Benefits and Pitfalls of Globalization

A growing concern about globalization’s negative effects on national economies worldwide has some governments re-thinking long-held economic ideologies. The difficulty in creating jobs within the context of an expanding global employee base has some longtime champions of free trade, including the United States, looking to legislate against outsourcing. Similar movements to protect local jobs are brewing in other countries, as China, India, and other low-wage countries eat away at the prosperity of national workers. This article assesses how the opening of borders and the globalization of the world economy affects traditional doctrine of free trade. China's current economic boom has threatened manufacturing and textile industries in South Korea and beyond, the author points out, as well as contributed to a shortage of raw materials worldwide. Because the tools of industry – capital, labor, and technology – can travel across borders with newfound ease, thanks to the Internet, multinational corporations and streamlined communications, the article posits that “the question today is whether the case for free trade made two centuries ago is undermined by the changes now evident in the modern global economy.” –YaleGlobal