...Textbooks and media in the past had told us that globalization was both inevitable and desirable. The main force that is propelled by globalization is in fact capitalism. Capitalism refers back to Adam Smith’s concepts in Wealth of Nations, which states that competitive advantage creates mutual benefits for each party engaged in the trade. At first, this trade happened on a local level, and as the world opens up through domination of capitalism and technological advances, the platform has enlarged at an alarming speed, creating the global village that we have today. Rewind the clock back a few centuries. In the past, Britain was still largely a class society, where everyone was born into what they do, and what they do determined what they wore, what they ate, what their children will do in the future. (Day, 2012). Imperialism reigned and the kings or queens decided what was good not only for their own country, but also for some faraway places across the globe. Colonialism, in fact, is a form of globalization in an uglier context, defined by unfairness and exploitation. It does, however, begin to link the world together. Out of individual interest, European empires built the very first network of global trade in its African and American colonies. From then on, it is much expected that globalization will continue to grow. As people gained knowledge of the mysteries outside the boundaries of their own land, the colonies realized that they were treated unfairly. There were...
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...The People's Republic of China highlights a fundamental principle of Capitalism in the idea that it is the natural system to be used. After traveling to China in 2010 my understanding of the place, Communism and Human nature has evolved. Though China is officially Communist, in nearly every way it is a capitalist system. The greed of humanity had infected the ideals of the nation and caused it to revert to a modernized version of what it set out to destroy. Emperors and palaces replaced by Communist officials, CEOs and skyscrapers. This shook my faith in Human's as we seem truly incapable of rising above our nature to use intellectual social systems to make the world a good place for all people. This level of hypocrisy, while disappointing, was not new to me. Politicians at home always acted hypocritically. Invading countries while preaching peace and calling for austerity while living in mansions. The reason why this hypocrisy shocked me so much was because of how badly people suffered from it. The suffering of 100s of millions of people so that extravagant wealth could be created for the few. Communist revolutions all involve in powering the workers however this nearly always is abandoned quickly and the workers are exploited as happened in the Soviet Union under Stalin. In China it's less obvious. There is not one man, one face that we can accredit the rule of China too. The communist party that governs the country has over 100 million members but only a few have real power...
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...com/node/12080751/print World politics Print edition Business & finance Economics Science & technology Culture The World in 2012 Blogs Debate Multimedia Special report: Globalisation Globalisation is entering a new phase, with emerging-market companies now competing furiously against rich-country ones. Matthew Bishop (interviewed here) asks what that will mean for capitalism Sep 18th 2008 | from the print edition GLOBALISATION used to mean, by and large, that business expanded from developed to emerging economies. Now it flows in both directions, and increasingly also from one developing economy to another. Business these days is all about “competing with everyone from everywhere for everything”, write the authors of “Globality”, a new book on this latest phase of globalisation by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). One sign of the times is the growing number of companies from emerging markets that appear in the Fortune 500 rankings of the world’s biggest firms. It now stands at 62, mostly from the so-called BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, up from 31 in 2003 (see chart 1), and is set to rise rapidly. On current trends, emerging-market companies will account for one-third of the Fortune list within ten years, predicts Mark Spelman, head of a global think-tank run by Accenture, a consultancy. There has been a sharp increase in the number of emerging-market companies acquiring established rich-world businesses and brands (see chart...
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...bit in the past few years. Not since the cold war has the term garnered so much attention in the press and from politicians. But when you look at countries who actually have a socialist economic structure, you can see some similarities to the United States – but there are some really stark differences. Below, you will see some of the most socialistic nations in the world today: China Denmark Finland Netherlands Canada Sweden Norway Ireland New Zealand Belgium Despite popular myths, there is very little connection between economic performance and welfare expenditure. Many of the countries on this list are proof of that, such as Denmark and Finland. Even though both countries are more socialistic than America, the workforce remains stronger. China In China the government manages and controls the economy. Many of the domestic companies are owned and run by the government. Recently, the Chinese economy has become more geared towards capitalism, but is still officially socialist. Life in China remains relatively less stressful and more relaxed than life in capitalist countries like America. Denmark Denmark has a wide range of welfare benefits that they offer their citizens. As a result, they also have the highest taxes in the world. Equality is considered the most important value in Denmark. Small businesses thrive, with over 70 percent of companies having 50 employees or less Finland Finland has one of the world’s best education systems, with no tuition...
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...The Trend of Global Capitalism Qiudong Wang All sovereign societies on earth can be put roughly into two categories: developed and under-developed countries. The developed countries, including the United States, Canada, most of west Europe countries, Japan and Australia, are all free capitalist society with a well functioned democratic government and a free market economic system. The under-developed countries, including Russia and east Europe countries, India, China, Mexico, South America and Africa, are relative poor, where capitalism has not yet developed into a healthy form. In Middle East, Israel belongs to welldeveloped camp but the rest goes to under-developed category. In this essay I will discuss the history, the present and the future trend of politic and economic relationship between developed and under-developed countries. My purpose is to develop an intellectual framework, through which one could acquire a comprehensive understanding on basic characteristics of various human societies and their interaction in today’s world: where they were from; where they are now; and where they are likely heading to in future. I will illustrate that there are three different systems in under developed world: the under-developed capitalism, the totalitarian capitalism and the military imperialism of developed countries in Middle East. Developed countries, in dealing with under developed world, are in a very much favored position. They are with full strategic initiatives in the on-going...
