A need for the present revised edition of Globalisation and Development was felt to bring to focus the changing scenario in the global economy since the book was originally published in 2007. These include the fast changes following the Great Crash of 2008 encompassing both the advance and the developing economies. Changes as above have made it necessary to add an 'Afterword' at the end of the book, which aims to unfold the spill-over of the crisis, having its origin in the advanced countries, to the rest of the world including the developing region. The 'Afterword' aims to point at the deleterious consequences as above for development in particular.
In offering this revised edition, I offer my thanks to National Book Trust, India, the appreciating readers as well as the reviewers of the previous edition. I hope they all will continue to support me in this venture of a short account of development at peril under globalisation.
Introducing the present monograph, a yet another addition to the sprawling literature on globalisation, demands an explanation. We want to dwell on the debates relating to the implications of globalisation, and in particular, for people-oriented development. This is different from what generally is offered in the standard literature on the subject. Globalisation is often associated with the integration of the world, with the market breaking open the barriers across nation states in terms of flows of trade, finance, technology, knowledge, culture and even movements of people. It is supposed to be a leveller, with universal benefits, reaching out all countries and all their residents uniformly. Thus advances of technology, especially in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, are considered to have facilitated the proliferation of the forces which have initiated globalisation in most parts of the world. Globalisation is supposed to work best with a minimalist role of the nation state vis-a-vis the waves of the global market.
Our approach to a study of globalisation rejects the misconceived notions as above in the mainstream theory and policies that liberalised markets under globalisation can deliver growth by imparting efficiency and that growth can generate development, by following the much celebrated "trickle down" route of the beneficial effects of growth. Contrasting the position as above, our approach to globalisation does not view growth alone as a solution for development. The mainstream arguments tend to judge the success of globalisation in terms of growth of output alone. In terms of our judgment, it remains incomplete in absence of an analysis of the distribution of the output and the related changes in the level as well as the quality of life which make for development.
We want to draw attention in this study on the following eight aspects which we consider as important for an understanding of the implications of the current phase of globalisation in terms of development.
First, globalisation today is far removed from similar processes, which prevailed in the past. It has been a qualitative change for society, economy, institutions and world order which has generated a threetier structure of society consisting of the elites, the well-to-do middle class and the marginalised. The divide cuts across nations, while re-structuring the role, the power, as well as authority of nation states in their new incarnation. However, it can not be denied that global integration, a connecting process for different parts of the world, dates back to centuries of conquests, slavery, indentured labour, migration, colonization, communication, trade and capital flows. One can identify today a new pattern in these manifestations. Globalisation today is not only over-encompassing (as compared to the past) but also is responsible for generating disparity, discontent, concerns and the dissenting voices raised from the angle of the well-being, or even survival, of a large mass of people. These protests do not go un-noticed, unlike what it used to be in the days of formal domination and colonial rule in the past, when such dissents could not be in the public domain.
Second, the distinctive character of today's globalisation also lies in the geo-political reality which includes the informal hegemony of one or more rich nations (in particular the United States) over the rest of the world. In contrast to the earlier era of imperial rule when political control of colonies was the order of the day, the current scene is one of informal surveillance and domination by the coalition of the more powerful nations. These modes of control are often exercised through inter-governmental negotiations, at bilateral forums or through multilateral agencies of the UN like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which are mostly dominated by the same set of powerful nations. However, strategies which emerge from these negotiations are usually designed to fortify the global market, using channels that tend to be subtle as well as discreet.
Third, globalisation in recent years matches the fast pace of market-driven policies in most economies. Endorsing a denunciation of stateled policies which are considered as responsible for inefficiency; mainstream positions on globalisation often fail to notice, let alone remedy, the limitations of the market in delivering what is described today as 'growth with a human face'. The market thus ignores the possibilities and the need for achieving a decent level of living, or at best subsistence, for the majority of people in countries. These are the masses who have very limited access to the market in terms of their purchasing power. Issues as above open up further questions relating to the merits of a market-based system in the present form of globalisation.
Hindu (933)
Agriculture (120)
Ancient (1084)
Archaeology (754)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (911)
Biography (703)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (564)
Islam (242)
Jainism (307)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (373)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist