Yesterday I was on a conference call with our two U.S. Senators and they answered questions as to how we are addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. Small business operations and loans were discussed among other things. We discussed how much of our pharmaceuticals are imported leaving us vulnerable to the whims of foreign powers and non-powers alike.
In this case, the problem is economic globalization which has led us to become dependent on others for many things like medications, personal protective equipment, tech support, even our shoes and socks.
The idea that economic globalization is a good thing has been shoved down our throats for several years especially by the last administration.
Forbes reported on globalization in general and its pros and cons five years ago in a piece by Mike Collins. I pulled out some of his pros and cons.
Cons
Clearly, we have weakened our national security as we have become more dependent on other countries for many critical needs during a pandemic. Plus we may find ourselves held hostage by some future foreign government that turns hostile to us or one that wishes to get something from us.
I guess the isolationist in me would like to see our country rebuild critically needed industries so that we can better manage the next calamity, but it may be too late.
In this case, the problem is economic globalization which has led us to become dependent on others for many things like medications, personal protective equipment, tech support, even our shoes and socks.
The idea that economic globalization is a good thing has been shoved down our throats for several years especially by the last administration.
Forbes reported on globalization in general and its pros and cons five years ago in a piece by Mike Collins. I pulled out some of his pros and cons.
- Supporters of globalization argue that it has the potential to make this world a better place to live in and solve some of the deep-seated problems like unemployment and poverty.
- Free trade is supposed to reduce barriers such as tariffs, value added taxes, subsidies, and other barriers between nations.
- The proponents say globalization represents free trade which promotes global economic growth; creates jobs, makes companies more competitive, and lowers prices for consumers.
- Competition between countries is supposed to drive prices down. In many cases this is not working because countries manipulate their currency to get a price advantage.
- It also provides poor countries, through infusions of foreign capital and technology, with the chance to develop economically and by spreading prosperity, creates the conditions in which democracy and respect for human rights may flourish. This is an ethereal goal which hasn’t been achieved in most countries
- There is now a worldwide market for companies and consumers who have access to products of different countries.
- Gradually there is a world power that is being created instead of compartmentalized power sectors. Politics is merging and decisions that are being taken are actually beneficial for people all over the world. This is simply a romanticized view of what is actually happening.
- Since we share financial interests, corporations and governments are trying to sort out ecological problems for each other.
Cons
• Building products overseas in countries like China puts our technologies at risk of being copied or stolen, which is in fact happening rapidly• The anti-globalists also claim that globalization is not working for the majority of the world. “During the most recent period of rapid growth in global trade and investment, 1960 to 1998, inequality worsened both internationally and within countries. The UN Development Program reports that the richest 20 percent of the world's population consume 86 percent of the world's resources while the poorest 80 percent consume just 14 percent. “
• Social welfare schemes or “safety nets” are under great pressure in developed countries because of deficits, job losses, and other economic ramifications of globalization.
• Some experts think that globalization is also leading to the incursion of communicable diseases. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of the globe.
He did not predict what will happen when war breaks out or a severe pandemic occurs after economic globalization has fully developed. An idealist might predict that globalization of economies will prevent wars by providing a huge disincentive to breaking those mutual dependencies. The realist might predict that disaster or war will lead to an "every nation for itself" world, something like what we have seen to a limited extent in the current pandemic.
- Globalization is an economic tsunami that is sweeping the planet. We can’t stop it but there are many things we can do to slow it down and make it more equitable.
Clearly, we have weakened our national security as we have become more dependent on other countries for many critical needs during a pandemic. Plus we may find ourselves held hostage by some future foreign government that turns hostile to us or one that wishes to get something from us.
I guess the isolationist in me would like to see our country rebuild critically needed industries so that we can better manage the next calamity, but it may be too late.
Posts
Maybe nationalism is not such a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteCentralization of power never works out well for the rest of us.
DeleteI think it's not too late. Moving more manufacturing to the US will require some time, but not infinite time.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell from scanning local and regional news sites, our problem in NC is now in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. As in most places, fatalities are overwhelmingly among older people (65+), heavily those with co-morbidities. Those of us old folks staying in private homes are doing all right.
I predict there will be no shortage of nursing home beds this year.
DeleteI agree with your concerns and interests here, Pewster. We have made this country unnecessarily vulnerable, and while progressives will claim this is a good thing -- Americans need to feel the same anxieties that they have imposed on other countries for years (as a sort of punishment of greed, colonization, imperialism, etc.), or so it goes -- I think a return to some good old self-determination and domestic self-centeredness is OK, particularly in, or when facing, crisis. First rule for first-responders? Take care of yourself. Same is true when 02 masks drop in a depressurized passenger jet: take care of yourself first. Should America truly want to be helpful to its neighbors, it will first need to be able to care for itself. At the moment, the progressives, to me, are undermining that (as are globalist capitalists), though mostly to chastise and weaken us -- because we have had our time.
ReplyDeleteOr so it goes.