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Globalization: Midterm Reflection Chris Garcia                 To be completely honest, I did not think I would enjoy this course when I signed up for it. Mainly due to the fact that I had no idea what globalization was, let alone its impact on semi-skilled workers in China. Upon further investigation though, my interest sparked a [...]

Globalization:
Midterm Reflection

Chris
Garcia

                To
be completely honest, I did not think I would enjoy this course when I signed
up for it. Mainly due to the fact that I had no idea what globalization was,
let alone its impact on semi-skilled workers in China. Upon further
investigation though, my interest sparked a little bit. I think it started with
our class discussion as we attempted to unravel the definition of
globalization. What we came up with was “Globalization
is the increase in interactions between people around the world that involves
the sharing of ideas, goods, cultures, and businesses.” Seems simple enough,
but as ideas were shot back in forth during the initial drafting of the
definition, I realized its true complexity. Globalization encompasses so much,
and I think that’s what really intrigued me. Economic, political, and even
environmental impacts are due in part to globalization. These impacts also have
their fair share of pros and cons and beg the question, is globalization good
or bad? This is an extremely heavy question with endless possibilities and
radically different perspectives, all from professionals. That is when it finally
sunk in. We really don’t know what globalization is. That’s what makes it so
interesting to study, to use past information and try to make some sense of the
mysterious future.

The first real philosophy I dove
into was that of Fareed Zakaria in his book, The Post American World:
Release 2.0. To summarize, he talks about the rise of the rest of the
countries in the world. Many countries, especially the likes of China and
India, are catching up to the United States in all sectors; economically,
politically, and even in aspects of nationalism. Upon reading this, the idea of
globalization hit even closer to home. Literally. In a sense that the idea of
globalization could easily affect me and the rest of my life. My entire life
has been spent in the United States and all the while we have been the world’s
leading superpower. I have never known anything else but being the big dog, and
for Zakaria to say that the rest of the countries in the world are catching up
and could potentially pass us, is a somewhat startling thought. It was this
concept, “the rise of the rest,” that was really the inspiration, and
underlying argument in my blog posts.

The fact that I can equate my book to what I’m learning in class,
reading in articles, or even just thinking about, shows some intellectual
growth in my opinion. For example, in our globalization picture assignment, I
used I picture of uncle same juggling three globes, and dropping one on his
head. This suggests that the U.S is trying to do too much around the world and
not worrying about themselves enough. If this continues it could “come crashing
down” on them. I feel like I might have understood this concept without the
class and reading the book, but the background that the two provided me with
definitely gave me a deeper understanding. I was able to draw a connection
between the picture and a quote from my book, “in a world that is moving
fast, what will happen when America is too busy globalizing everyone else to
globalize itself.”

I
have even started to translate my globalization thoughts into real life. One
day during philosophy class we were discussing whether the actions of different
cultures could be seen as right or wrong, or if was just simply based on the
custom of that culture. The teacher used an example of Eskimo’s who would
sometimes leave the elderly out in the cold to die if they were too old to
contribute to the family anymore. The teacher continued to ask what would
happen if these Eskimos were placed into our society, would their culture be
viewed as wrong? Or just as their own custom? For some reason I could help but
think of some global implications. Globalization has allowed for the diffusion
of cultures all over, especially in the United States. So it really could be a
possibility for people to adopt customs like these, especially with such easy
transfers of ideas, goods, and cultures. In a globalized world, with all kinds
of different beliefs, we really do have to consider that question that my
philosophy teacher posed to us. This idea may be a little far-fetched, but I
definitely think this class is getting to me, especially when I relate it to a
completely unrelated subject like philosophy.

It
took me a while to really get into this class, but I’d say the end result was
worth it. I went from having no knowledge of globalization to learning about
China’s low tech industries that are facing as much as a 50% turnover. These
factors eventually will force the Chinese to upgrade their entire industrial
base to make higher-margin goods. This is a global impact with a direct effect
on the semi-skilled workers of China.

Well here i am, end of the first semester of college. I have done a lot of things here at school, ranging from classes to honor council to lacrosse to rugby to party to study pretty much everything and one of the many things i have learned here is about globalization, which is why i am sitting here writing this blog instead of doing something else probably a lot less constructive.

