Since time immemorial growth has been the crux of business. The impact of Globalisation has been studied extensively. An informal estimate is that more than 500 books and close to 12,000 papers on this subject have been published in between 2005-2007 in the US alone. Thoms Friedman's 'Lexus' and Oliver Tree have praised it but John Gary's 'False Dawn'; the delusion of global capitalism has criticised the globalisation.
We have been once bitten, thus we need to be twice shy, The French, Dutch, Portuguese and the East India Company had all come with ostensible design of trading and ended up colonizing the sub-continent. History also tells us that politics and economics cannot be kept apart. Colonialism, Imperialism etc are just the display of that will to plunder and dominate by the West. In fact, the movers and shakers are indeed ruling the roost and common man has systematically been evicted from crucial public spaces. The so-called scholars of our country who are making policy for the poor keep it in mind how they are themselves benefited from it.
We have also seen that the globalisation has not treated the have and have-nots equally. Whether it is the poorest countries of Africa, the mixed economy of India, the Oil rich Middle East or the countries whose economy depends on agriculture all have been adversely affected by the trade. The panacea prescribed by the West for all these countries is globalisation or privatisation. Nevertheless a large part of the world remains chronically underdeveloped where as the already prosperous are suffering from the consequences of over production and over consumption ironically. The income gap between the richest and poorest of the world's population stood at 3:1 in 1820,11:1 in 1930's in 1970, 60:1 in 1990 and in the year 2000, 86:1 (UNDP'S human Development Report).
Close to 2.5 to 3 billion people live on less than Rs.100 a day and 1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty by far the most of them in the third world. Result? The developed nations are suffering from obesity and the poor countries from malnutrition paradoxically.
The ecology too has not been spared. The mad rush for economic growth for which the industry has gone on in mindless fashion has forgotten the formula for stopping. Resulting the unforeseen costs of growth-environmental degradation and ecological imbalance, etc. making it a questionable strategy.
In the hurry to globalise we have no doubt created many wealth creator. Creating wealth in an unethical manner no long seems wrong. The concern of common man in the street, its basic requirements and aspiration have all disappeared in thin air. Art and Literature is losing its importance. Creativity seems to be confined in creating wealth. Fair is foul and foul is fair seems the paradox of our decade. The finer values are withering away; the vision of a universal human family is vanishing. They seem to be echoing sound's orders in Major Barbara; 'I am a millionaire. That is my religion.
According to a World Bank Report it will take 130 years to eradicate poverty from the face of earth. It is a matter of doubt whether these supporters of globalisation who have vested interest in supporting it ever find a place in heaven but the planet earth looks haven to them and they seem to be in no trouble for a long time to come.
We have been once bitten, thus we need to be twice shy, The French, Dutch, Portuguese and the East India Company had all come with ostensible design of trading and ended up colonizing the sub-continent. History also tells us that politics and economics cannot be kept apart. Colonialism, Imperialism etc are just the display of that will to plunder and dominate by the West. In fact, the movers and shakers are indeed ruling the roost and common man has systematically been evicted from crucial public spaces. The so-called scholars of our country who are making policy for the poor keep it in mind how they are themselves benefited from it.
We have also seen that the globalisation has not treated the have and have-nots equally. Whether it is the poorest countries of Africa, the mixed economy of India, the Oil rich Middle East or the countries whose economy depends on agriculture all have been adversely affected by the trade. The panacea prescribed by the West for all these countries is globalisation or privatisation. Nevertheless a large part of the world remains chronically underdeveloped where as the already prosperous are suffering from the consequences of over production and over consumption ironically. The income gap between the richest and poorest of the world's population stood at 3:1 in 1820,11:1 in 1930's in 1970, 60:1 in 1990 and in the year 2000, 86:1 (UNDP'S human Development Report).
Close to 2.5 to 3 billion people live on less than Rs.100 a day and 1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty by far the most of them in the third world. Result? The developed nations are suffering from obesity and the poor countries from malnutrition paradoxically.
The ecology too has not been spared. The mad rush for economic growth for which the industry has gone on in mindless fashion has forgotten the formula for stopping. Resulting the unforeseen costs of growth-environmental degradation and ecological imbalance, etc. making it a questionable strategy.
In the hurry to globalise we have no doubt created many wealth creator. Creating wealth in an unethical manner no long seems wrong. The concern of common man in the street, its basic requirements and aspiration have all disappeared in thin air. Art and Literature is losing its importance. Creativity seems to be confined in creating wealth. Fair is foul and foul is fair seems the paradox of our decade. The finer values are withering away; the vision of a universal human family is vanishing. They seem to be echoing sound's orders in Major Barbara; 'I am a millionaire. That is my religion.
According to a World Bank Report it will take 130 years to eradicate poverty from the face of earth. It is a matter of doubt whether these supporters of globalisation who have vested interest in supporting it ever find a place in heaven but the planet earth looks haven to them and they seem to be in no trouble for a long time to come.
13 comments:
Kindaa nice man!
Throwing light on both sides will only make it nicer!
cheers!
fine I agree with you and hopefully you will buy my thought that we should press for contructive globalisation which also elevate poverty.
the able must get the chance. and that is possible only via laissez-faire free market theory.
one can provide lakhs rupees of donations to the lazy, if he is lazy, he will again become poor.
while the hardworking honest innovative person in a free market will achieve heights by virtue of his skills!
Thnaks Diva for your candid views. The viscious cycle of Poor does not allow a poor to come out of it itself.The poor man keep circling within the cycle. My point is not to target a MNC/capitalism or destroy the concept of Laissez-faire free market concept but to higlight that there is some social obligation which must also be taken care of so that we together can bring 250 million( in india) people out of Poverty.
pertinent...cross to communism!!!
well, no offence, but i dont find anything new in ur post. these are things which have been discussed over and over again in the same manner. but yeh, i agree wit u when u say that we shud press for constructive globalisation which will also elevate poverty. i think that is a good way to start and proceed.
yes indeed this things have been said in the past but surprisingly nothing much is done nonetheless.
yes tushar, so much has been said and nothing has been done. i guess tat means that wat is being said is making no impact, in spite of being correct. so we probably have to change the way we look at these issues and look for new solutions. :)
It would have been gr8 if the above critic had come up with some innovative idea along with critisism.
lol, yes sir, the above 'critic' is thinking of a solution. you believe it or not, i do think about what can be done with the miniscule knowledge i have! and as i said earlier, i did agree to you when u said that constructive globalization should be used to elevate poverty.
and, pls, :), i am no critic. jus putting forward my point of view, and am not rubbishing yours. :)
excellent post ... rich b'come richer, poor remain poor ... humanity - who carez the damn .. kewl post .. n do keep posting ...
Thanks Sreeni. It is like putting one's feet in the shoe of others. Practicing empathy.
u've got a nice blog here.....
Hey! y dnt u put up something like Tell-a-Friend so that visitor like me can easily share ur posts with frens thru mails,IMs,blogs,socialnetworking sites etc...u cn simply register on www.socialtwist.com Do check it out :)
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