Reflection on globalization

Well the first week of college was fun and full of intellectual exploration. The presentations on Wednesday reminded me that HIV/AIDS is a serious problem around the world. What really surprised me was that DC has a HIV/AIDS rate higher than many African countries. I was disappointed to learn that the U.S. is the only major contributor in the fight against HIV and AIDS around the world. Isn’t it human nature to try to help out others who are sick? However I was heartened to know that PEPFAR is continuing to expand its programs even when the world is just standing back up from a recession. This outreach of humanitarian aid is one benefit of globalization. Before the advent of modern telecommunication and transportation technology, these kinds of efforts would not be possible.

When we talked about how globalization is impacting the U.S., I thought about how unique we are in that we have been experiencing globalization for a long time in the form of immigration. Even before modern technology, every immigrant wave and group contributed to the culture. The reason I think soccer did not have the impact it had in the U.S. as it did in other countries, is because the target for our hate has always been changing. We are a nation of immigrants, but we tend to not like the new kid on the block. I think the immigration law in Arizona that passed this year shows this sentiment. However with soccer being the most popular sport in Latin America, soccer still has a chance to shine in the U.S.

Even if we don’t take soccer seriously, we can all agree that it’s more fun to watch than golf.

Reflection on the Past Week 8/29/10

While it’s hard to reflect on a week that was mostly settling in, the first actual class and the first Wednesday lab bother brought up new information and ideas. The PEPFAR presentation was more informative than I had been expecting. It also showed me that the U.S.’s contribution to the global HIV initiative ought to be supplemented by other countries more. AIDS is not a national issue, but a global one, and one that other countries with the funds necessary ought to take an interest in as well. A major effort is needed to make progress against this epidemic, and funding for that effort must be enough to make the eradication of AIDS a possibility. The HIV aid itself also presents many difficulties for the people trying to help those with the disease. Such a complex treatment process, in what are often impoverished conditions, must be full of difficulties and often ineffectual. Conditions must improve in those areas if headways is to be made against the spread of HIV.

The discussion of How Soccer Explains the World was an eye-opening and very enjoyable one. The vast differences between the treatments of soccer in different areas of the world, and how they tied into the countries’ own issues, was fascinating to analyze. The last chapter, about America’s difficulty with embracing soccer and culture clashes over the place globalization has in this country, was no doubt the easiest to understand and relate to. Having lived in the country and not in any other the others shown in the book, I could affirm Foer’s observations about the complexities, being an observer of those same complexities myself. However, the way the other countries’ globalization stories were presented, through the lens of soccer, gave me an idea of those countries’ issues that was far, far clearer than any direct explanations of each country’s politics could. The words of my high-school english teacher: “show, don’t tell” come back to me at this point. Foer succeeded in his object as a writer by showing us, not telling us about, the different situations in each country.

Reflection on Globalization...and the Wonderful Summer

In reading and discussing the book How Soccer Explains the World, An {Unlikely} Theory of Globalization, by Franklin Foer, I couldn't help but think back to my summer stay in Barcelona, Spain because a chapter in Foer's book is dedicated to discussing FC Barcelona and its role as a beacon of respectful Catalonian pride.

I had the amazing experience of being in Barcelona when the Spanish National Team played and won against the Netherlands to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There I was equipped with a mini Spanish flag, sitting outside a small cafe engulfed in a sea of spectators in front of a temporary outdoor set up of a television.

I was surprised by the number of people who appeared in the streets and bars to support the Spanish national team and the number of people who were wearing Spanish flags as capes, because, after all, I was in the capital city of Catalonia, one of Spain's autonomous regions who has professed its desire to become its own country.

Catalonians consider themselves Catalonian, not at all Spanish, value their own language of Catalan over Castilian Spanish, and Catalonian flags can be seen hanging from

many apartments' balconies in Barcelona. Interestingly enough, a few days before the game there was a Catalonian independence rally.

Later, however, I realized that a few players from FC Barcelona were playing on the national team, so supporters could have just watched the game to see their Barca idols play. But, after I heard the numerous chantings of "España, España, España..." I began to think that many Catalonians had forgotten their dislike for Spain and their desire for total autonomy. Through the critical soccer game, Spain seemed to meld into one united nation with all its people becoming just Spanish under one national flag.

