GlobalizationGlobalizationand Social Workand Social Work

By Dr. Maureen WilsonDr. Linda Kreitzer

For ACSW ConferenceEdmonton

March 25, 2006

Globalization TermsGlobalization Terms

GlobalizationGlobalismNeo-liberal Economic AgendaStructural Adjustment Programs

GlobalizationGlobalization

1. Internationalization (cross-border relations between countries).

2. Liberalization (creating open borders between countries and international economic integration).

3. Universalization (the spreading of world objects and experiences to all corners of the world).

GlobalizationGlobalization

4. Westernization (modernization or Americanization that tend to destroy local and indigenous cultures).

5. Deterritorialization (a reconfiguration of geography so that time and space are not seen in terms of territories).

6. Human interconnections and their dynamism.(Scholte, 2000; Robertson, 2003)

GlobalismGlobalism

A conscious process of globalization or a set of policies designed specifically to effect greater global rather than international interactions (Robertson, 2003).

Globalism is the ideological orientation underlying neo-liberal policies that affect the world (Wilson & Whitmore, 2000). This is known as the neo-liberal agenda.

NeoliberalismNeoliberalism

1. An ideology that makes the market central in governing economic, social and political life. It is based on the belief in the inherent wisdom of the market, it assumes the rules of the market should govern societies and not the other way around.

Neo-liberalismNeo-liberalism

2. Competition is valued for its ability to get things done in the most efficient way possible. Allowing the talents of the most able to find expression will eventually benefit everyone: the rising tide of capitalism will lift all boats.

(Wilson & Whitmore, 2000)

Neoliberalism Neoliberalism

3. Neoliberalism’s agenda is advanced through structural adjustment programs.

History of GlobalizationHistory of Globalization

1. Three waves of globalization 1. First wave - After 1500 centred on

globalization of regional trade. 2. Second wave – After 1800 and

gained momentum from industrialization. 3. Third wave – A new world order

after 1945. (Robertson, 2003)

History - IndustrializationHistory - Industrialization

Industrialization enabled environments to carry larger populations, which in turn generated new social and political dynamics. Technology had the capacity to generate huge profits.

Societies transformed by the First Wave of globalization benefited most from the second wave.

Societies unable to refashion themselves as industrialized nations became imprisoned as colonies or semi-colonies of other nations

History - IndustrializationHistory - Industrialization

Colonialism – We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies will also provide a dumping ground for surplus goods produced in our factories (Cecil Rhodes)

The machinery of industrialization was oiled by palm oil from Africa.

Countries who managed to retain their autonomy soon realized there was no equality.

History - IndustrializationHistory - Industrialization

Colonies brought no lasting stability. They destabilized communities, denied inclusion, suppressed demand, and created new forms of difference and inequality.

The second wave promoted nationalism and the creation of empires that sought to become worlds unto themselves. Colonialism left most independent countries poorly equipped to survive in a more globalized world.

Towards the end of the 19th century, an internationalist movement began which was concerned with social justice, world peace, human rights, environmental protection, etc.

After 1945After 1945

The third wave established the first global world order called globalism and in particular American globalism. It laid the basis both for domestic political stability in industrialized nations and for international co-operation.

Decolonization was encouraged but did not guarantee future meaningful participation in the new economic order.

The internationalist movement brought in the League of Nations, the United Nations, international NGO’s like the Red Cross, Amnesty international who looked at the social needs of humanity.

After 1945After 1945

The third wave established the first global world order called globalism and in particular American globalism. It laid the basis both for domestic political stability in industrialized nations and for international co-operation.

Decolonization was encouraged but did not guarantee future meaningful participation in the new economic order.

The internationalist movement brought in the League of Nations, the United Nations, international NGO’s like the Red Cross, Amnesty international who looked at the social needs of humanity.

After 1945After 1945

After the two world wars, a new global economy was put together to prevent another great depression of the 1930’s. This was created at Bretton Woods under the influence of Keynesian economics.

Three economic mechanisms were created from this meeting: The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)/World Trade Organization (WTO).

After 1945After 1945

In the 1970’s, the western countries had a huge pool of money they didn’t know what to do with. So they encouraged poorer countries to borrow money with a very lax rules for paying back the money.

By the late 1970’s interest rates soared and borrowed money became expensive and world prices in raw materials went down. Due to these interest rates many countries could not pay their debts from the borrowed money.

After 1945After 1945

As a result, countries borrowed more money to pay off the debts and the IMF tightened its noose around the neck of countries by introducing structural adjustment programs. As a result most of the increase in debt during the 1990’s was to pay interest on existing loans and not used to tackle poverty or to invest in productive investment. The conditions of SAP’s diverts money away from social issues like education, health and social welfare to debt repayment and promotion of exports.

After 1945After 1945

“SAP’s really only make sense when seen through the lens of economic globalization. They are an integral part of the free-market orthodoxy which aims to give free rein to private corporations to trade, invest and move capital around the globe with a minimum amount of government interference” (Ellwood).

As a result civil society around the world is protesting these programs, restructuring their financial situation and marching for a more egalitarian world.

