Two View of Globalization
In his article “Two years later, a Thousand Years Ago”, Robert Wright describes the many affects globalization has on the well-being of our world and society today. Globalization has been, and probably always will be, a crucial part of our world. It has the ability to bring the world together, and to make economies stronger. It also has the ability to tear bonds between countries, and to wreak havoc on economies, societies, and the overall stability of what seem to be strong nations.
Wright reminds us that the “tools of organization” as he calls them, can be used to do harm as well as good. Terrorists have used everyday communication devices as weapons against our society. These “tools” include cell phones, international banking, and e-mail. The technological advances taking place all around the world are leading to the empowering of even the smallest of countries. This is allowing them to feel stronger, and to take more action against the bigger countries that they may harbor feelings of resentment towards. An example would be the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. He also believes that the American nation, being as strong as it is, should be the first to lead a “moral revolution” and try to implement a global governance, to prevent further attacks using globalization as the weapon.
Robert Samuelson, in his article “Globalization Goes to War”, shares many of the same concerns as Wright. Samuelson, however, goes into more of the problems facing globalization, and it’s ability to flourish. One problem is the over dependency of nations upon other nations. Eventually, trades, exports, prices, and many other economical aspects become completely dependant on the other countries involved.