Q5: Where's the value in globalization?

spring 2009

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Dialogs

Where's the value in globalization?

Depending on where you stand, globalization can mean factory jobs in Thailand or cheap goods at the mall; a world of choices or the homogenization of pop culture. Scholars from the fields of economics, sociology, and political science discuss the growing web of connections transforming commerce and culture around the world.

What can values do for globalization?

Can globalization thrive without a strong foundation of moral and social values? Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair argues that all human systems rely on certain fundamental values to function well over the long term, and that applying this understanding to globalization could produce tangible benefits.

Is there a global literature?

American pop music blaring from speakers in North Africa. Indian novels being read on the subway in New York City. Has cultural production become as widely dispersed as the supply chain?

How do you take a brand global?

In 2005, Lenovo, China’s largest PC maker, acquired IBM’s worldwide PC business. The company inherited nearly $10 billion in annual sales, but faced the challenge of introducing itself to millions of consumers.

Is globalization endangered?

The global economy is in a severe slowdown. GDPs are dropping, the rosters of the unemployed are getting longer, and there’s no obvious resolution in sight. Will the effects of this economic crisis — and of government responses — threaten the system of commercial relationships that has developed over the last 30 years?

How has globalization benefited the poor?

The lives of people in distant countries are increasingly being linked, through commerce, communications technology, or culture. Researchers are trying to parse out how the gains from globalization are touching the lives of the poorest citizens in developing countries.

Has globalization failed in Nigeria?

Oil pumped from the Niger Delta is loaded on supertankers and shipped into the global market, accounting for 3% of world production and generating substantial revenues for the Nigerian government. What has this connection to the world economy done for Nigeria?

Vignettes

Can you say 'Cosmo' in Russian?

You can find Cosmopolitan on news stands in Korea, India, Russia, Greece, Brazil, China, and 50 other countries. How did the idea of the “fun, fearless female” go global — and pull in profits for Hearst?

Can international attention improve factory conditions?

With consumers becoming increasingly concerned about how their goods are produced, international companies are faced with managing conditions — as well as productivity — all along their supply chains. In many cases, that means finding ways to oversee factories in China.

Did the mail shape globalization?

Global commerce would be impossible without the movement of information — contracts, arrangements, plans, blueprints. Before the digital revolution transformed many of these things into bits and pixels, there was a postal revolution that improved the speed of information flow around the world.

One Last Question

Do we need a global regulator?

One problem that has come up throughout this issue is how to enforce fair rules throughout a global system when most enforcement mechanisms are nation-based. Given how powerful the forces of globalization are, do we need a new global regulator?

Read all articles about globalization.