G-20 and the economic and financial consider moving away from fossil fuels) to
crises: what on earth is globalization anti-globalization activists. The arguments
about? Protests during a meeting in for and against globalization are outlined in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 2018 the following.
The Group of Twenty (G-20) finance For globalization
ministers and central bank governors was
For consumers and avowed capitalists,
established in 1999 to bring together
globalization is largely a good thing. The fall
important industrialized and developing
of protectionist barriers has stimulated free
economies to discuss key issues in the
movement of capital and paved the way for
global economy on a regular basis. The G-
companies to set up several bases around
20 was created as a response both to the
the world. The rise of the internet and recent
financial crises of the late 1990s and to a
advances in telecommunications have
growing recognition that key emerging-
spurred on the already surging train.
market countries (represented in the G-8)
Vigorous trade has made for more choice on
were not adequately included in the core of
the high street, greater spending, rising living
global economic discussion and
standards and a growth in international
governance. The inaugural meeting of the G-
travel. Supporters of globalization say it has
20 took place in Berlin, on 15–16 December
promoted information exchange, led to a
1999, hosted by German and Canadian
greater understanding of other cultures and
finance ministers. The G-20 is made up of
allowed democracy to triumph in most
the finance ministers and central bank
countries.
governors of 19 countries: Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Against globalization
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan,
Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, As the street protests indicate, there
South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the is a growing opposition to the forces of
European Union (the 20th member of the G- globalization. The anti-globalization
20). movement developed in the late twentieth
century to combat the globalization of
On 30 November–1 December 2018, corporate economic activity and the free
the world leaders from the G-20 countries – trade with developing nations that might
representing 85 per cent of the world’s result from such activity.
output – met in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
They came together in the shadow of Brexit Critics say the West’s gain has been
and the US–China trade war. at the expense of developing countries.
Demonstrators say rich countries should
As has occurred at other World Bank forgive the debts of the poorest nations.
or G-8 meetings, there were massive Generally speaking, protesters believe that
protests and demonstrations planned. these global institutions and agreements
(WTO, World Bank/IMF, G-8, G-20)
The motives for protests at G-20
undermine local decision-making methods.
meetings are multifaceted: the protesters
Many governments and free trade
range from anti-war campaigners and
institutions are seen as acting for the good of
environmentalists (wanting the G-20 to
1
transnational (or multinational) corporations
(e.g. Microsoft, Unilever). The already low
share of the global income of the poorest
people in the world has dropped even more
in the past decade, but in the developed
world not everyone has been a winner. The
freedoms granted by globalization have led
to increased insecurity in the workplace.
Manual workers, in particular, are under
threat as companies shift their production
lines overseas to low-wage economies.
Developing countries are demanding
that the EU and the US cut back their
agricultural subsidy programmes and
provide market access for products like
Central American sugar and Brazilian
orange juice. However, as agribusiness is
focal in several EU countries and in the US,
and with thousands of agricultural jobs at
stake in these areas, it is unlikely that the US
or the EU administration will negotiate
seriously on these issues in the near future.
At the heart of the demonstrators’
concerns is the fact that huge transnational
companies are becoming more powerful and
influential than democratically elected
governments, putting shareholder interests
above those of communities and even
customers. Ecological campaigners say
corporations are disregarding the
environment in the stampede for worldwide
mega-profits. Human rights groups say
corporate power is restricting individual
freedom. Even business people behind
small firms have sympathy for the
movement, afraid as they are that global
economies of scale will put them out of work.
The mere fact that the debate can
take place simultaneously across countries
and continents, however, may well show that
the celebrated global village is already here.