Structural Adjustment programsStructural Adjustment programs

These are institutionally enforced programs for countries in debt to the international organizations like the World Bank and the IMF. They are as follows:

Cuts in government spending Strong promotion of exports Privatization of public enterprise

Structural Adjustment programsStructural Adjustment programs

Currency DevaluationsHigh interest ratesStrict control of credit and money supplyRemoval of controls on trade and

exchangeDeregulation of wages and prices

World Poverty Statistics World Poverty Statistics

1. One third of deaths – some 18 million people a year or 50,000 per day – are due to poverty-related causes. The majority are women and children.

2. Every year more than 10 million children die of hunger and preventable diseases

3. Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 ad day with nearly half the world’s population living on less than $2 a day.

4. The three richest people in the world control more wealth than all 600 million people living in the world’s poorest countries.

World Poverty StatisticsWorld Poverty Statistics

5. Around 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation and some 1.2 billion people do not have access to an improved source of water.

6. There are 42 million people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide. It is a global emergency claiming approximately 8,000 lives every day in some of the poorest countries.

8. Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women.

World Poverty StatisticsWorld Poverty Statistics

9. The U.N. estimates that unfair trade rules deny poor countries $700 billion every year.

10. International trade is worth $10 million a minute. 70% of this is controlled by multinational corporations.

11. The poorest 49 countries make up 10% of the world’s population but account for only 0.4% of world trade. Their share has halved since 1980.

World Poverty StatisticsWorld Poverty Statistics

15. It is estimated that rich countries are gaining $141.8 billion per year in trade and Africa is $2.6 billion per year worse off.

16. World trade robs poor countries of 1.3 billion pounds a day – 14 times what they get in aid.

17. Seven million children die each year as a result of the debt crisis.

18. For every $2 in grant aid to developing countries,

More than $26 comes back in debt repayment.

Canada and SAP’sCanada and SAP’s

Canada has been part of the SAP’s for many years and as a result money is channeled into debt repayment at the expense of education, social programs and health care.

We are seeing the erosion of the social safety net which has traditionally provided protection from the hardship and suffering caused by social and economic disruption. The result is an even greater burden on the limited resources of local voluntary organizations, individuals and families.

Canadian Poverty StatsCanadian Poverty Stats

1. 1 out of every 6 children live in poverty or 1.2 million children. 15.5%

2. Poverty increased in urban Canada by 33.8% between 1990-1995. Poverty in areas outside metro regions grew by 18.2%

3. Extreme poverty rates are visible among aboriginal communities, recent immigrants, non-permanent residents, visible minorities, person with disabilities, lone-parent families and unattached individuals.

Poverty Stats in CanadaPoverty Stats in Canada

The global income gap is remarkable; but a vast gap between rich and poor in Canada is also widely documented. In fact, the richest one-fifth of Canadians receives close to one-half (44.3 percent) of all the income in Canada, while the poorest fifth receives just 4.6 percent.

Poverty Stats in CanadaPoverty Stats in Canada

Moreover the past 15 years have seen the number of food banks triple and the proportion of the population relying on them double. 41% of food bank users in 2004 were children – 325,390 children.

Overall, Canada’s economic indicators have continued to rise at a respectable pace making the so-called economic ‘pie’ bigger. But the rewards are being shared increasingly unequally.

And there are discouraging ‘absolute’ poverty indicators as well, there is a growing number of Canadian families with an income below $20,000.

According to Campaign 2000, the number of children living in poverty has risen by 20% since 1989.

Aboriginal communitiesAboriginal communities On reserves unemployment is 3 times the average. In some there is

90% unemployment that lead to poor housing, cycle of poverty and cultural disintegration.

56% of Aboriginals living in urban areas are living in poverty as opposed to 24% non-aboriginal.

Infant mortality rates are double of that in Canada. Suicide averages 2-7 times the national average. Incarcerations are 5-6 times higher than the national average Aboriginal children are overrepresented in the child welfare system. Aboriginal women are worse off then non-aboriginal women and

aboriginal men.

Neo-liberal agendaNeo-liberal agenda

These policies nor their perceptions give weight to the democratic imperative. Instead, segregation of economic sectors, denial of social reform and reinforced dependence on export production has increased.

The third wave, instead of peace and global harmony began with a global ideological division, arms race and a Soviet-American rivalry.

Neo-liberal agendaNeo-liberal agenda

The victor is transnationalism. Large corporations and their allies exploit popular fears, deregulate domestic economies and transform global regulatory systems to their advantage.

New global production networks exploit developing countries’ vulnerabilities.

They promote corporate survival and find new avenues for profit.

This agenda has threatened the achievements of democratization.

ReferencesReferences

Ellwood, W. (2003). The no-nonsense guide to globalization. Toronto: Between the lines.

McKenzie, B. & Morrissette, V. (2003). Social Work practice with Canadians of Aboriginal Background: Guidelines for respectful social work. In A. Al-Krenawi & J.R. Graham (Eds.) Multicultural social work in Canada: Working with diverse Ethno-racial communities.

Robertson, R. (2003). The three waves of globalization. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

Scholte, J.A. (2000). Globalization: A critical introduction. 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.

ReferencesReferences

Wilson, M. & Whitmore, E. (2000). Seeds of Fire. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

www.millenniumcampaign.orgwww.ccsd.cawww.napo-onap.cawww.campaign2000.ca