I guess i will tell the globalization education story from the beginning. When it came time to register for classes i was hanging 60 feet off a rock wall telling kids how to climb as high as i did, so needless to say my class selection didn’t go so well, and i had to wait to add drop period to register for anything at all. Then i couldn’t find any FSEMs that even remotely touched on my interests and i really wanted to get that FSEM requirement out of the way, but our lady of Guadalupe, and feminism in literature wasn’t going to cut it for me. So i waited and waited and finally Globalization: Panacea or Deal with the Devil opened up. The title intrigued me and it was also under an economics heading, which couldn’t be so terrible right? I didn’t really know much about Globalization at all and only had the vague idea that i did from what i had heard on tv. Supposedly globalization was bad according to some news and good according to other sources and it had the word globe so i assumed it was something to do with the world as a whole.

The first day of class i got lost on the way there because it is not on campus but rather across the street from campus. When i walked in instead of sitting in a room packed with desks there was a large boardroom table and chairs so the class began with the syllabus being read introductions being made, typical stuff. Then the next day we were hit with real world s#*t the professor walks in, sits down and asks “what’s globalization?” My first reaction was…wait he’s the teacher shouldn’t he know? But in retrospect it is very helpful having our class’s definition ( http://fsem100j.umwblogs.org/2011/09/12/what-is-globalization-2/)  a word that most of us had little or no experience with, it really helped discussing it and coming to a consensus of what it should be.

Throughout this class we have hit upon many many different topics and learned quite a bit of information about pretty much everything related to globalization. The first two things we were asked to do was to select a book about globalization and come up with three questions we had about globalization. (http://tannerhodges.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/3-questions-about-globalization/) we were also asked to define our idea of globalization (http://tannerhodges.umwblogs.org/2011/09/20/3-questions-about-globalization/) both of these things helped me because to come up with that definition i read a lot of articles and came up with that definition, and for the three questions i genuinely wanted to know what the answer was to each of those questions. I learned through the course of the class the answers to two of them and the third there isn’t really an answer. I learned that globalization isn’t just a factory from china shipping goods to us it’s everything that happens all around the world if there is any contact at all between the US and any other place on the world that is globalization. It isn’t just economies or goods it’s music, movies, television, magazines, pop culture, tattoos, houseplants, posters, ideas, and foods. (and that was just me looking around my room spotting things i have, am wearing, or is on the walls) The influence of globalization and connectivity i learned can be a panacea, which means cure-all, or it can be a deal with the devil, there is good with bad when you start connecting the world. Medical breakthroughs have been made because our scientists and doctors communicate with others around the world, but diseases have been spread due to the shipping of contaminated foods from areas around the world. Another thing that has spread that i personally am passionate about is dance little known fact about me is that i am actually an apprentice instructor at Strictly Ballroom dance studios in Fredericksburg, and with that i teach or am being still taught over 30 styles of dance, a large portion being from europe. The waltz from olden times in eastern europe, the tango from spain, the rumba from mexico, the swing from america, and many other diverse dances. Thats another thing this class taught me, that is a way of looking at things. I see things different now because now i look at where things came from how far they may have traveled how they effect me and where they are from, where else they may go. This is a huge eye opener to me as i never considered everything i do anymore has to do with globalized culture. I wake up to a alarm on my motorola made in japan,china,and bangladesh i get into my shower and get dressed in clothes and shoes that have been made from pretty much everywhere around the globe and go to my first class which is taught by a professor from india. Ill stop the narration here but long story short i eat sleep wake up and live globalization as does everyone in the modern world. I am very glad i learned what i did, even though i am no means a master of the subject i have had my eyes opened to the world and will forever have a different way of thinking about things that have to do with the world and my connections in it.

So here I am at the end of the road, one full semester of college behind me. Nothing in high school could prepare me for college, no amount of AP classes or dual-enrollment classes could have helped. College was something I had nearly thought about over the course of thirteen years. I never actually thought I’d make here, mainly because I didn’t know what to expect. I was being forced out of my comfortable home in the middle of nowhere in Hicktown, USA and into “the real world”.  Well, I quickly learned the real world is full of earthquakes, aftershocks, tornadoes, and hurricanes. I was shaken by the new culture, the shocks of how much people party, the whirlwind speed of lectures, and the torrents of finals. But everything was new and everything was worldly.

I chose to take my FSEM on Globalization for several reasons: I love learning about the world and I liked the subject when I learned about it in AP Comparative Government. I knew the basis of what globalization was, but I didn’t really know how to separate the pros and cons of it. At the beginning of the course, I was on the borderline of whether I’m pro-globalization or anti-globalization. Today, I am off that fence.

