Globalization is the spread of cash, information, people, ideas, cultures, and greenhouse gases. It is claimed that this spread has enhanced the quality of life of individuals around the globe. Nevertheless, this essay completely opposes this notion because of the deleterious effects that such interconnectedness has caused to the environment and to some countries’ economy.
From an economical standpoint, non-industrialized nations are the ones that suffer the most from this phenomenon. With expansion of the international trade industry, worldwide companies can sell their merchandise in almost all nations, and since these goods are produced at cheap costs, the local market within the underdeveloped countries gets destroyed. Moreover, these countries do not appeal to foreign investors; hence, multinational corporations do not invest in such nations’ companies nor outsource their operations to them. As a result, poorer nations do not benefit from the foreign income that would have been reaped if they were to trade their products globally, further worsening their economy. This is particulary acute in Sub-saharan countries, such as Kenya, which lack the required infrastructure to compete with the international market, proving that not all people’s lives are improved.
From an environmental standpoint, global integration has aggravated global warming. Technological advances have reduced transportaion and communication costs, increasing transporation of goods across seas and facilitating cross-border trade. The reduction in transporting expenses is substantiated by a survey which states that transport costs currently account for 1% of production prices. Due to the increase in transportation by planes and ships, more fuel is burnt and the emission of greenhouse gases is increased; thus contributing to rising global temperatures and its ensuing adverse effects on humans.
In conclusion, while globalization has brought us all together, it is not without consequences. I believe that it does not globally ameliorate individuals’ quality of life because of its detrimental effects on the economy of poorer countries and on the global climate.