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...Women’s social status has been steadily increasing within the last fifty years. Due to capitalism, education opportunities, and what Kristof and WuDunn call the “girl effect,” women’s positions in society have been elevating. In short, the “girl effect” allows women to have the same opportunities in education, jobs, and other aspects. Women are given opportunities to work more help benefit the family and community, but most importantly, it benefits women themselves. Because women are able to work outside the home, women’s gender roles are changing financially, and giving more independence. However, the unequal treatment between men and women still exists: women who work in the same position as the men may not earn as much. In “From the Frying Pan into the Fire,” Hochschild argues that the work requirements under capitalism change people’s thought and behaviors. Due to capitalism, women are jumping in the working field, and there exists a continuing competition between the home and the workplace. “The Girl Effect” shows how capitalism changes women’s gender roles,...
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...rise of the international market specifically in China and India. The book digs deep into the history of China and India to unravel the phenomal growth which has been taking place within the last decade. In fact these two countries were once extremely sheltered and self-imposed however understood and realized the opportunity for major growth would take its country to new heights. The Chinese were essentially influenced and inspired by Singapore to accept capitalism. Although communist, their leaders prized political stability, and they were willing to reverse the very essence of their party doctrine to accept and achieve capitalism. The communist party made it clear however, that they would allow economic freedom but not political freedom. They took very great measures to stay in control, some may even say too harsh. Furthermore, China was after more than just jobs, they were after modernization itself. The Chinese government made it very attractive for Americans and other firms to build factories, hire Chinese workers, and bring in the modern world’s expertise into China. However with all the talk about modernization, China’s government still placed the perceived needs of the state well ahead of individual liberties. In contract, following its independence from Britain, India had spent decades in economic exile. It took them much longer to modernize and accept some forms of capitalism. In fact, India eventually turned to China for inspiration, which once looked to Singapore...
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...Capitalism is regarded as one of the most permissive forms of social setups that exist around the globe today. Capitalism is the economic system based on private or corporate ownership of, production and distribution of goods, according to the definition Google gives. Capitalism has existed to some extent in all civilizations, such as the Mayans or the Yucatan. The economic system that is argued to be better than capitalism is Socialism. Socialism first arose in the late eighteenth century in response to the Industrial Revolution, in regards to factory owners were becoming wealthy and the workers impoverished. In Canada, the Great Britain, and the United States of America are all countries whose economies are driven by the principles of Capitalism. However, in Cuba, North Korea, and China are not, they have a Communist system of government. There are many different ideas or systems of how an economy should be run, however the two most popular are capitalism and communism. Since 1848, the controversy of capitalism and socialism has been one of the most debated subjects around...
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...100 years. Since America is still trapped in its sixth year of economic hardship, and the Chinese economy is set to surpass the U.S.’s before the end of this decade, China looms very large on the horizon. A U.S. intelligence report stated that China's economy is likely to surpass the U.S. in less than two decades while Asia will overtake North America and Europe combined in global power by 2030. Modern China’s rise to world economic power, like its predecessor from 1100 to 1800, is based on its enormous productive capacity. China’s rush to economic development is beautifully depicted in the documentary, “Last Train Home.” Trade and investment was governed by a policy of strict noninterference in the internal relations of its trading partners. Unlike the U.S., China did not initiate brutal wars for oil; instead it signed lucrative contracts. Also, China does not fight wars in the interest of overseas Chinese, as the U.S. has done in the Middle East for Israel. China’s sustained growth in its manufacturing sector was a result of highly concentrated public investments, high profits, technological innovations, and a protected domestic market. While foreign capital profited, it was always within the framework of the Chinese state’s priorities and regulations. The regime’s dynamic export strategy led to huge trade surpluses, which eventually made China one of the world’s largest creditors, especially for U.S. debt. In order to maintain its dynamic industries, China has acquired huge...
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...Capital Gains A majority of people in America can hardly imagine an existence without capitalism; individuals consume without a thought when we buy the latest cell phone or a new pair of hundred dollar designer jeans. It is clear that most of the world supports some form of capitalism and therefore, at least for now, capitalism has won the struggle between economic systems. Capitalism began in 1200 CE with rug merchants. Just like many traders, today, the rug merchants had to borrow money to buy their wares in order to then resell them for profit, but they had to pay back the money borrowed—usually with interest. This was called mercantile capitalism and it was a global phenomenon, from the Indian and Chinese Ocean trade to Muslim merchants who funded trade caravanserai across the Sahara. Later, merchants in Britain had expanded capitalism by developing stock companies which financed even bigger trade missions. Increased wealth of course resulted by the increased investment, but it only affected as small percentage of the population and did not create cultural influence from capitalism. Mercantile capitalism only affected a small percentage of the population, whereas industrial capitalism impacted majority of the population. Industrial capitalism was something altogether different, both in practice and scale. According to Joyce Appleby’s definition of industrial capitalism: “An economic system that relies on investment of capital in machines and technology that are used...
