Criticisms Against / Negative Effects of Globalization

Many criticisms against and negative effects of globalization have been pointed out by a number of anti-globalization groups and social movements such as national liberation factions, church groups, left-wing parties, environmentalists, public interest activists, peasant unionist, anti-racism groups, reformists, reactionary and revolutionary groups. The anti-globalization proponents have advanced the following criticisms against the negative effects of globalization:

  1. Economic, political and environmental insecurity.
  2. Link between migration and the enormous growth of urban slums in developing countries.
  3. Global economic booms and busts that ratchet up inequality and distribute new wealth unevenly.
  4. Many institutions involved in the system of globalization have not taken the interests of poorer nations, the working class, and the natural environment into account.
  5. Unrestricted free trade benefits those with more financial leverage (i.e., the rich) at the expense of the poor.
  6. Globalization promotes the corporatist interests, which is intent on constricting the freedoms of individuals in the name of profit (corporate globalism).
  7. The increasing autonomy and strength of corporate entities shapes the political policy of nation-states.
  8. Savings and profits flow into the mother country of foreign investors rather than the developing nations.
  9. Globalization is necessarily imperialistic, a new kind of colonization termed as economic imperialism.
  10. Globalization imposes credit-based economies, resulting in unsustainable growth of debt and debt crises.
  11. IMF and WB’s ‘bailout money’ came with conditions of political change (i.e., government spending limits, austerity measures) attached, which undermine national sovereignty in neo-colonialist fashion.
  12. The main opposition is to “unfettered globalization” (neoliberal; laissez-faire capitalism), guided by governments and where claimed to be quasi-governments (such as the IMF ad the WB) that are supposedly not held responsible to the populations that they govern and instead respond mostly to the interests of corporations. Anti-globalization activists object to the fact that the current globalization globalizes money and corporations, but not people and unions. This can be seen in the strict immigration controls in nearly all countries, and the lack of labor rights in many countries in the developing world.
  13. Globalization is an international economic integration which is an inherent part of a process of exploitation of labor and or weak commodity-producing countries.
  14. Economic globalization centers on capital movements. Globalization is inspired by the role of multinational companies and foreign direct investments.
  15. Globalization gives the biggest advantages and financial rewards to those who can play on a global stage but are shielded from all-out competition by a unique brand (Coca-Cola, Gucci), patent (Gates ‘Ms-DOS’), copyright (Disney), reputation (NBA, Premier League), star appeal (Pavarotti, Madonna), negotiated rights (CNN), globally recognized mark of quality (a Harvard MBA, or an Oscar award). The disparities in rewards feed the politics of envy and create a new class of individuals and companies with exceptional coverage.
  16. Globalization has contributed to a fresh set of “security” problems – the dissemination of advanced military technology. The number of states with nuclear weapons, chemical and germ weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile capability rises steadily. In a more globally integrated world the trade and commerce of weapons of mass destruction is an overseas investment and the leakage of military technology is profuse.
  17. Globalization has contributed to the rise of international terrorism perpetuated not only by international crime syndicates but also by organizations representing dissident nationality, ethnic groups, or particular ideology. Terrorist activities are relatively easy to coordinate in a world with good communication.
  18. As barriers to commerce and freedom of movement come down, it becomes more difficult to stop traffic in goods, or services, which some or all governments want to outlaw: drugs, flesh trade, pornography (now available on the Internet and through telephone services as well as in print form) and the laundering of money associated with crime.
  19. Globalization has contributed to the influx of illegal migrants who could be potential threats to national security.
  20. As an engine of “corporate imperialism,” globalization tramples over human rights in developing societies.
  21. Corporate globalism amounts to plundering or wealth of host countries and profuse profiteering.
  22. Globalization has led to cultural assimilation via cultural imperialism. Cultural hegemony could lead to the death of rich unique diverse cultures which took hundreds and thousands of years to be developed.
  23. Globalization promotes the export of artificial wants or “created” needs (e.g., that people are poor if they don’t have TV, cars, electrical appliances and other modern conveniences).
  24. Globalization has contributed widely to the destruction or inhibition of authentic local and global community, ecology and cultures, all in the name of development, progress, modernization, and even greed for wealth and power.
  25. Globalization, as a paradigm propagandized by American neo-liberal theoreticians in the 1980’s, is simply an economic tactic to pry open the markets of other countries, particularly the developing nations. The US-initiated rhetoric of globalization is to penetrate more effectively the economies of more gullible Third World governments like that of the Philippines (Prof. Edberto M. Villegas, 2000. “The Impact of Monopoly Capitalist Globalization”).