Globalization

Looking at the status of the world today, I feel that globalization has many negative effects on the world. I understand not all aspects are unconstructive because globalization has helped the world population in numerous ways, but if considered on an individual perspective, globalization is primarily directed towards aiding the wealthy. If one were to look around at the world today, we have international and civil wars which seem like they are not ending and talks of weapons of mass destruction. Now I wonder – the world has become so interdependent and interconnected that it seems that everyone should be benefiting from this process, but does it? Knowledge regarding technology is increasing exponentially but who does this benefit? In America, we are exposed to so many privileges which are not at all apparent in “Third World” countries. I agree that there are positive impacts caused by globalization, but these are not at all benefiting the ones who need it the most. People living in poor countries, such as those in Africa and Asia, work day in and day out on producing products for our pleasure. A good example of this is in sweat shops located all across the countries in the Southern hemisphere. Many of the workers in these sweat shops are children who are working non-stop in severe conditions, for an income which is sometimes less than a dollar a day, to provide some sort of financial income for their family. Just last year, I visited Southern India where I was exposed to the lifestyle of some of these people and I was shocked to see these people were not even treated in a humane way. Rather, these people, again many children, were treated as slaves and forced to work in conditions not even fit for an animal. For instance, sweat shops in India produce Nike shoes. These children who work in these rigorous conditions only get paid under a dollar but the shoes will get sold for a hundred times the amount. We enjoy these products provided to us but never do we think about where they came from and how these producers were treated. Just last month, I took a trip to Africa, where I was even more saddened by the lifestyle. African culture is such a rich culture and I had actually gone with a couple of my colleagues on an African safari. However, we stayed there for another week, and I went to a couple of the villages where I was again astounded by the extreme levels of poverty. Just looking at the young children there brought me to tears because of the extreme cases of malnutrition and the shortage of clean drinking water. When someone is proposing marriage to a loved one, one looks for the nicest diamond that they can afford. However, one fails to realize