There are many anti-globalisation movements made up of several social groups and NGOs (Non-governmental organisations).
- They use social networks to organise the actions and protests.
- It is common that they protest when the main meetings take place (G8, G20, IMF, WTO...).
These groups attack globalisation basing on:
- Globalisation imposes capitalism, which benefits richest countries at the poorest countries’ expenses since conditions are not equal in a global market.
- Economic decisions are not made up by national governments but by international organisms, multinational companies or supranational institutions.
- Imposition of the culture, language and customs of the powerful countries on weaker ones.
EXERCISES:
Q13. What is anti-globalisation? What do anti-globalisation movements defend?
1.3.3. Positive and Negative aspects of Globalisation
Positive aspects:
- Opportunities for the most able people
- Easier access to markets and new technologies
- Health situation has improved
- It has allowed the free diffusion of information
- Greater international circulation of goods, services, capital, and knowledge
Negative aspects:
- Polarisation of the distribution of wealth
- Irrational use of human and natural resources
- Increase of emigration to rich countries to escape from the poverty in their countries of origin
- Destruction of cultural plurality and of symbolic universes
- ncrease in job insecurity and social protection in the most industrialised countries, especially those with a lower qualification.
EXERCISES:
Q14. What are the positive and negative effects of globalisation? What do you think?
2. UNEQUAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
There is a huge difference between developed and underdeveloped countries, between industrialised north and underdeveloped south, the Third World.
The means that are used to measure those differences are:
- GDP per capita. It expresses how much money would receive a person from the national GDP.
- In developed countries GDP per capita is over $ 10,000.
- On the contrary, in underdeveloped countries GDP per capita is less than $ 1,000.
- Literacy rate. It expresses how many people can read and write.
- Developed countries have a very high literacy rate (over 90%).
- Instead in less developed countries that rate is lower than 50 or even 40% (it increases among women) since many children leave schools to work.
- Consumption of calories (per person and day). Underfeeding has been fixed when people do not reach 2,500 daily calories (as advised by the WHO).
- Consumption of energy. It is considerably higher in the developed countries, whereas in the underdeveloped there is very little consumption by their inhabirants.
- Human Development Index (HDI). It is an index used by the UN and it does not use only economic date but other information about health, education... So, they pay attention to life expectancy at birth and years of schooling. The result is expressed between 0 and 1 (the closer to 1 the more developed):
EXERCISES:
Q15. Compare the Human Development Index of these countries:
Look at this website: http://hdr.undp.org/en/data
