On Balance, Economic Globalization is Beneficial

Thank you also to Hayd for organizing the contest. As a brief disclaimer that I included when signing up, there is a chance I will not have enough time to finish this tournament. If this ends up being the case, I will forfeit the remaining rounds of this debate, and will post in each one, so as to award my opponent the win rather than let the forfeit glitch take place. With that, let's begin. I. Intro In recent years, globalization has become an increasingly powerful international phenomenon. While some nations have embraced the change, others have become increasingly isolated. This debate is meant to analyze its effects. This brings me into a few necessary observations regarding the resolution. II. Observations As the resolution uses “is” in its wording, we are supposed to analyze the effects of globalization up until this point, or reasonable projections based upon current trends. Therefore, we are not debating future conditionals, and statements such as “If we changed abc, it would fix xyz. ” should not be considered in the debate. Though the resolution specifies that we are to analyze economic globalization, the effects are left open-ended. Therefore, as long as effects are a result of economic globalization, they need not be limited to economic effects. III. Economic Volatility This is a relatively short point. Put simply, globalization creates extremely unstable economies in developing nations. “[The] huge amount of floating international capitals may lead up to bubble economies and disorderly fluctuation of foreign exchange rates. They may also weaken the monetary sovereignty of a country and bring along a dysfunction of its monetary policy. ” [1] These economies are on the bubble and can easily be decimated if the speculation fails to materialize into anything substantial. IV. Exploitation of Poor 1. Migrant Workers In the increasingly globalized economy, some nations prosper, while others fail. This is a given. However, there are real concerns related to this. As failed states emerge, workers in these areas search for new employment opportunities, and since their own nation’s economy has crumbled, these jobs are near impossible to come by in their homeland. In developed nations, however, an increasing proportion of people are above the age of 60 (expected to reach 19% by 2050) and a decreasing birth rate (due to increased rights of women, increased educational opportunities, and increased access to family planning) means that the population needed for labor work will be marginal at best. This mis-matched supply of labor on one end of the border and demand on the other creates quite the issue. According to the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, as the more developed nations tighten border security despite increased demand for part-time labor from migrant workers, it becomes increasingly difficult for migrants to find safe, legal, employment, and therefore turn to illegal immigration. This is especially true for women; whose options are fewer due to discrimination in certain markets. Trafficking is a result of the intersection of the economic pressure to migrate and the political restrictions upon doing so. As they are no longer under the protection of the law, men, women, and children alike become victims of human trafficking. [2] “Global trade agreements, which rarely include adequate labor standards and protections, often contribute to the exploitation of migrant workers. For example, the U. S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) resulted in increased investment in Africa, leading to the growth of textile and garment factories in Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in countries such as Uganda. To fill the low-wage jobs in these factories… [young women were recruited]. ” [3] These women were taken advantage of, both sexually and in their labor, due to limited rights of migrant workers, a problem not unique to Uganda. Similar instances happened across Africa due to the AGOA. [2] This isn’t going to change until workers’ rights that are “internationally recognized” are ***actually*** internationally recognized. The four major tenants of this include: 1. Freedom of association and collective bargaining 2. Elimination of forced and compulsory labor 3. Elimination of employment discrimination 4. Abolition of child labor [3] (which has its own issues that need to be addressed, as addressed below. Human trafficking isn’t limited to sexual work, as is often depicted, however. Exploitive labor conditions exist across near every industry, and traps victims in a never-ending cycle of dependence. Employers find foreign workers more suitable for the dirty and dangerous work because they are perceived as more flexible and cooperative [2] due to the fact that they have few, if any, other options. American University concludes: “Global economic policies… also have the direct effect of increasing the vulnerability of migrant workers to exploitation. ” [3] 2. Child LaborersMigrant workers aren’t the only ones exploited under economic globalization. In developing nations, foreign demand for raw materials is increased dramatically due to globalization. Facing increased demand, producers need more human capital. In most of these countries, children are seen as potential sources of supplemental income for a family, as these families suffer from poverty, and any increase in income is of paramount importance. Therefore, child laborers, who often, but not always, overlap with the migrant worker population. The most prominent example of this is the cocoa market, as it was brought into focus in the past decade. Upon scrutiny, attempts to change were made, but no effects were realized. [4] Thousands of child laborers were still employed in this industry, and thousands more in various other industries as well, such as the young women in Uganda’s textile industry as mentioned above. It will take a considerable change in the culture that will ensure children are seen as people rather than a means of income for suppliers. In both the case of migrant and youth exploitation, hundreds of thousands of lives are ruined. Thousands are raped, thousands are worked to near-death, and far too many are outright killed for varieties of reasons. V. Environmental Harms Economic globalization focuses on profit maximization. This would be a good thing if it didn’t come at a cost to everyone, in the form of environmental degradation. It is general international consensus that global warming exists, and is caused by humankind, at least to some extent. Globalization results in increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, creating harms for everyone worldwide. 1. Transport As globalization spreads its fingers across the globe, it becomes increasingly important to be able to access what were once far corners of the earth. Travel, and more importantly, freight shipment, is becoming more common due to globalization. This means that particularly planes, trains, and cargo ships, are becoming more widely used. Over the course of just 14 years, from 1990 to 2004, aviation emissions increased by 86%. Aviation is a major contributor to GHG emissions, as it is currently responsible for roughly 4-9%. [5] Sea transport is responsible for 2-4% of global fossil fuel use. 2. Consumption Another key tenant of globalization is increased consumption. As goods are produced in massive quantities, such as in China, they need energy as an input to their creation. To address this issue, China has decided to build incredibly large numbers of coal-burning power plants, at times a rate of one plant a day. [5] Though cheap and easy to utilize, coal burns dirty. As formerly undeveloped nations become developed, they will continue to be massive contributors to GHGs and will only worsen climate change. 3. Deforestation In order to create land that is more suitable to foreign interests, foreign companies purchase forests and clear-cut the land. Now, we can stop right here and analyze how foreign entities are taking advantage of local peoples and their livelihoods, which are often related to their natural resources. This just exacerbates the migrant worker problem. It also destroys the intrinsic value nature has to not only the natives but everyone. However, it goes further to compound the problems globalization creates related to GHG emissions, as it decimates the number of trees able to extract CO2 and convert it back into oxygen. Deforestation is responsible for roughly 20% of the increase in CO2, and every day it only gets worse, with a patch of land twice the size of Paris disappearing every 24 hours. Global warming is quickly changing the world we live in for the worse. Droughts devastate sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, China, Central Asia, and a plethora of other areas worldwide. In the next 70 years, it will render nearly 2 billion people without access to water. It will also increase the number of natural disasters that strike each year, to which about 65.5 million people fall victim. Furthermore, once the global temperature is increased by three degrees Celsius, 20-30% of the species on Earth will become extinct, negatively affecting biodiversity and ravaging ecosystems, foodwebs, and in turn, the status quo of human life. VI. Conclusion I have proven that globalization creates unstable economies that can easily be destroyed by a foreign entity, drastically increases abuses of migrant and child laborers, and is equivocal to global warming and destruction of life as we know it. A vote in affirmation is a vote that encourages all of these to continue or worsen. A vote for the negative is a vote to resist these evils. Vote Con. Thank you and over to bball. VII. Sources [1] . https://goo.gl... [2] . https://goo.gl... [3] . https://goo.gl... [4] . https://goo.gl... [5] . https://goo.gl...