by G Washington Smikle

Created on: February 20, 2007   Last Updated: March 14, 2007

Globalization is not a fixed phenomenon. It is extremely fluid, and as such can be extremely disruptive. Even now we see this quality in the state of the current immature globalization. Writers who attempt to address this critical issue must be mindful of this.

It is true that over time those who benefit will outnumber those who are victims. But unfortunately lifes are lived and experienced on a day to day basis. We cannot expect that people should have to be prepared to be victims because eventually things will work out. That is not the way democratic societies strive. Where there is little or no hope and not much faith in the system to ensure that you get a fair shake, it is eventually the democratic ideal that suffers, and the foundation of free society itself collapses on itself.

The truth is, globalization is overrated because globalization does not necessarily mean fair competition. And without fair competition, you run the risk of undemining true capitalistic systems and free societies.

For instance, labor has taken the brunt of the negative effects of globalization. By its very nature, labor is highly immobile. People, even within their own countries, are wont to move from one geographic region to the next because of social attachments. Not to mention the inability, even if there was the willingness, to move to other countries where jobs, though cheaper, are more available. Capital on the other hand has no such restrictions. It can move across inter and intra state lines with little or no difficulty.

Then there is the aspect of training and retraining. Segments of the population that tend to be disproportionatlely affected by globalization are less adaptive to retraining in the manner that would cause minimal disruption to communities. Once communities lose their base economic support, it takes decades to rectify this problem and deal with the fallout. Educational systems are still geared towards preparing workers for closed economies that do not have to deal with the consequences of a very immature globalization process. Yet, amazingly people who ought to know better tout education as the big fix to the disruptions being caused within the labor force. Education is only a minor part of the solution. The problem is much more complex than that. The complexities of the problem involve things such as how do you account for the difference in cultural and social practices among countries that give rise to unfair advantages.

Case in point. The American worker,

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