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...were diminished and their cultures delimited, while the strong grew in power and in cultural influence over the weak. Social Darwinists held that the life of humans in society was a struggle for existence ruled by “survival of the fittest,” a phrase proposed by the British philosopher and scientist Herbert Spencer. The social Darwinists—notably Spencer and Walter Bagehot in England and William Graham Sumner in the United States—believed that the process of natural selection acting on variations in the population would result in the survival of the best competitors and in continuing improvement in the population. Societies, like individuals, were viewed as organisms that evolve in this manner. The theory was used to support laissez-faire capitalism and political conservatism. Class stratification was justified on the basis of “natural” inequalities among individuals, for the control of property was said to be a correlate of superior and inherent moral attributes such as industriousness, temperance, and frugality. Attempts to reform society through state intervention or other means would, therefore, interfere with natural processes; unrestricted competition and defense of the status quo were in accord with biological selection. The poor were the “unfit” and should not be aided; in the struggle for existence, wealth was a sign of success. At the societal level, social Darwinism was used as a philosophical rationalization for imperialist, colonialist, and racist policies, sustaining...
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...In this essay, the political regimes of China and United States will be discussed. A political regime is an assembly of political structures that make up a government. This helps in regulating the management of the government and building of the society. The three ways how the government can choose to run the country are via, One-Party State, Liberal Democracy or Military Dictatorship. China and United States have the world’s biggest economies and effective militaries with their ruling influencing politics globally. Even with a huge trade agreement and countless diplomatic meetings, the both countries are unable to sustain a façade of a civil relationship. Though, there is pressure from leaders of United States, China is not discouraged but instead continues to grow its economy. (Super-power showdown - US vs. China, 2012) China follows a One-Party State political system. It is led by a highly controlling communist party. The Chinese Communist Party is fully committed in upholding endless domination in power and will not tolerate others who doubt its right to rule. Freedom of speech is strictly constrained. The Chinese Communist Party dictates both state and society in China. They have been ruling China for over six decades, ever since they gained power in 1949. There are no elections in China. All institutions, executive, judiciary and legislation are all communist as well. (Lawrence & Martin, 2012) Benefits of being a socialist include: equal distribution of...
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...This article was downloaded by: [Edith Cowan University] On: 31 March 2015, At: 12:08 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Development in Practice Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cdip20 Globalisation Shalmali Guttal a a Focus on the Global South, CUSRI , Chulalongkorn University , Wisit Prachuabmoh Building, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand E-mail: Published online: 18 Nov 2010. To cite this article: Shalmali Guttal (2007) Globalisation, Development in Practice, 17:4-5, 523-531, DOI: 10.1080/09614520701469492 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09614520701469492 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions...
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...academics try to search for causes, of how mankind has destroyed the environment so drastically in such a short amount of time. In the article “The Cultural Basis for Our Environmental Crisis”, author Lewis W. Moncrief presents a compelling counter argument to author Lynn White, Jr. article “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis”. White’s claim: States Judeo-Christian traditions and technology are the sole cause for the environmental degradation that our world is currently facing. Moncrief’s claim: states Judeo-Christian traditions and technology are factors in the equation, but are not the only factors. Moncrief believes that democratization and capitalism are far greater pieces to the equation than just religion and technology. Religion and technology have vastly shaped our past and present society, but democratization and capitalism are greater factors to man’s exploitation of the earth resources and the environmental degradation. Throughout White’s essay he presents an argument stating that religion; specifically the Western Judeo-Christianity traditions and technology are the sole factors for the depletion of the earth resources and our domination mindset over the earth. White argument is broke down in several sections with the first stating: “All forms of life modify their contexts” (White, 1203). White used the description of a sea creature, the coral polyp. This sea organism has a significant impact on its natural environment. Another notable example was the Fire-drive...
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...values have had a great impact on the modernization of developing countries. I. Introduction II. Definition of consumerism III. Consumerism in the First World A. Consumerism in the USA B. Consumerism in European countries IV. The spreading of consumerism in the developing countries A. Consumerism in China B. Consumerism in India C. Consumerism in South America V. Cause and effect of the expending consumerism in the world A. Cause B. Effect VI. Conclusion A hundred years ago, Napoleon said that China is a lion which fell asleep. This may, or may not, be true. If Napoleon was right, is this lion still asleep or is it waking up? If you walk in Akihabara, the most famous place for digital product shopping in Japan, you can see many Chinese signs and hear Chinese announcements all day. Chinese are buying expensive products all over the world today. In only a few years, China has mastered the art of production and the purchasing of that production. It has taken the wisdom in regards to markets and consumption, which has taken advanced countries several decades to build up. Similar phenomenona happens in not only China but also many other developing countries. In contrast to the gradual development of Western societies, some developing countries have gone from poverty to gluttony in a few decades. Within several generations, people's concerns have gone from basic survival to a love of more material and luxuries. Consumerism has been...
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