ASSIGNMENT

CLASS XII

CHP: GLOBALISATION
Q1. Mention a few examples that reflect the negative examples of globalization in India.

A1.

• Some farmers committed suicide because their crops failed. They had bought very expensive seeds
supplied by a multinational company (MNC).
• An Indian company bought a major rival company based in Europe, despite protests by some of the
current owners.
• Many retail shopkeepers fear that they would lose their livelihoods if some major international
companies open retail chains in the country.
• A film producer in Mumbai was accused of lifting the story of his film from another film made in
Hollywood.
• A militant group issued a statement threatening college girls who wear western clothes.

Q2. What do you mean by Globalisation?

A2.

• Globalisation as a concept fundamentally deals with flows.

• These flows could be of various kinds — ideas moving from one part of the world to another, capital
shunted between two or more places, commodities being traded across borders, and people moving
in search of better livelihoods to different parts of the world.
• The crucial element is the ‘worldwide interconnectedness’ that is created and sustained as a
consequence of these constant flows.
• Globalisation is a multi- dimensional concept.
• It has political, economic and cultural manifestations, and these must be adequately distinguished.

Q3. Highlight a few causes of globalization.

A3.

• While globalisation is not caused by any single factor, technology remains a critical element.
• There is no doubt that the invention of the telegraph, the telephone, and the microchip in more recent
times has revolutionised communication between different parts of the world.
• When printing initially came into being it laid the basis for the creation of nationalism. So also today
we should expect that technology will affect the way we think of our personal but also our collective
lives.
• The ability of ideas, capital, commodities and people to move more easily from one part of the world
to another has been made possible largely by technological advances.
• The pace of these flows may vary. For instance, the movement of capital and commodities will
most likely be quicker and wider than the movement of peoples across different parts of the world.
Q4. What are the political consequences of globalization?

OR

‘One of the debates that has been generated as a consequence of contemporary processes of globalisation
relates to its ongoing political impact.’ Enlighten.

A4.

Negative Consequences

OR
How does globalisation affect traditional conceptions of state sovereignty? Mention the three aspects that
answers this question.

• Globalization results in an erosion of state capacity, that is, the ability of government to do what they
do.
• All over the world, the old ‘welfare state’ is now giving way to a more minimalist state that performs
certain core functions such as the maintenance of law and order and the security of its citizens.
• However, it withdraws from many of its earlier welfare functions directed at economic and social
well-being.
• In place of the welfare state, it is the market that becomes the prime determinant of economic and
social priorities.
• The entry and the increased role of multinational companies all over the world leads to a reduction in
the capacity of governments to take decisions on their own.

Positive Consequences

OR

‘Globalization does not always reduce state capacity.’ How?

• The primacy of the state continues to be the unchallenged basis of political community.
• The state continues to discharge its essential functions (law and order, national security) and
consciously withdraws from certain domains from which it wishes to.
• States continue to be important. Indeed, in some respects state capacity has received a boost as a
consequence of globalisation, with enhanced technologies available at the disposal of the state to
collect information about its citizens.
• With this information, the state is better able to rule, not less able. Thus, states become more powerful
than they were earlier as an outcome of the new technology.

Q5. What are the economic consequences of globalization?

OR

‘While everything may not be known about the economic facets of globalisation, this particular dimension
shapes a large part of the content and direction of contemporary debates surrounding globalisation.’
Elaborate.
A5. The Concept of Economic Globalisation

• The mention of economic globalisation draws our attention immediately to the role of international
institutions like the IMF and the WTO and the role they play in determining economic policies across
the world.
• Yet, globalisation must not be viewed in such narrow terms. Economic globalisation involves many
actors other than these international institutions.
• A much broader way of understanding of economic globalisation requires us to look at the distribution
of economic gains, i.e. who gets the most from globalisation and who gets less, indeed who loses
from it.
• What is often called economic globalisation usually involves greater economic flows among different
countries of the world. Some of this is voluntary and some forced by international institutions and
powerful countries.
• Globalisation has involved greater trade in commodities across the globe; the restrictions imposed by
different countries on allowing the imports of other countries have been reduced.
• Similarly, the restrictions on movement of capital across countries have also been reduced. In
operational terms, it means that investors in the rich countries can invest their money in countries other
than their own, including developing countries, where they might get better returns.
• Globalisation has also led to the flow of ideas across national boundaries. The spread of internet and
computer related services is an example of that.
• But globalisation has not led to the same degree of increase in the movement of people across
the globe.
• Developed countries have carefully guarded their borders with visa policies to ensure that citizens of
other countries cannot take away the jobs of their own citizens.
• In thinking about the consequences of globalisation, it is necessary to keep in mind that the same set of
policies do not lead to the same results everywhere.
• While globalisation has led to similar economic policies adopted by governments in different parts of
the world, this has generated vastly different outcomes in different parts of the world.

Negative Consequences

• Economic globalisation has created an intense division of opinion all over the world. Those who are
concerned about social justice are worried about the extent of state withdrawal caused by processes
of economic globalisation.
• They point out that it is likely to benefit only a small section of the population while impoverishing
those who were dependent on the government for jobs and welfare (education, health, sanitation,
etc.).
• They have emphasised the need to ensure institutional safeguards or creating ‘social safety nets’ to
minimise the negative effects of globalisation on those who are economically weak.
• Many movements all over the world feel that safety nets are insufficient or unworkable. They have
called for a halt to forced economic globalisation, for its results would lead to economic ruin for
the weaker countries, especially for the poor within these countries.
• Some economists have described economic globalisation as re- colonisation of the world.

