt thus increasing the debt all round. Meanwhile central banks are buying up debt with printed money because no private investor with a brain will touch the Euro. I'm not one for conspiracy theories but you look at world leaders and senior bankers and wonder how the hell did these lunatics end up running the show, the level of stupidity on show is mind boggling.

 

Again, couldn't agree more. People tend to underestimate social unrest. They rely on a system that could fall in 3 days. A lot of people take for granted that when they go to the nearest grocery store, it's going to be stocked. But, in reality, it only takes about a day for the stokes to go out and riots to start. And, in the US, domestic terrorism is rising. Or, at least, getting reported on the news much more. Which, only hypes the fear. Hence terrorism.

 

So, yeah. My theory is partly because there's not enough young people in politics. It's all old 50+ who are ruling a world that ended long ago. Hence the reason we're still using fissile fuel. Which is considered an archaic power source. In fact, nations like Bulgaria, who's been trying hard to meet the criteria for joining the EU, aren't even touching the thing now that they meet it. It's turning into this ill-conceived vicious cycle.

[Mandamus]

The Eurozone problem is a disaster not caused so much by globalisation but rather by incompetent politicians setting up a currency that was doomed from day one, you cannot have one currency for 17 very different sovereign nations.

Yes, incompetent short sighted politicians are responsible for the euro crisis. The way I see it, they either went too far or not far enough. They should have kept the different currencies or they should have created a real common market, not a bastardized one where each nation gets to make economic decisions that affect all the others. For instance, because of the Greeks badly mismanaging their economy the entire eurozone economy is threatened. It's not a single market, it's several hastily stitched together with no deep attempt at harmonization. Which is ridiculous. I love the idea of the euro, but they should really give more economic power to the EU if they want it to work (imo). And if they give more power to the EU, they should give the voters more power. We should vote for those who rule the EU, how ridiculous is it that Barroso has been president of the European Commission since 2004 without ever being elected by us?

 

As for the idea of the EU as a whole in the context of globalization... honestly, I come from one of the "biggest" EU countries and I do not believe we stand a chance on our own, against China, India, Brazil, Russia or the United States. On the global scale, we're like microstates. I do love my country but I am under no illusion... on our own we'll just be trampled. I am not a Europhile, but realistically I think together European countries could be much stronger, the equal of China, the US and other superpowers. I'm just not sure the EU is going the right way about it. :(

Edited September 8, 2012 by Mandamus

[HeyYou]

The Eurozone problem is a disaster not caused so much by globalisation but rather by incompetent politicians setting up a currency that was doomed from day one, you cannot have one currency for 17 very different sovereign nations.

Yes, incompetent short sighted politicians are responsible for the euro crisis. The way I see it, they either went too far or not far enough. They should have kept the different currencies or they should have created a real common market, not a bastardized one where each nation gets to make economic decisions that affect all the others. For instance, because of the Greeks badly mismanaging their economy the entire eurozone economy is threatened. It's not a single market, it's several hastily stitched together with no deep attempt at harmonization. Which is ridiculous. I love the idea of the euro, but they should really give more economic power to the EU if they want it to work (imo). And if they give more power to the EU, they should give the voters more power. We should vote for those who rule the EU, how ridiculous is it that Barroso has been president of the European Commission since 2004 without ever being elected by us?

 

As for the idea of the EU as a whole in the context of globalization... honestly, I come from one of the "biggest" EU countries and I do not believe we stand a chance on our own, against China, India, Brazil, Russia or the United States. On the global scale, we're like microstates. I do love my country but I am under no illusion... on our own we'll just be trampled. I am not a Europhile, but realistically I think together European countries could be much stronger, the equal of China, the US and other superpowers. I'm just not sure the EU is going the right way about it. :(

 

My guess would be "no", they are not going the correct direction.... The chief problem being.... the politicians don't wanna give up what power they have. Giving more to the EU, means they have less...... an no one in power wants to give that power to someone else.

 

I suspect that the EU won't last. Too many financial issues in too many places, and the folks that benefited the most from their respective governments largess, don't wanna give it up.... the politicians there want to get re-elected... so, hang on to 'the old ways' as hard as they can, even when they know that doing so will only make things worse in the future..... I would almost think they were americans, what with the 'whatever makes me the most money RIGHT NOW, and to hell with the future." attitude...

[Mandamus]

I agree with pretty much your entire post, it rings true which makes me a little depressed. I don't even think the EU has a purpose anymore, some sort of political or economic union between european countries would be a good thing for the relevance of our continent on a global scale, but the EU itself is turning into a joke (or has been for quite some time).

I wonder what the "West" will be like in 20 years... right now it doesn't seem to be headed anywhere promising, what with our incompetent politicians (and yes, european politicians are no better than their american counterparts :()

Edited September 9, 2012 by Mandamus

[HeyYou]

I agree with pretty much your entire post, it rings true which makes me a little depressed. I don't even think the EU has a purpose anymore, some sort of political or economic union between european countries would be a good thing for the relevance of our continent on a global scale, but the EU itself is turning into a joke (or has been for quite some time).

I wonder what the "West" will be like in 20 years... right now it doesn't seem to be headed anywhere promising, what with our incompetent politicians (and yes, european politicians are no better than their american counterparts :()

 

I expect we are heading for a major fall. It will be led by the US, and the rest of the world will follow in a domino affect. Current policies are unsustainable, and no one seems to have anything new to offer. Just the same old tired formulas, that haven't worked in the past..... Not sure what makes the powers-that-be think its gonna work 'this time'......

[Ghogiel]

If a 'fall' happens it'll just be a song and dance imo anyway. At it's core, we'll likely build the exact same thing back in it's stead, however long it takes, there is no clean slate to start from. Have a financial collapse? push some austerity measures, start a war, government grant themselves more and more powers over it's citizens, more power to corps. The usual. If you mean an actual uprising, I find it unlikely that in the west people will up rise in a cohesive manner.