Globalization has helped the world in recent years. It has modernized countries, cities, and economies all over the world. For example, it has allowed communist China to develop a modern capitalist economy, nearly overtaking the United States in world power. Once homogeneous cultures are now experiencing other people’s cultures, making them worldy. Fifty years ago you couldn’t get Thai food in America, but now you just look in the phone book and there it is(and they might even deliver).America is a society of immigrants, myself included(Grandmother came over from England with her American husband in 1946).Globalization has connected the world together since the internet was created. People are communicating from Simpson Library here in Fredericksburg with people in Madrid. All of this seemed impossible thirty years ago, but now it is a reality. Twitter, as I keep stressing, is a major component of globalization. The Arab Spring was partially fueled by Twitter, and when something happens in the world, no matter where, it pops up on Twitter and trends in minutes. The world has gotten smaller, countries are more connected, and the global economy is well….global.

However, I’m more on the anti-globalization side of the fence. I personally think more bad is going to come out of this than good. Yes, I like the internet. In fact, I love the internet. I’m on it way more than I need to be. I check my Facebook, then I check my Twitter, I check my Hotmail, I check my Tumblr, then I check MSN, then I decide I need to check my Twitter again, I listen to Spotify, buy a song on iTunes,then I go on Stumbleupon to distract myself a little more. This is a sad factor of my generation. I feel way more comfortable chatting online than conversing in public, which I feel like will come back to haunt me in the future. I also feel like on the global level, it is going to make the world pay. The homogeneous cultures, like what was in Britain, are going away. When my grandmother lived there, there weren’t many Indians or Pakistanis. Just a troop during World War II, a good deal of American troops, some Irish troops, a few Canadians, a few French, and a couple of Aussies. That was it. Everyone was English, everyone was pretty much Anglican, everyone spoke English(and if you went to school, you learned Latin and French). Now there are mosques everywhere and people from all over the world are immigrated, taking away the British homogeneous. Even though I’m not British and have never been there, I’m proud of my heritage. And it makes me sad to know that the Britain my grandmother grew up in or the Britain my government teacher knew is different(don’t let me get started on the terrorism there, aka. IRA). When it comes to international affairs such as the UN, I feel like we(America) are playing with fire, for example sanctioning North Korea and Iran. I feel like that’s not going to have a good ending as Mr.Ahmadinejad and Mr. Jong-il probably don’t approve. When it comes to the European Union, I feel like it’s taking away each country’s rights. Soon they might develop their own country, Europeanese. By adopting the Euro and allowing free travel across borders, the younger generation thinks of themselves as European, not German, not French, not Italian, but European. Along with the EU monitoring all things monetary, you have countries like Italy and Greece which are collapsing before our eyes and could damage this global economy. The world, in my opinion, is just getting too small for its own good.

I could also go into a few personal reasons why I don’t like globalization, but part of them are scattered around this blog.

Taking this class helped me solidify my viewpoints on globalization. Perhaps one day, my mind will change. I may meet my future husband off EHarmony or I could make it big being a star on Youtube and be the next Rebecca Black. Everything is uncertain. Perhaps my claims above will be proven wrong, and maybe I’ll get an e-mail a couple of years from now from Dr.Greenlaw stating, “Haha Sam, you were wrong”. Until then, I will stand by my belief that globalization is a deal with the devil.

 

The last few weeks of summer in combination with the first few weeks of college are essentially a blur in my mind. The emotions in those weeks were mixed and almost palpable. I was excited and anxious to leave home but wary of the new shift at the same time; I was eager to start classes but nervous about how they would ultimately play out. I tried to make predictions about the nature of my classes- I did the typical research on my RateMyProfessor, read course descriptions repeatedly, and hoped that I’d survive. I’m the type of person who likes to have things planned out and organized, so I attempted to approach this new experience as informed as possible. When thinking back on this course, it is impossible to remove it from the context of my first semester at college. The beginning of my time here was dedicated to figuring out how to best function in a new setting, and much of that work was done in classrooms (including this freshman seminar). I came into this course, and this semester, unsure what to think. I didn’t know much about globalization and I didn’t know much about living in college. Throughout this semester I’ve learned a lot about both in a very short period of time, and developed not only my knowledge about globalization but also my knowledge about college life, learning, and how to be successful as a freshman. Through this class I’ve been able to develop what I consider a solid foundation of knowledge on globalization while increasing my ability to form and convey critical thoughts concerning the topic.