Positive Consequences
 • Advocates of economic globalisation argue that it generates greater economic growth and well-
being for larger sections of the population when there is de-regulation.
• Greater trade among countries allows each economy to do what it does best. This would benefit the
whole world.
• They also argue that economic globalisation is inevitable and it is not wise to resist the march of
history.
• More moderate supporters of globalisation say that globalisation provides a challenge that can be
responded to intelligently without accepting it uncritically.
• What, however, cannot be denied is the increased momentum towards inter - dependence and
integration between governments, businesses, and ordinary people in different parts of the world as a
result of globalisation.

Q6. What are the cultural consequences of globalization?

A6. Introduction

• The consequences of globalization are not confined only to the sphere of politics and economy.
• Globalisation affects us in our home, in what we eat, drink, wear and indeed in what we think. It
shapes what we think are our preferences.

Negative Consequences: Cultural Homogenisation

• The cultural effect of globalisation leads to the fear that this process poses a threat to cultures in the
world.
• It does so, because globalisation leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural
homogenisation. The rise of a uniform culture is not the emergence of a global culture.
• What we have in the name of a global culture is the imposition of Western culture on the rest of the
world.
• The popularity of a burger or blue jeans, some argue, has a lot to do with the powerful influence of the
American way of life.
• Thus, the culture of the politically and economically dominant society leaves its imprint on a less
powerful society, and the world begins to look more like the dominant power wishes it to be.
• Those who make this argument often draw attention to the ‘McDonaldisation’ of the world, with
cultures seeking to buy into the dominant American dream.
• This is dangerous not only for the poor countries but for the whole of humanity, for it leads to the
shrinking of the rich cultural heritage of the entire globe.

Positive Consequences: Cultural Heteroginisation

OR

‘It would be a mistake to assume that cultural consequences of globalisation are only negative.’ Elucidate.

• Cultures are not static things. All cultures accept outside influences all the time.
• Some external influences are negative because they reduce our choices. But sometimes external
influences simply enlarge our choices, and sometimes they modify our culture without
overwhelming the traditional.
 • The burger is no substitute for a masala dosa and, therefore, does not pose any real challenge. It is
simply added on to our food choices.
• Blue jeans, on the other hand, can go well with a homespun khadi kurta. Here the outcome of outside
influence is a new combination that is unique — a khadi kurta worn over jeans.
• Interestingly, this clothing combination has been exported back to the country that gave us blue jeans
so that it is possible to see young Americans wearing a kurta and jeans!
• While cultural homogenization is an aspect of globalisation, the same process also generates precisely
the opposite effect.
• It leads to each culture becoming more different and distinctive. This phenomenon is called cultural
heterogenisation.
• This is not to deny that there remain differences in power when cultures interact but instead more
fundamentally to suggest that cultural exchange is rarely one way.

Q7. ‘Flows pertaining to the movement of capital, commodities, ideas and people go back several centuries in
Indian history.’ Explain.

A7.

• During the colonial period, as a consequence of Britain’s imperial ambitions, India became an exporter
of primary goods and raw materials and a consumer of finished goods.
• After independence, because of this experience with the British, we decided to make things ourselves
rather than relying on others.
• We also decided not to allow others to export to us so that our own producers could learn to make
things. This ‘protectionism’ generated its own problems.
• While some advances were made in certain arenas, critical sectors such as health, housing and
primary education did not receive the attention they deserved.
• India had a fairly sluggish rate of economic growth. In 1991, responding to a financial crisis and to
the desire for higher rates of economic growth, India embarked on a programme of economic
reforms that has sought increasingly to de-regulate various sectors including trade and foreign
investment.
• While it may be too early to say how good this has been for India, the ultimate test is not high growth
rates as making sure that the benefits of growth are shared so that everyone is better off.

Q8. Write a note on ‘resistance to globalisation’.

A8.

• Critics of globalisation make a variety of arguments. Those on the left argue that contemporary
globalization represents a particular phase of global capitalism that makes the rich richer (and fewer)
and the poor poorer.
• Weakening of the state leads to a reduction in the capacity of the state to protect the interest of its
poor.
• Critics of globalization from the political right express anxiety over the political, economic and
cultural effects.
 • In political terms, they also fear the weakening of the state. Economically, they want a return to self-
reliance and protectionism, at least in certain areas of the economy. Culturally, they are worried that
traditional culture will be harmed and people will lose their age-old values and ways.
• It is important to note here that anti-globalisation movements too participate in global networks,
allying with those who feel like them in other countries.
• Many anti-globalisation movements are not opposed to the idea of globalisation per se as much as
they are opposed to a specific programme of globalisation, which they see as a form of
imperialism.
• In 1999, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting there were widespread
protests at Seattle alleging unfair trading practices by the economically powerful states.
• It was argued that the interests of the developing world were not given sufficient importance in the
evolving global economic system.
• The World Social Forum (WSF) is another global platform, which brings together a wide coalition
composed of human rights activists, environmentalists, labour, youth and women activists opposed to
neo-liberal globalisation.
• The first WSF meeting was organised in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001. The fourth WSF meeting was
held in Mumbai in 2004. The latest WSF meeting was held in Brazil in March 2018.

Q9. Write a note on ‘India and resistance to globalisation’.

OR

What has been India’s experience in resisting globalisation?

A9.

• Resistance to globalization in India has come from different quarters. There have been left wing
protests to economic liberalisation voiced through political parties as well as through forums like the
Indian Social Forum.
• Trade unions of industrial workforce as well as those representing farmer interests have organised
protests against the entry of multinationals.
• The patenting of certain plants like Neem by American and European firms has also generated
considerable opposition.
• Resistance to globalisation has also come from the political right.
• This has taken the form of objecting particularly to various cultural influences — ranging from the
availability of foreign T.V. channels provided by cable networks, celebration of Valentine’s Day,
and westernisation of the dress tastes of girl students in schools and colleges.