CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION AND THE POOR

Corporate Globalization and the Poor



Corporate Globalization and the Poor

Introduction

The world order in the years after the Second World War has changed a great deal. This is palpable especially when one takes cognizance of the many inventions and initiatives not only in the sphere of political interactions between states and nations but also in the arena of economic transactions in the public and private sectors worldwide, as well as the innumerable forms of international connections that takes place in the mobilization of human and natural resources in general. These developments undoubtedly combine to lend more credence to the rather diffused description of the world now as a global village.

Corporate Globalization and the Poor

The report aims to put to the reader that although the concept of globalization promises to be a laudable phenomenon in a fast moving world, it could and does, more often than not, foster rather than hinder the rape of economic justice especially in the developing countries, thus giving rise to solutions that it is, at least in principle, supposed to forestall. This explains the subtitle of this write-up which makes one to wonder if globalization would not at one point or the other pass as an ugly monster behind the garb of economic justice.

The term "Globalization" which came into common usage in the 1980s refers, in the main, to the increasing integration of economies around the world, especially by way of trade and financial flows across the globe. This integration of financial markets on a global scale is very much enhanced by modern electronic communication technologies.

The corporate globalization fact sheet reveals that around fifty-one of the world's top hundred financial systems are corporations. Moreover, there are 63,000 transnational corporations globally, with 6, 90,000 overseas associates. Over three quarters of all international companies are situated in North America, Japan and Western Europe and ninety nine of the hundred biggest international firms are from the industrialized nations.

Globalization refers to an extension beyond national boundaries of age-old market forces. It refers sometimes to the mobilization of people (Labour) and knowledge (Technology) across international borders and besides, it has a broader reference to cultural, environmental and political activities with worldwide dimensions.

The globalization process, in short, “points to the whole effort towards making the world a global community. In practical terms, the globalization process embarks on a bold programme for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of under developed areas of the world.

Global markets are meant to provide greater opportunities for people to have access to more and larger markets around the world. That implies that people can then experience more capital flows, more technology, cheaper imports and larger export markets. However, since markets may not automatically ensure that the dividends of efficiency are shared by all involved, countries involved in the global market transactions have to accept the policies needed. On this scope, the poorest countries may require the support of the international community in order to cope ...