globalization and inequality-short essay

Essay by lazymeUniversity, Bachelor'sB+, April 2002

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The process by which the lives of all people around the planet become increasingly interconnected in economic, cultural, political, and environmental terms, along with our awareness of such interconnections is known as globalization (Appelbaum, 2001). Globalization has pushed the world into the revolution of information. The planet has become connected through technological renovations and the interdependence of economic expansion. Nations have formed one agenda, one unit, and with it, emerges the concept of winners and losers. Globalization has increased the gap between rich and poor. As we form one world, the level of inequality rises, the strong nations get richer, and the weak nations get poorer. The retail business is revolutionizing due to globalization, yet inequality seems to be the intimidating factor that comes with it.

Globalization is being driven by five major factors: customers, markets, technology, competition, and costs. The global marketplace exposes retailers to an unprecedented number of customers.

The relaxation of trade barriers, creation of trade blocs, and opening of new markets has presented the world's retailers with the option of going global. Outsourcing has made it possible for domestic companies in the United States and worldwide to increase profits by using "cheap labor" to produce the goods that consumers demand at a much lower price. "Minorities" from countries like Mexico,

Guatemala, and parts of Asia are exploited in the "global assembly line" in order for companies to gain prestige through outstanding economic efficiency. The dependency theory suggests that the poverty of low-income countries is the immediate consequence of their exploitation by the wealthy countries on which they are economically dependent (Appelbaum and Chambliss, 173). Third world countries are exploited in order for first world countries to get ahead in the national economic arena. Peasants work in international factories because it is the only way out of...