CIAO DATE: 11/02

Inequalities in the Light of Globalization

Abstract

Great inequalities have risen alongside increasing globalization in recent years, giving rise to the question: what is the relation between the two? Inequalities have always existed, and are not caused directly by globalization, which serves as the vehicle of flawed development. Calls for “another globalization,” as recently heard at the Porto Alegre (Brazil) World Social Forum, therefore require “another development” prizing equity over economic growth and participation over elite decision-making. Inequalities previously accepted were delegitimized by historical forces – European colonization, the Industrial Revolution, development's promise of technological deliverance from poverty; globalization is the latest destructuring and destabilizing historical force. Anti-globalization movements have moved beyond negative protest to build alternative solutions. Under certain (difficult) conditions, it may become possible to negotiate “another globalization.”

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