Making Globalization Work

Making Globalization Work - Joseph E. Stiglitz

Making Globalization Work is a book written by Nobel Prize laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz, who also wrote Globalization and Its Discontents and several other books. Overview The first major protest in Seattle, Washington against the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its role in promoting economic globalization came as a surprise to many, considering the positive impacts globalization was supposed to bring. According to Stiglitz, this was the first step in a widespread recognition that globalization was all “too good to be true.” Along with globalization comes myriad concerns and problems, says Stiglitz. The first concern being that the rules governing globalization favors developed countries, while the developing countries sink even lower. Second, globalization only regards monetary value of items, rather than other factors involved; one being the environment. The next concern is how developing countries are controlled by globalization and the negative effects it can have on their democracies. Developing countries borrow a large amount of funds from other countries and the World Bank which essentially causes them to give up the benefits of their democracy because of the strings attached to the loan repayment. The fourth concern regarding globalization is the notion that it does not live up to its original expectations. Globalization was advertised to boost countries economically; however, it has not shown improvement in developed nor developing countries. Last but not least, the new system of globalization has basically forced a new economic system on developing countries. This new economic system is seen as the “Americanization” (Stiglitz, Page 9) of their policies as well as culture. This has caused quite a bit of resentment and financial damage.