As I mentioned in my midterm blog reflection, the beginning of this class was a bit of a struggle for me. I spent the first few weeks grappling with the definition of globalization itself- I couldn’t exactly wrap my head around the enormity of the concept and found myself getting intimidated and bogged down by the strong economic connotations I was perceiving (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/09/01/hello-world/). Some of my first exposure to the concept was through reading Friedman’s The Lexus and the Olive Tree. Friedman for me was a bit mundane and too economically focused; I tend to have difficulty wrapping my head around economics in general and applying the concepts to the new idea of globalization was definitely a challenge. After completing the book and establishing the class definition of globalization, “the increase in interactions between people around the world that involves the sharing of ideas, goods, cultures, and businesses”, I felt better prepared to approach the topic. I look at these two things as the first steps in this course- they were my starting points for this semester-long trek through the causes, effects, and various dynamics of globalization.

Once I had a thin foundation to work off of in terms of globalization’s definition, I found myself more enthusiastic about the course’s direction and content. I was able to move beyond the standard class definition and give thought to my own opinions about what globalization as a whole means (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/09/05/what-globalization-means-to-me/). Compared to my earlier posts (such as my first one: http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/09/01/6/) I was already gaining confidence in expressing my thoughts. I saw globalization as a unifying force driven by society itself and society’s focus on technology, efficiency, and integration. Beyond simply identifying what globalization is and giving it a “face”, I began thinking critically concerning the topic. In my questions post I explored the topics that I found crucial to globalization (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/09/13/questions/), applying the general idea to real life and probing as to its consequences. Globalization had started to seep into my everyday conscious- I found myself identifying it everywhere from the music I like to my favorite websites (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/09/18/now-that-i-know/). By the time midterms rolled around I was moving beyond definitions and questions and beginning to apply globalization to larger concepts such as language and topics being discussed in my classes (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/10/01/patois-and-language/), (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/10/12/global-responsibility/).  Overall, up until midterms I saw a pretty fast transformation in my thinking about globalization; I went from grappling with the basic definition to finding parallels between the concept of globalization and my everyday life. Class discussions played a large part in not only encouraging me to think more deeply about globalization but also in providing a forum in which I could develop my thoughts. Throughout the first half of the semester I essentially used my blog as an outlet to map my progress from understanding globalization to identifying it in real-life context.

As the second half of the semester played out I felt as if we were truly beginning to explore topics I was interested in. Economics and politics have never been my strong point, so to move into culture and environment was really exciting. My primary interests have always been in the humanities, and to apply these topics to globalization was incredibly intriguing. Being able to explore issues I was interested in lead to much more in-depth posts on my blog. I began to wonder about the causes of globalization and if it was accurate to lay blame for undesirable phenomena on globalization itself (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/10/19/so-whos-to-blame/). When it came to the environment I found myself doing research on my own time; the information and statistics presented in class were so astounding they pushed me to seek out more information on my own. I found the modern levels of destruction to the environment appalling and I definitely utilized this blog as a platform to speak out about the environment and to theorize solutions (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/11/23/59/  and http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/12/01/this-drives-me-crazy/). Beyond exploring culture and discussing the environment, in the second half of the semester I also wrapped up my ideas about globalization as a whole. I’m aware that globalization is an immensely broad topic and there is no way to study completely all of its many facets and elements, but I felt at the end of the course I needed to bring together the thoughts I’d gathered throughout the seminar. Through “looking at the big picture” (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/11/29/looking-at-the-big-picture/) and “cultural capital, and what’s left of it” (http://emilyhumberson.umwblogs.org/2011/12/05/cultural-capital-and-whats-left-of-it/) I attempted to summarize some final thoughts on globalization. Overall, throughout the second half of the semester I feel that I truly hit my stride in terms of deeply exploring topics I was interested in and forming my own ideas about globalization and its magnitude.

Overall, this course has helped me to build not only an understanding of globalization but also to develop skills in blogging, communication, and articulating my thoughts. I came into the course with little to no knowledge of globalization, and now I see it as a force that integrates elements of life across the world with emphasis on ideas such as efficiency, technology, and the power of the individual. Throughout the semester I was able to track the progress of my learning through my blog. I went from being lost on the definition of globalization to connecting it to larger concepts such as culture and the environment. Our in-class discussions provided an open-ended forum in which we could all share thoughts, previous knowledge, and experiences in order to gain a broader understanding of globalization. I feel that my time spent in this course was incredibly productive and that I am walking away with not only a stronger handle on the concept of globalization but sharper skills in other areas of life as well.