The celebrations after the game exemplified this sentiment. People ran, danced, and yelled through the streets. Giant waving Spanish flags could be seen and vuvuzelas could be heard. The win was a victory for everyone, Spanish and Catalonians alike.

This is where globalization comes in. After reading Foer's book I became aware of the effects of globalization. On the one hand, globalization gloriously unites people across borders. The World Cup match seemed to globalize Spain and its Catalonian region, bringing them together in the common purpose of rallying behind a soccer team made up of Spanish and Catalonian athletes. But globalization also blurs these borders and lightens distinctions among nationalities and cultural groups. As with my night in Barcelona, the Catalonians blended in with the Spanish, Catalonian distinctions seemed to disappear, and Catalonian superior autonomous sentiment seemed to fade, and Catalonians began to lose their unique identities.

But overall, the night was exciting, the epitome of soccer fanaticism and celebratory nationalism. Foer would have loved it.

Here's to unity...and the loss of cultural distinctions:

Reflection on the Past Week

Our trip to PEPFAR showed me that the US certainly is committed to distributing aid to those infected with the disease around the world, but we cannot continue to act alone on this matter.  As was said in the meeting, the US can't be the only contributor to this effort.  PEPFAR was said to contribute 67% of overall HIV funding.  The US should not be the creditor of two-thirds of a budget for what is truthfully a global issue.  The strain that is being placed on the faith-based organizations and local groups should be relieved by help of other industrialized nations.  Even Eastern European countries have been ignored as the spread of HIV has increased throughout the years.  The management goal of PEPFAR should be to get nations on board to commit funding for this epidemic.  However, the corrupt governments in Africa and elsewhere are an appropriate fear for those reluctant governments, as aid for HIV does not always get to where it needs to be.  It's hard to see how those governments move into a more open light without significant hand-holding by the Western world (which, due to reluctance on the part of other nations, means the US), committing ourselves to an entire continent as the public are weary of foreign involvement.

Also, in regards to the discussion on soccer and globalization, I feel that the book adequately portrayed, particularly in the closing chapter, the true reflection of America in a globalized world.  Mr. Foerr seemed to illustrate that Americans have a phobia for globalization, and to be honest, he's right.  Americans have always been weary of foreign influences, just look at the public's reaction to the immigration waves of the 19th and 20th century.  He also said that the US does not have many transgenerational traditions, except baseball.  Baseball, however, as shown by Foerr's statistics, has been a loser in globalization, as it has not attracted the same amount of press across the world as it has here in the US, and is increasingly becoming a white sport.  Foerr also seemed to argue that those who are more liberal would support globalization more, seeing that they like soccer more.  Conservatives, however, seem to him to be more opposed to globalization, as they feel that soccer becoming a popular sport in the US is a symbol of the US "submitting itself to the rest of the world."  It's an interesting notion, seeing that conventional wisdom tells us that those who are economically liberal and economically conservative would be more opposed to globalization, and would be more supportive of it, respectively.

Don't Forget Global Warming

The most important issue in world politics is how the nations of the world react to global warming in the long term. I know that many people put the problem of global warming on the backburner to deal with the major recession the world experienced. However, this is a problem that all countries will have to face eventually down the line. The huge chunk of ice four times the size of Manhattan that broke off from Greenland should have been a major wake up call. (UDel) If such big changes are happening now, what could happen next? The reason this is the most important issue in world politics is because every single country in the world wants to protect their children. No decent human being would want their children to be homeless.

I often wonder about our impact on the world. Sitting behind the wheel every winter, I see white smoke come out of a car’s exhaust pipe. All that Carbon monoxide mixes with the air we breathe in. Sure cars that get more mileage are being built. But more and more cars are on the road each day. This year China passed the U.S. to become the biggest auto market in the world. (Bloomberg)With all kinds of gasses we put in the air isn’t something going to change the weather patterns? With all the trees we cut down, wouldn’t something in the natural cycle of life change? 2010 is headed to be the warmest year since man started to measure global temperatures in the 1800s. (WP) You may not feel the temperature rise now, but every action has a consequence.

People often say that our children are our future. But at this rate, our children or their grandchildren won’t have a chance to shape their own world. With the world population rapidly rising every year, each person shares a smaller pie of the world’s resources. Let’s not make their lives harder. The world has to come to an agreement that at this rate the image of joyful grandchildren jumping into their grandparents’ embrace will fade into memories. We have the power to make future generations to either love us or despise us.

http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2011/aug/greenland080610.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2010/05/climate_outlook_raises_concern.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aE.x_r_l9NZE

What is the most important issue in World Politics?

