The concept of globalization is controversial, and it raises many questions about its positive and negative impacts on humanity. On the one hand, globalization influences market development, cultural exchange, science and technology, and other spheres of life, positively. However, such issues as environmental damage, job insecurity, or social issues triggered by globalization should not be ignored. Thus, the positive and negative consequences of globalization will be examined below.
Positive Outcomes of Globalization
In history, globalization has been helpful for humanity because it allowed small markets to access larger ones and to spread their products across other countries. One of the examples of trade development is the tuna trade. In the 1970s, when Japan emerged on the global market with its healthy cuisine and sushi, America and Europe wanted to purchase Japanese tuna and produce sushi and sashimi due to their popularity among the citizens of different countries (Bastor 2012). Consequently, Japan became “the world’s primary market for fresh tuna” (Bastor 2012, 110). Similarly, during the nineteenth century, when India was colonized by British people, Indian shawls, jewelry, and curry were spread to the European market and became the sources of capital for many middle-class and poor Indian people (Chaudhuri 1992). Globalization allowed small businesses to expand to other countries and earn more money.
Besides, globalization facilitated cultural exchange and cuisine development. For instance, in the British colonial houses, Indian food and decorations were rejected, which could have led to the disappearance of Indian culture. However, British women, or memsahibs, “served as a conduit for the flow of culture from India to Britain” (Chaudhuri 1992, 232). They made Indian food and cultural artifacts popular, promoting them among many English families. In a similar way, globalization enabled Japanese culture to prosper and its cuisine to become one of the most famous over the globe. Thus, globalization popularizes cultures and cuisines all around the world.
Negative Effects of Globalization
Still, some believe that globalization, historically, has been negative for humanity. One of its negative effects is environmental damage due to the increased manufacture of goods. An example of such damage can be seen in Bestor’s (2012) article about the globalization of sushi. When sushi became popular, the demand for fresh tuna increased. Thousands of kilograms of fresh tuna are harvested and shipped to Tokyo from different countries because the Japanese can process this fish in an ideal way (Bestor 2012). For the transportation of tuna, a lot of fossil fuel and special Japanese paper is required; moreover, 50 percent of tuna is unusable. All these manipulations with tuna transportation lead to environmental pollution and extra waste.
Moreover, globalization leads to job insecurity and other social issues. According to Sen (2012), global capitalism is “more concerned with expanding the domain of market relations than with, say, establishing democracy, expanding elementary education,” or other social issues (20). The citizens of underdeveloped or developing countries suffer from medical deprivation, lack of education, and job insecurity. Large businesses tend to hire such people and pay them miserable salaries for their work instead of training high-skilled professionals and paying them worthy salaries. For instance, many businesses hire Chinese employees to make sushi because Japanese employees charge more, but the customers will not distinguish between Japanese and Chinese (Bastor 2012). Consequently, the citizens of the developed countries have fewer job opportunities to find well-paid jobs.
References
Bestor, Theodore C. 2012. “How Sushi Went Global.” In The Globalization Reader, edited by Frank J. Lechner and John Boli, 109-113. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Chaudhuri, Nupur. 1992. “Shawls, Jewelry, Curry, and Rice in Victorian Britain.” In Western Women and Imperialism: Complicity and Resistance, edited by Nupur Chaudhuri and Margaret Stobel, 231-246. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Sen, Amartya. 2012. “How to Judge Globalism.” In The Globalization Reader, edited by Frank J. Lechner and John Boli, 16-21. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.