Every year since I learned how to write I have has has this tradition. I sit down on the first day of school and write a letter to myself. I write my predictions, expectations, and hopes for the up-coming school year. On the last day of school I open it. I always have a good laugh at how things turned out so different than what I expected them to be. But this year I forgot to write it. Because I was in a new place and with orientation craziness I forgot to write my letter. Afterwards when I remembered, I still didn’t write one. I don’t know how to explain it except to say that it didn’t seem right to do it then. But I have decided I am going to use my blog as my beginning-of-the-year-letter. Use it to look back and see how different things were than I expected them to be.

Honestly, I was not quite sure what I expected this class to be. The name Panacea or Deal with the Devil frankly still confuses me. Does anyone besides me realize we never actually discussed the meaning of the name for this class in any of our many discussions. You would think that this would have come up at some point. Anyway. I have come to the same conclusion that I started out this course with. Globalization is evil. Sorry. I stand by my platform. I outlined in my blog post “Global Body Shop” that the globalization of medicine could be as destructive as genocide on a more efficient scale. I feel that exploitation of people as human commodities for their organs is a scary practice and can very quickly spin out of control. Also as we discussed in class, big businesses that put their factories into small developing nations have sway over their government. This can 99% of the time turn out to be a bad situation. Large corporations have their own agenda and usually that does not coincide with what is necessarily beneficial for the people of that nation. Finally as outlined in my second essay, the obvious tension that globalization creates in cultures foster feelings of tribalism which can potentially have the ability to grow into terrorism.

However, I am a big proponent of looking at both sides of a debate before making concrete judgment. And therefore I am glad I took this class because it opened my eyes to the kinds of pros that globalization can have. For instance, in my last essay for this class I made a point about the new kinds of immigrants that seem to be coming to the US. It seems like more highly skilled immigrants seeking higher paying jobs. By reading an article from the Smithsonian about the changing American demographics ( http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/The-Changing-Demographics-of-America.html ) i learned a lot about what the demographics of the US are today and what they are projected to be over the next forty years. Over the next 40 years there will be a substantial increase in immigration from places like Japan, the UK and Europe. This is good news for our economy because that means that the brightest and the best want to work for America, which is a substantial step toward recouping our economy. Einstein was an immigrant. So was Joseph Pulitzer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and most of the rest of us at some point.

A very useful thing I learned is that this class is not just a class that you can neatly put a box. You can’t just use only what you learned in class or in readings to be successful. It was encouraged cross over from other subjects. I thought that this was very strange and really cool. It was interesting to analyze what was learned in other classes in a new light and apply it to real world issues and debate. My blog post “Global Body Shop” and “Language” were both taken from notes that I took for my anthropology class. My extensive post “Contact Zone Hybridity, and the Like” where I talk about definitions of some terms created by globalization like transculturation, and hybridity I took from an essay I had to read for my English class. Another awesome point about that article was that the opening pages about the Spanish conquistadors coincided perfectly to facts that I collected from Globalization and its Enemies by Cohen. This was a trend I saw throughout the class with people blogging about their political science class or talking about international relations and introducing a powerpoint from the Girl Scouts.

My top three posts that enjoyed the most were the Visual Essay, “Globalization’s Dictionary”, and “When in doubt Disney it out”. The visual essay was a lot of fun to choose and write. I feel what was even more fun was seeing what everyone else choose. Some of them, like Amy’s with the different time zone clocks, I thought really hit the mark. I even showed my friend at UVA everyones pictures when I went to visit her and she asked me about my classes. Globalizations Dictionary was a lot of fun because it wasn’t my idea to begin with. My roommate was studying for French when she came across the word globalization and had to tell me. Then that started me running around my dorm trying to find the Spanish word for it. All of this ended up with me on google translator, and a bunch of friends in my room, yelling out things like “Globalizering!” Lastly, I am a product of the 90s and I’m a girl so it doesn’t matter how old I get I will still love Disney. The funny thing is, the older you get the more you see humor and stories in a different light. Anaylizng Pocahontas within the perspective of our class was really interesting for me especially since I could draw on some to the themes that we outlined in class and on my blog.

Well, thats that. This class was different than expected it to be but I liked it and I would recommend it if someone asked me. What is best of all, I can understand how this information could be applicable to my life. So I just want to thank the blog-o-sphere for indulging my thoughts and tangents and whims. So in great globalization style i will say adios, abschied, fo dea-, farvel, ave bonum, good bye and see ya later.

