Diverging Interests of Globalization: A Sign of Worry for Global Leaders

The rise of globalization was seen as an opportunity for all the countries to converge on one single narrative, i.e., modernization.

According to the modernization theory, as globalization emerged, it was perceived that every nation would adopt modern practices like the West.

Repercussions of Rising Globalization In the World

However, the reverse is turning out to be true instead. Instead of converging, the world is further diverging with the onslaught of globalist practices.

At the end of the Cold War, it was a common notion that a great war between capitalism and communism was over. This resulted in the emergence of Western-style democracy in the world.

The rise of the internet was supposed to bridge the gap between communities, and the upsurging technology was supposed to bring people together.

Yet, the political, social, and economic cost of globalization was ignored by every stakeholder.

When the world was made a global village, it was thought that war would no longer be a reality. Just thirty years down the line from the end of the cold war, Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine, and the world is observing it silently.

But the economic consequences of rising globalization are even higher. According to the Economist, world trade declined by almost five percentage points compared to global GDP. This was made possible with mammoth tariffs and other barriers to trade.

Immigration has also been slowed down, and long-term foreign investment has been declining. This can be perceived as a deglobalization campaign.

Ranging from Chinese Mercantilism, Brexit, xenophobic tendencies, and Trump’s radical ideology, everything is pointing toward diverging globalization.

Cultural Wars are the Real Consequence of Globalization

The McDonaldization of culture has also initiated cultural wars, which are not possible without globalization. American, or western culture, was perceived as the most developed culture, as it penetrated worldwide with the help of the Western-dominated media.

However, it backfired, ending up creating an identity crisis, which is the primary cause of menace in many social setups. This has initiated extremist movements like this in the Middle East and Afghanistan, which resisted the emergence of American culture in their own territories.

Most western stakeholders have already retreated from Russia amid the Ukraine war. Similarly, many of them are at the crossroads with China as well, terming the country as the propagator of human rights abuses in the form of forced labor.

The American government is now a major sponsor of the “Buy American” movement so that domestic industries can be protected.

This surely is the antithesis of liberal capitalism and globalization and points out neo-Mercantilist practices, which are against the basic American beliefs.

Thus the global economy is being divided into two parts, one is the Western zone, and the other is the Chinese zone. Five years ago, Foreign Direct investment moving from China to the West was almost $30 billion. Now it is only $5 billion.

There is enough evidence present at the moment, which suggests that geopolitics is the major indicator of economic blocs.

China, for instance, has geopolitical tensions with India, so the economic relations between the two of these countries do not go well more often than not.

Final Thoughts

Globalization for the sake of world trade is bound to continue. However, this practice for the sake of managing world affairs is a recipe for disaster. This is for the fact that the world is composed of so many diverse ideas that managing these many people with one globalized mission is simply not possible. So the cons of globalization must be adopted if the world really wants to realize its pons to the maximum possible extent.

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