Globalisation

Globalisation

Globalisation describes the phenomenon which has enabled the integration of economies, industries, markets, cultures and policy-making around the world. Transnational companies have been integral to the development of a global economy in which incredibly large businesses have taken advantage of communication revolutions that allow investment and products to move seamlessly between countries. The size of these businesses means that they have an even larger wealth of stakeholders, from national governments to child workers in developing countries.

The global shift in manufacturing and associated employment from Western countries, such as the UK, to more profitable locations, such as India and China, has rapidly increased development in the latter.

‘Globalisation, more than anything else, has reduced the number of extreme poor in India by two hundred million and in China by three hundred million since 1990.’ (Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty, 2005)

Furthermore, consumers have benefited from cheaper products, fuelling a consumer culture, however, traditional industries of developed countries have suffered from rising unemployment in particular sectors.

Kantian response

Utilitarian response

Kantian ethics supports criticisms of globalisation. Kant argued that freedom should be distributed equally – even if it meant restricting some peoples’ freedoms. The inequality generated by globalisation,…