This freshman seminar has taught me how to think about the world,  and the interactions that happen within it. This class has broadened my view of globalization and it’s implications and made me think about topics in ways I previously couldn’t imagine. I loved hearing everyone’s thoughts in class, the difference of opinion that occasionally happened showed me that there was no right or wrong answer to the questions and issues we were discussing.

I have faced a lot of challenges with this class. I found writing papers and focusing my attention difficult. My senior year of high school I had two seminar style classes, both of which I did not enjoy. I just don’t like seminars; I strongly prefer lecture style classes. Sitting around talking does not feel like learning to me, I find it very difficult to retain information in that setting. I also don’t like the lack of testing that usually comes with seminars. I always feel unable to keep track what has been talked about and what I am supposed to know about the topic. I need structure, with seminars I am never sure what I am supposed to be doing. I am still not sure what caused my writers block for this class, but it was not pleasant at all. The prompts were challenging and I was never sure what I was really supposed to be writing about.

Even with all of its challenges, this class has helped me grow as a student, and made me learn what is expected of me throughout my college career.

A couple of days ago, I was on Facebook and a couple of people were saying, “Praying for Emani”. Well, there’s only one person anybody knows with that name from my high school, a person I was really good friends with. So, I Googled her name,expecting all her high school basketball articles/videos would show up,but it directed me to a Hampton Roads/Newport News website. I knew she was going to Christopher Newport University, which is in that area. The article I found wasn’t pleasing. She had been hit head on by a drunk driver, killing two of her friends and leaving her in critical condition.

Through the internet, I found this out.

Today, news broke of another shooting at Virginia Tech, a college where several faculty members I know work at. Two are dead from the account, and as I watch ABC7 out of DC, they are airing CBS7 out of Roanoke, a station I grew up watching. At this moment I’m watching a live stream from ABC13 out of Lynchburg. They are getting information through technology–the Twitters of VT students,trending topics on Twitter, Facebook statuses, and  cell phones.

My thoughts go to both universities this week.

While I can see to a degree the point that cartoons like these are trying to make, the gist ultimately seems silly. If you don’t want Niketown to pop up in Paris, or a Disney Store to take prominence in London, simply don’t patronize these places. The concept seems simple enough- if we want to maintain cultural capital (non-financial social assets) in important historical places abroad, we have the ability to do so. Businesses succeed or fail depending on whether or not they gain enough profit, and if people refuse to patronize major corporations in culturally significant places then those businesses will ultimately fail. But what seems to be trending is MORE adoption of these prominent businesses, in which we have no room to complain. While globalization IS a big force and at times it DOES seem to be larger than all of us, it is important to keep in mind that we as human beings are the ones driving the direction in which we are headed. It is easy enough to sit back and blame unsavory changes in our society on globalization- but it’s incredibly important to keep in mind who fostered these changes in the first place.

 

There was an interesting PowerPoint in my Political Science class today. It was titled, “Sex, Drugs, and Death: Mexico and Globalization”.

 

The lecture started out with my professor giving his definition of globalization, “Increasing flows of international trade, monetary flows, and the flow of culture”. The rest of lecture was about how drug cartels in Mexico make ridiculous amounts of  money selling drugs in the US (around $38 billion each year from the US drug market alone. And that’s only part of what the cartel’s are into).  We went into how the cartels bribe and intimidate the Mexican political system, but that’s more Poli Sci stuff, and I’m here to talk about globalization.

 

Globalization can, in part, be blamed for the drug trade from Mexico to the US. In the 90s, the US shut down the Caribbean drug trade, which allowed Mexico and  Central America to take over, due to the high demand of hard drugs from America. Legitimate trade between the US/Mexico border is approximately $300 billion, and Mexico is resopnisble for %12.2 of US imports. The drug trade is piggybacking from commerce between the two countries. It’s fairly easy for cartels to traffic drugs across the border along with legitimate products entering the US. It would be far to costly to check all shipments crossing the border, and profit margins would severely go down for all companies involved.

 

Solutions to this problem include; legalizing hard drugs, severe border control, slowing down globalization, or for the United States to, as a whole, stop smoking crack and lower the demand.

 

Personally, I don’t believe that slowing down globalization is the answer, and if it is, it’s a very small part. The US shouldn’t stop %12 of its imports and its good terms with Mexico. This is a very complicated issue, and I’m not going to pretend I know what to do about it, because I don’t. Although, I must say, I hear there are some health benefits that go along with not smoking crack…