History: Globlization, crime, and poverty

As we look into our past thousands of years ago, we can recognize the first forms of globalization. As people traveled more frequently, routes and trails were established. People from diverse societies were integrated for the first time. These routes and roads became the silk road. The silk road connected China and Europe during the middle ages. It was one of the earliest forms of major integration among people, driven by trade and investment.




Today we are experiencing a new type of globalization that has vastly changed, due to major increases in technology and the influence of new policies. As technology improved, the ability to travel greater distances was made possible. Looking back to the 1600s, we see a large integration by the powerful nations to the Americas and Asia. With technology driving exploration, nations began to establish trade networks and colonies overseas. As explorers discovered new resources, large trading networks began to emerge as large quantities of desired goods became readily available to export. This allowed for a great stimulus of commerce for the more industrially developed nations. During the late 1600s and early 1700s powerful nations attacked one another in an effort to gain access to better resources and greater wealth. This shows the early forms of crimes committed due to the forces of globalization. These hostile acts negatively affected all economies. They soon realized they would prosper with an open market for trade. In 1713 the English agreed to Asiento, a trade agreement that allowed the right of a single vessel to travel within their territories for commerce and trade. This started a chain of agreements that have lead us to the open market we know of today. In the last half of the 1700s Spain agreed to liberalize there commercial policies to open a market of trade amongst the colonies. This was the first time merchant vessels did not have to travel with naval convoys, as the powerful nations recognized the potential for profit in a larger market. This marks the beginning of the open markets established today.

During the World War II economies accepted free market systems in hope to quickly increase their production potential and to create an open market for more international trade investors to join. The proponents of today would argue that globalization gives poorer countries a chance to develop economically and help raise their standards of living. As we have seen in many cases of globalization, this idea is very controversial as many nations that are influenced by globalization are exploited. It is very evident that globalization plays an essential role toward the increase in poverty and crime, in the nations with high western influence. The free market benefits the western world at the expenses of these third world parties. These enterprises help push third world countries to fall further into poverty.

Throughout our history, groups of elites regulate and structure societies toward their benefit. This helps to create a class that is oppressed by the upper class, which usually lives in poverty. This lower class suffers at the expense of the upper classes efforts to seek out greater wealth. Early forms of this power elite system was established with Kings and Queens being the governors or governesses of their society. As the lower class resisted we see the first forms of crimes. Power elites established laws in some cases to insure benefits for the upper class. Conflict perspective would argue that crime was an act of resistance against the structure of power oppresses a class of people. As we see regulation established through corporate influence, we see a new group of power elites emerging contributing to further oppression of the lower class. Countries affected by corporate influences serve minimum benefits, maximum hazardous environment, few labor rights, and extremely low wages.


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globalpolicy.org
infed.org
washington.edu/sparke/global

Topic: The relationships Globalization has towards poverty, inequality, and crime.

I choose to focus on the emphasis of crime, inequality, poverty, and globalization to help show how they are all related. As globalization spreads throughout the world crime and poverty continue to increase in areas affected by corporate and foreign government influence. Globalization, in many cases, is using the cheapest means of production to increase profitability. Things like free trade zones and corporate compounds are established in areas with little regulations on wage and tariff laws. This allows certain producers to exploit third world nations for their cheap labor force. Third world nations aid in the spread of globalization by attracting foreign capital to relocate within their region by offering tax incentives and by building the necessary infrastructure needed for production. These tools for cheap production contribute to the downfall of many economies. Poverty and crime often increase drastically in areas affected by such globalization. Those affected by this means of globalization work for close to nothing as they are unable to support themselves or their family’s through their low income. This is hard to counteract as companies threat to move their operation elsewhere leaving an even larger burden then before.


Third world countries accept foreign direct investments in efforts to boost their economy and to help build a more efficient government. Unfortunately, these loans are usually accompanied by unreasonable high interest rates and trade benefits that push them to fall father into debt. These examples of the destructive forces of globalization can be attached with what is seen happening in areas like Nicaragua. In 1979 factories closed their doors and relocated in other parts of South America that allowed cheaper means for production. This left many unemployed causing an even large state of poverty and increase in crime. Also with a dictatorship in power Nicaragua was found excepting large scale loans from the World Bank and the IMF. The extent of have these loans were used controversial as groups such as the Contras were aided by United States military in a covert war to over throw the Sandinistas. As these counter groups were dismantled the World Bank and IMF were able to implement their lows standards of free market and free trade policies. With these new policies advocated by the World Bank and IMF the increase in foreign investors has exploded since the 1990’s. This is a great example of how these organizations are taking advantage of third world nations by establishing their own polices and regulation to better serve themselves. These policies allow factories to create difficult and poor working conditions that are attached with very low wages. This helps create a work force that is constantly struggling to escape a state of poverty that is made more difficult because of the lack of labor rights. The crime rate in Nicaragua is classified as high which can be largely contributed to the lack of opportunity and poverty that can be seen created by globalization. Nicaragua is just one of the great examples of the focus of my topic on crime, inequality, and globalization. I hope this created good insight on the areas of focus I will be researching this semester.

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www.capitalforcommunities.org/articles
www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1850.htm