It is difficult to answer a question as broad as “what is the most important issue in world politics?” While it is difficult enough to pick out just one of the numerous pressing global issues that we struggle with today, it seems even more difficult to justify why one issue is more important than another. On this planet, we do not have any neutral territory to which we can retreat and analyze the rest of the world without being biased towards whatever affects our country the most, or matches most closely our particular culture’s sense of what is important, or resonates most strongly with our country’s own historical failures and successes. Determining the correct answer to such a question would require an international debate of the highest calibre. Therefore, I believe that I, being far too biased, narrow-minded, and unexperienced, am unqualified to answer this question.

However, it occurs to me that this dilemma may in fact be the answer to what the most important global political issue is today. If we are so biased and uninformed about other countries that we cannot filter out the varied histories, cultures, and current issues of different countries, there is no hope that the human race can conduct an informed, intelligent and ration conversation about world politics without resorting to prejudiced, closed-minded assertions. In such an environment, attempting to discuss what political issue is worthy of the label “most important” would not result in a gradual stripping away of confusing and illogical assumptions to reveal the truth, as a true, enlightened debate should be. Instead, the country with the strongest leaders, the cleverest diplomats, the best writers, and the widest net of influence would impose its priorities on the rest of the world. Before we can try to identify any other issues, we must first be able to see the issues in question from perspectives other than our own.

I believe, therefore, that the most important issue in world politics today is the fostering of communication and understanding among the different nations of the world. Until we can stand in the shoes of those in situations those ours, those with different cultures and histories and world views, we cannot hope to understand the world. And if we cannot understand the world, we cannot possibly identify the most important issues facing it.

Of course, by this reasoning, there’s the possibility that this opinion of mine is just as biased by being an American as any other opinion about important issues in world politics. However, I believe that it’s a start.

     The biggest and most important issue facing world politics today is the issue of income inequality.  While we may not think about it, income inequality both directly and indirectly affects many of today’s global problems.  Issues like crime, violence, drug use, education levels, overall well-being, and even revolutions can be attributed to the inequality of incomes in a state.  Modern issues, even, like the Mexican drug cartels are all a part of the large problem of inequitable incomes.  Even today in the PEPFAR office, we discussed the unfortunate truth that aid going to African nations to help fight HIV has been slowed due to corruption by the respective governments.  Corruption would not be a problem, or it would at least be less of a problem if incomes were more equal among citizens.

(Map from Andrew Price, GOODblog)

We see here that incomes are more egalitarian among countries that are generally associated with economic and social well-being, political stability, high life expectancies, etc.  These countries, however, particularly those in Northern Europe, are usually targeted by those on the political right as "socialist" (gasp).  However, a country that is, you know, actually economically socialist (and has not been afraid to hide it) on this map, China, has income inequalities rivaling those in Central and South America.  It seems as though the idea of Communism has come to a close in China, whether or not it says it on paper.  The trends of who owns the wealth have become more and more skewed in recent years.  

"China's income gap widened in the first quarter of the year, with 10 percent of the nation's richest people enjoying 45 percent of the country's wealth, state press reports said.  China's poorest 10 percent had only 1.4 percent of the nation's wealth" (China Daily, January 2005).

We also notice that the US is not infallible when it comes to this issue.  We, too, have our own problems with income inequality, and likewise we have massive problems when it comes to crime and violence, leading the western world when it comes to crimes committed (Nation Master).

Globalization has been suggested as a remedy to this issue.  While globalization has reduced income inequality over the past twenty five years (Global Envision), we can expect to see countries with a higher proportion of lower-skilled workers to higher-skilled workers begin to experience stagnating or even a rise in inequality, as capital flows out of nations except to those few at the very top (perhaps management or professional sector), the gap between incomes will begin to increase.  You could expect to see this in Central America, South America, Africa, and even the United States, considering our large base of middle to low-skilled labor.  What can we do?  My feelings are that our political leaders need to take a serious look at the education system in this country, and begin to increase funding for lower-income students, giving them a serious chance at an in-demand profession.  We can have all the peace we want in the world, first we just need to have some accountability.

http://www.globalenvision.org/library/8/1860
http://www.good.is/post/inequality-makes-me-sick-literally/
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20050621_2.htm
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita