The Truth about Globalization: an economist defends globalization.
To keep my economist union card, I am required every morning when I arise to place my hand on the leather-bound family heirloom copy of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and swear a mighty oath of allegiance to globalization. I hereby do asseverate my solemn belief that globalization, taken as a whole, is a positive economic force and well worth defending. I also believe that the economic and social effects of globalization are exaggerated by both its detractors and supporters.
In media coverage of anti-globalization protests, "globalization" often becomes a catch-all term for capitalism and injustice. (Indeed, for some protestors, referring to capitalism and injustice would be redundant.) But economic globalization in fact describes a specific phenomenon: the growth in flows of trade and financial capital across national borders. The trend has consequences in many areas, including sovereignty, prosperity, jobs, wages, and social legislation. Globalization is too important to be consigned to buzzword status.
[via Arts & Letters Daily]
i think in order for globalization to be successful, global citizenship or cosmopolitanism [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmopolitanism/ ] is necessary. the provision of "global public goods" [http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TotW/business_government_worldl.html ] and institutions of accountability [http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/d/desoto-capital.html ] sustain and protect the commons upon which commerce operates and the public interest is served. otherwise, too many people end up peeing in the pool! (game theory defections that lead to uncooperative negative externalities :)
