Globalisation has failed to live up to its promises

Thomas Friedman in his book says " The world is flat "and goes on to write three hundred and sixty five more pages on thebenefits of globalization and how the phenomenon , right from the fallof the Berlin wall to the rise of outsourcing, has transformed thisworld for the better. It is unquestionable that Globalization changedthe world. But was this change for the better or for the worse, isdebatable. It may seem counter-intuitive at first to so blatantlyderide such a progressive measure such as Globalization, however acloser look does force us to have second thoughts.The first evidence that supporters of Globalizationclaim as it's greatest achievement is the economic miracles it hasproduced. The Dotcom boom of the late nineties and early noughtiescomes across as the proudest child of Globalization. And it is true;the very famous "India Shining" would not have been possible withoutthe huge investment that occurred in the service sector at that time.The services sector contributes roughly about seventy percent to thenation's GDP. However this seems analogous to a family car speeding at150 kmph; the infrastructure needed to sustain such speeds is absent.With the services sector fueling easy growth, the Indian governmentdid not consider investing in long term infrastructure developmentlike roads,ports and airports. Also with cheap IT jobs available, themanufacturing sector underwent slow growth. If we look at a moredirect impact of Globalization on the economic front, the 2008economic crisis and the Greek debt crisis pop up. Incidents such asthese are a clear evidence that lax regulations in one country affectsthe world in this era of Globalization. Once the economy falters inany one country, Globalization ensures a domino effect throughout theworld . Such bubbles are extremely difficult to contain once they havereached the global stage.Supporters may cite Globalization as theharbinger of the end of Xenophobia, however the evidence seems tocontradict this. There is a huge wave of protests against outsourcingservices and manufacturing jobs to places like India and China.Jobless in the developed world feel betrayed by their Governments andsocial resentment is rising. Controlling outsourcing seems to be theagenda used by political parties to remove the incumbent government.Hence it is absolutely necessary to look at aphenomenon such as Globalization in its totality and not outrightlyaccept (or reject) it. While it has its merits , the social andeconomic aspects of it leave much to be wanted. A possible solutioncould be proper Government control to hedge the ill effects ofGlobalization.