Globalization and Inequality - Essay Example

Globalization and inequality After the Second World War many countries especially under colonial powers began to form their own centralized bureaucracies especially in most parts of what we call the Third World, nationalism under colonial education was wrought and with it intellectuals began to realize that they needed to form countries where they were their own masters and especially the natural resources of their countries benefited their own people and not foreign masters who utilized it for their own. One of the more stark realizations of globalization is that many of the countries termed within the sphere of the Third World belonged to those who were colonized from this argument we can proceed that many of the sources of inequality that pervades the globalized third world could be traced back from colonial administration. In Anthony Giddens' (2000) book, Runaway World, he argues that the process of globalization although seemingly complex is a web of excessive capitalism and as quoting Marx, creating a gap of wealth and class polarization. The process of globalization is premature to the extent that there are no institutionalized control over the excessive wealth gap (2000:34-37) to handle the immense poverty that pervades within the Third World countries. In addition to this he adds that globalization is not merely the Westernization of the non-Western world but due to the power in which the Western world wields with mass communication that is causing fluid boundaries to take place and thus creating a transference of culture more quickly than before. Traditional culture as it was before is becoming more and more a thing of the past creating a situation in which culture becomes homogenous as well as the rise of a 'global cosmopolitan society'. The conflict that arises out of globalization then is in fact a clash of ideals where some societies tend to become anti-globalists in an effort to stamp out these ideals. In this we can competently argue that a part of which acts of terrorism that arises not only from the Arab world but especially from minority separatists is an act of creating one's own identity in the face of a uniform world. In this respect we can agree that class polarization and inequality stems from the fact that the post-colonial countries have less capital due to factors such as the lack of industrialization that are more prevalent in the countries of colonists utilizing their colonies' resources. The definition of inequality rests on a difference in social stratification (Haralombos & Holborn 2004:1) whereby a group or unit of persons are socially conditioned to be within the lower ranks of society and at the bottom most living a life of penury and hunger. According to Weber (Haralombos & Holborn 2004:12), class stratification like Marx, was a social struggle to receive economic power. A person's class situation was basically a person's market situation which in turn the economic resources pooled by the upper and middle classes can be converted into social and political power. In terms of a globalized economy in similar argument with Giddens was that the Third World had by and large smaller resources in terms of economic power which can be converted into social and political power compared to colonizing countries. W.G. Runciman (Haralombos & Holborn 2004:14), utilized Marxist and Weberian perspectives in analyzing social stratification. In this he argues that class structure within a social stratum hinged on social roles. Within these social roles are groups of people that 'embody a recurring pattern' that had 'mutually shared beliefs'. What he meant was that different classes hold distinct identities and roles of their class such as to situate them and fully remain them within such and such a class. This is more akin to the self-prophecizing effect prevalent in sociology. In Weberian perspectives one of the more key features in arguing why class inequality exists in post-colonial countries is due to the background of cultural differences. The creation of capitalism within colonizing countries instead of countries with a strong mercantile tradition such as India and China is because in essence most colonizing countries are strongly from a Protestant background which values individual achievements better than that of a corporate group more prevalent in Catholic, Indian and Chinese societies. However, despite the poverty that ensues from the Third World there are several proponents towards the argument of individualism and not only that those of the Right perspectives and the New Right perspectives such as Peter Saunders who believe that such destitute poverty is essential and functional to the development of the world as a whole and in the long run as capitalism gains more stable ground so would poverty disappear. For Peter Saunders (Haralombos & Holborn 2004:6), the effects of social stratification has its benefits especially motivation as rewards beget motivation. The more hard working a person is the more motivated they are to work harder. Saunders' other argument was that there were no actually 'true' egalitarian societies. But Saunders' did not address the problems that actual capitalism and globalization created in the Third World, Saunders' was echoing a study conducted by Davis and Moore who argued on the grounds that some roles or positions in society were inherently more important than other roles, why doctors get paid more because they contribute more towards society. Melvin M. Tumin was a strong critic as to how Davis and Moore and most functionalist perspective sociologists view the importance of certain roles. Tumin (Haralombos & Holborn 2004:5), argued that there were groups of people who made no contribution towards society whatsoever (eg. Celebrities or royal families) and yet they were financially more sufficient than those who worked and contributed towards society such as rubbish collectors. Tumin also argued that certain roles within society were due to social networks in which the upper and middle class already possess, 'occupational groups often use their power to restrict access to their positions'1, the AMA (American Medical Association) itself is an example in which there is a control of entry towards the profession so as to limit the number of doctors and keep the fees of doctors high. Conclusively, the argument give by Weber, Tumin and Giddens adds to the difficult question as to why the world is allowing capitalism and class polarization to grow and creating a dependent working and under class. The situation today is similar to the difficulties that were faced by blue collar workers during the beginning of industrialization and that of the peasants in feudalistic society. The vicious cycle of poverty is continuous and by and large the inequality faced by the Third World compared to the highly industrialized countries will continue to expand. Reference: Giddens, A., (2000), Runaway World: How Globalization Is Reshaping Our Lives, New York, Routledge Haralombos & Holborn (2004) Sociology Themes and Perspectives(6th ed.), London, HarperCollins Publishers Other references: Germov, J. and Poole, M (eds) (2007) Public Sociology: An Introduction to Australian Society, Sydney: Allen & Unwin Read More