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Neo-liberal reforms used by the global system are clearly meant to trick people into thinking that
Making Globalization Work AT the current historical moment, we see global changes transforming the very foundations of world order by transforming conventional forms of sovereign statehood, political community and international governance. We gradually move from the state-centred to the "multilayered global politics". Contestation is basic in this highly complex world of interstate systems and the ongoing brawl between localism and the governance schema generated by the forces of globalisation. And in all this free market dramatics, global transformist thought in areas of social justice, universal human rights, rule of law, global anti-war movements and transnational amity remains an aspiration of survival and a motivating force behind making globalisation work. It is for drawing attention to this vital issue that the world-renowned economist Joseph Stiglitz’s work gains universal significance.
The prevailing dismal picture around the world is further aggravated by the rising graph of unemployment which stands at the astonishing figure of 8 million. This kind of economic marginalisation of millions around the world has led to the growth of resistance to overall policies of the governments in the developed world. Stiglitz is of the view that on-the-ground struggles outside the workplace have to rise to the occasion and work with other civil society organisations dating back to the anti-apartheid days and the still rampant culture of resistance which underpin the agendas of NGOs that make it a point to vociferously criticise government policies. According to him, another world is possible if a solution to poverty is found and world institutions in recent years begin to focus on poverty reduction: "What is needed is both more assistance and a fairer trade regime"; opening up markets just will not help on its own. Foreign assistance has to be combined with debt relief without excessive "conditionalities" being imposed on the developing nations. We all know that in the recent past, the IMF and the World Bank have been guilty of it, but slowly it has been prevailed upon these institutions to be more considerate. Indebtedness of low-income countries has to be reduced and they must not be forced to abandon subsidies while advanced nations continue their own huge agriculture subsidies. Decision-making at the global level has to end its unilateralism, so that developing nations too can have a voice. Thus, Joseph Stiglitz in Making Globalization Work illustrates the reality of something being utterly wrong with globalisation. The pursuit of wealth, as he argues, has become a virtue and we are blind to the forces of social change. We never ask if our future will turn out a better civil society where there is no inequality and no poverty, where protecting the environment would become a global concern. Uncritical admiration for unfettered markets, the delusion of endless growth and the predatory organism of unregulated capitalism are only harbingers of a greater calamity just around the corner. The inexorable laws of economics take us by the scruff of the neck, manipulating our desires and wants. However, in certain pockets of the third world, global activism has finally become part of contemporary political opposition, an international convergence of social movements. The problems of communication, of building bridges between various social movements and mutual understanding are some of the core issues which collectives like the World Social Forum have put on top of their agenda for creating international networks and coalitions that are "effective in promoting rights and justice against neoliberal globalisation". There is a sense of involvement and responsibility, combined with a complex analysis of external circumstances that underpins the book. Stiglitz made the effort of revisiting Argentina, Ethiopia, Thailand, Korea, China, Russia, Columbia, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, India and many more to see the effects of globalisation. He draws attention to the Social Forums of Porto Alegre and Mumbai which took cognisance of such a fall out, significantly mustering forces from around the world to oppose these capitalist trends of social exclusion and misuse. The neo-liberal reforms used by the global system are clearly meant to trick people into thinking that the West is using democratic principles to usher in an environment of freedom and equality. The idea behind
globalisation was to introduce a feeling that there would be an increase
in the average income, and poor nations would prosper more rapidly than
the rich leading to the birth of the global village, where market
integration and prosperity would be the main trends. This was classical
liberalism now relabelled as "the new economy" which puts the
US and Britain as "the privileged vanguard of an evolutionary
process that applies to all nations". However, this was nothing but
absolute deception and its claims of ushering in technological
developments and a "win, win" perspective were a cover up for
the underlying agenda to advance the interests of the Anglo-American
political elites at the expense of others. Indeed, Stiglitz’s book is
essential if we are to offer any resistance to the economic might of the
West. It is the responsibility of each developing nation to be watchdogs
of Western policies and to see through the superficial appearance of
Western triumphalism.
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Globalisation
and the prospects of continuous and endless interventionism have invoked
a nihilist culture that preaches altruism while enacting bondage and
servitude. Social movements in South Asia and China, on resistance to
Neoliberalism in Australia and Oceania, and on surviving in the Congo:
all these issues are geared towards a counter-hegemonic globalisation
and unscrupulous military interference leading to war. Neoliberal
economic policies which have hugely multiplied job losses, instead of
creating the thousands of jobs promised have generated a widening gap
between the rich and the poor. This is the chief concern of Joseph
Stiglitz who has insightful and honest understanding of the working of
the IMF and the World Bank where he held important positions a few years
ago. His work is written in opposition to the pro-Western stance of
these international bodies that had been formed to end poverty and bring
more economic equality in the world.