1. The problem of understanding globalisation stems from the fact that it is not just a single
process but a complex set of processes overlapping, inter-locking and sometimes even
contradicting themselves.
Globalisation is nothing but neo colonialism on the third world. Earlier these countries were
exploited by the colonisers and now they have been replaced by the MNC which is a very
vital part of globalisation. MNCs have headquarters in the developed states but branches
spread across the globe. They have become so powerful that they dictate terms to the
political regimes of the third world and the later have to accept these terms in need of
financial support. They set up huge factories and industries but the working conditions are
extremely poor and the pay scale of the workers are very less. Another problem associated
with this has been the issue of the ‘displaced workers’, they are those people who are
forced to move from one job to another and this has been very troublesome for them
because this displacement leads to financial loss and there is no gurantee that they would
get the same amount of money which they had got in their old jobs.
These MNCs utilise the mass media in such a manner that they make people crave for
unnecessary, luxurious things and discard the necessary ones. It is also believed that the
developed world looks for conflict prone areas throughout the globe and they either try to
create more rifts among them or prevent the settlement of problems among them. In fact
IMF members are present in the economic planning board of Pakistan telling them what to
do and what not to do.
Globalisation has also led to cultural, political, social, economic homogenisation as the
diversities are lost because people in different parts of the world watch the same television
shows, wear the same kind of clothes, buy similar commodities and even eat the same kind
of food.
Green Revolution is also an important part of globalisation, it began in the 1940s and
included a series of research and development to increase agricultural production. Norman
Borlaug developed the HYV seeds, synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and modernised farming
techniques. This was mainly done to save the starving population in the third world
countries but in the long run, Green Revolution was a massive failure because these HYV
seeds had an inferior flavour, they were more glutinous and less savory than the native
varieties. The synthetic fertilisers and pesticides proved extremely harmful for the plants
and animals and even human beings.
Globalisation has a positive side too but the advantages have mostly been experienced by
the developed world, for the developing world, globalisation has been a curse in the form of
boon. As far as the solution to the problems is concerned, honestly speaking, there is no
solution because in a world which has embraced every aspect of globalisation, the third
world countries are left with no alternative apart from accepting this phenomena and being
a part of this process.