Current Global Economic Issues – A Look at Globalization’s Benefits and Downfalls

Effects of a Global Economy

If you wish to gain a clearer understanding of the current global economic issues that have facilitated the present recession in the world then it is important to take a look at the history behind it. Only as we assess the trends and their impact on our economic health here and abroad can we get to the truth.

A number of critics have voiced their opinions about globalization. Some have criticized the policies and cited reasons why they have made the poor poorer and the rich richer. There is some compelling evidence for this position. You can start by examining the current economic recession in the United States. While the middle class is drastically shrinking, the number of billionaires per capita is more than it has ever been. What some call a recession others describe as a massive program of wealth transfer.

A Glimpse Back Through History

Global economies are not new to the modern era; they have been around for thousands of years. The moment that human beings could travel the open seas they were trading various goods to all parts of the known world. Trade during the Middle Ages was carried on between China and Europe using such fabled routes as the Silk Road.

In the latter part of 18th century, the emergence of the Industrial Revolution allowed for machines to produce goods at prodigious rates and steam ships to get them to global markets. Production and the delivery of goods facilitated the birth of modern globalism.

Following the 1980s, a new hyper-globalism came into existence offering more incentives to promote a worldwide economy. Legislation such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (or NAFTA) and the creation of the World Trade Organization were some final steps to securing a genuine global economy. For the very first time in history, the whole world’s economy was placed under the supervision of a single system.

Globalization

Globalization, as a process, lets the nations of the world compete for the chance to manufacture goods and provide services. For example if one country can process steel cheaply and effectively while another can buy this steel, then the latter nation can specialize in other areas and find suitable markets.

Recently, the United States has been experiencing one of the diminishing returns of globalism: joblessness. The numbers of businesses and large corporations have taken advantage of various state and federal tax incentives and the dramatically cheaper labor cost that are available in other countries. Other countries have suffered from globalism in unimaginable ways. The costs of the current global economic issues are far too high.

The Road Ahead

There are a host of ethical and economic problems that have resulted from the practices and policies of globalism. Most believe that it is a direct result of our current global economic issues. There is still power in having accurate knowledge about the situation and encouraging others to educate themselves as well.