Globalization, good or bad?
I don’t think there is a single straight answer to this question. Whether or not it’s a good thing to happen, depends a lot on how and when it happens, and also on the governing model we apply for it and many other aspects of it. And even if the general and overall outcome is good, there will definitely be consequences, disadvantages, adjusting curve and a very high price to pay for it.
A while ago we watched a TED Dialogue in class when we were discussing globalization. The guest, Yuval Noah Harari, the author of the book “Sapiens” talked about the lack of a good and effective governing model for a globalized world and many aspects of the matter.
His ideas and the way he analyzed everything, got me thinking and curious, so I got the book from my neighbourhood library. I read something interesting in the first chapter, something I have been thinking about for a while (actually wanted to mention it in our discussion about technology and how it’s making our lives out of balance.) But he described and analyzed it way better than I would:
“This is a key to understanding our history and psychology. Genus Homo’s position in the food chain was until quite recently, solidly in the middle. For millions of years, humans hunted smaller creatures and gathered what they could, all the while being hunted by larger predators. It was only 400,000 years ago that several species of man began to hunt large game on a regular basis, and only in the last 100,000 years – with the rise of Homo Sapiens – that man jumped to the top of the food chain.
That spectacular leap from the middle to the top had enormous consequences. other animals at the top of the pyramid, such as lions and sharks, evolved into that position very gradually, over millions of years. This enabled the ecosystem to develop checks and balances that prevent lions and sharks from wreaking too much havoc. As lions become deadlier, so gazelles evolved to run faster, hyenas to cooperate better, and rhinoceroses to be more bad-tempered. In contrast, humankind ascended to the top so quickly that the ecosystem was not given time to adjust. Moreover, humans themselves failed to adjust. Most top predators of the planet are majestic creatures. Millions of years of dominion have filled them with self-confidence. Sapiens by contrast is more like a banana republic dictator. Having so recently been one of the underdogs of the savannah, we are full of fears and anxieties over our position, which makes us doubly cruel and dangerous. Many historical calamities, from deadly wars to ecological catastrophes, have resulted from this over-hasty jump.”
Every aspect of our dominance, is somehow too soon for us. We are way too immature for the power we have in our hands, and for the changes that are happening. It is the same with globalization. We have not really matured enough to understand the existing different models of government around the globe, let alone a suitable, balanced, proper model, even for the existing classification of nations. Do we really think we are ready for something as complex, as sophisticated and as demanding as a global government? Are we ready to make the necessary compromises? Do we have a proper understanding of what we want and what we should want and “what we want to want?” [Yuval Noah Harari] It would be like asking a 2-year-old, to share their beloved candy with another 2-year-old, with whom they never get along!
The world is changing too fast. We move to the next stage before fully digesting the last one. A lion knows very well how to manage its power not to break its cub’s neck while moving it with the same jaw it uses to break the neck of its pray. Especially since it very well knows how much the survival of its species depends on proper use of those jaws in both situations. We on the other hand, have neither mastered sufficient control over our powers nor the wisdom of how to use them and what for. We still have mad politicians who can easily demolish nations, wipe a whole population of an area from the face of the earth, with a simple push of a button, and we still have people who vote for such politicians! The fact that we cast votes in favor of such politicians in form of a majority, shows that we don’t have the wisdom to use the power and authority of making such a choice.
Is globalization good or bad? It can be both, depends on us. Is globalization inevitable? Probably. Are we ready for it? Definitely not! Can we be ready for it? Highly unlikely! Will we try to get ready for it? Hopefully! How can we get ready? I will talk about it more in the next few weeks.
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