Test 3: Globalization

Question 1

Globalization

Answer 1

• social, economic + political process makes it easier for ppl, goods, ideas + capital to travel around the world at unprecedented pace
• makes the world look and feel smaller

Question 2

Globalization

Answer 2

• neither inherently good/bad
• real impact on environ + ppl
• digital divide: inequality of access to means of communication

Question 3

top-down globalization

Answer 3

actions of groups promoting globalized capitalism + free trade
•state shouldn’t be involved in protecting environment/labour, control resources, fields should be privatized

Question 4

Neoliberal economic policies

Answer 4

•state play small of a role as possible

1. restrained state spending + regulation
2. individual responsibility for own welfare
3. Less protection for labor + environment
4. Privatization of state resources
5. Faith in the power of the market

Question 5

globalization from below

Answer 5

action of groups that criticize injustices

1. Spread of international human rights: requires cooperation
2. Global labor standards: Shouldn’t pit labourers against each other for lower deals

Question 6

globalization from below

Answer 6

3. Increased democracy in the global system: Ppl should have say in institutions
4. Environmental protection: Should be protected by everyone
5. Social justice: Should help deal with conflicts + injustice around world

Question 7

globalization from below

Answer 7

not cohesive movement + encompasses multiple perspectives

1. We need state to play role, role debated upon, some restrictions + regulations
2. There are core deep seethed problems
3. Ppl want state to disappear
4. well covered in media
5. Care about labour practices + environment, some interest in consumers to play more for resources gained in fair ways

Question 8

globalization from below

Answer 8

1.Moderate critiques of neoliberalism
2.Radical anticapitalist positions
3.Various forms of anarchism
4.Armed peasant uprisings
5.Fair-trade coffee projects
varied in purpose, but breaking barriers common

Question 9

capitalists

Answer 9

financial capital: money used for investment currency trading + not tied to goods and services
impact on regulations + state role

Question 10

Overcapacity

Answer 10

corps produce more than ppl can afford to purchase
price goes down because compete for consumers
rather scrapped to avoid prices having to drop

Question 11

Centralization

Answer 11

Corps merged to stay competitive, blending diff industries together
can’t always compete with international companies
chain store: buying power bigger, easier to negotiate, therefore they can sell at lower rate
vertical integration: control whole chain of production to maximize profit

Question 12

growth of corporate power

Answer 12

play nation-states off one another pressuring gov to lower taxes rates by threatening to move production to a more favorable location
•Outsourcing: wasn’t a phenomenon until mid 90s, losing jobs

Question 13

growth of corporate power

Answer 13

Critics demand more accountability + social responsibility on corps
large proportion of the world’s ppl poor
•Critics say the state has role, but at the mercy of the corps

Question 14

Democratic deficit

Answer 14

citizens disenfranchised from the process of governance
consumers should know of conditions + processes that led to its creations + might affect our choice to buy it
corps make some changes to avoid bad rep

Question 15

Three Sisters

Answer 15

1. IMF (International Monetary Fund)
2. World Bank
3. WTO (World Trade Organization)

Question 16

Supra-national organizations

Answer 16

pressure to deregulate capital markets, remove price subsidies, decrease social spending, orient the economy toward exports + privatize state-run industries
•Consequences: democratic defecit

Question 17

Global commodity chain

Answer 17

worldwide network of labor + production processes = finished commodity
Power distributed unevenly
Ppl have some power in making choices on where + what to buy
info not transparent to consumer

Question 18

Consumerism

Answer 18

way of life identity + purpose oriented primarily to purchase + consumption of material goods
–exported to the world’s middle and working classes

Question 19

culture as commodity

Answer 19

Biggest U.S. export mass-produced products of pop culture

WTO has prohibited states from using subsidies + quotas to protect domestic cultural products

Question 20

Cultural imperialism

Answer 20

domination of a culture over another (Al-Jazeera and Bollywood counter examples)

Question 21

Bottom-up globalization

Answer 21

focuses on developing consumer products environmentally sustainable + produced by well-paid workers
•Target usually ppl who have more than just trying to get by
•Consider might be willing to pay more
•Can be difficult for companies to sell expensive + cheap products

Question 22

Fair-trade movement

Answer 22

1) should be paid a fair price rather than the free market price
2) Must convince consumers to pay more

Question 23

sustainable consumption

Answer 23

•Balance betw. 2 extremes

1) Eat moderate amount of food (especially meat)
2) Rely primarily on sustainable modes of transportation
3) Consume minimal amounts of raw materials in their daily life

Question 24

global workers

Answer 24

capital can move across borders, unions + workers primarily organized within states

Question 25

Outsourcing

Answer 25

corps moving jobs to a cheaper labor market

Leads to high unemployment + polarizing of rich + poor

Question 26

Sub-employment or working poor

Answer 26

workers have work but poorly paid, unstable, nonunionized + fails to lift workers above the poverty line

Question 27

Export Processing Zones (EPZs)

Answer 27

gov special financial incentives for corps:
1. Tax holidays
2. Preferential rates for electricity and telecommunication
3. Special exemptions from national labor laws
competition betw. States + countries
•Restrict union power, we won’t raise minimum wage

Question 28

Export Processing Zones (EPZs)

Answer 28

Difficult to compete with labor markets where wages can be as low as a few dollars/hour
Wage competition pits workers against one another in a “race to the bottom”

Question 29

Anti-sweatshop movement

Answer 29

risen in response to this phenomenon

Question 30

Global Food

Answer 30

Environmental threat due to fossil fuel required to produce, package, and transport food (supermarket vs farmer’s market)
Soil, Water, and Genetic Engineering
Global Hunger

Question 31

Think Globally, Eat Locally

Answer 31

1. Encouraging local food consumption
2. Defend local agricultural ecosystems
3. Use global networks to fight these battles
   •Doesn’t help the undernourished
   •Helps sustain local businesses

Question 32

pros

Answer 32

-Breakdown of all trade and investment barriers
• Pushing rapidly towards global integration
•Influence through elections, through consumers

Question 33

cons

Answer 33

•should allow only if labor + environment
standards protected
Individuals and groups influence this process through nation-states, but increasingly through social movements