Globalization, democracy and north-south disparities

Abstract

In the last two decades, but especially since the fall of communism in Europe, the subject of globalization has come to dominate the discourses of politicians, economists and academics alike. With the fall of dividing ideologies, and the triumph of capitalism, in fact, it became easier for one and all to understand that until then the capacity of capitalism to generate productivity had been limited. Nonetheless, the desire to show the extent of capitalism was so great, that a rapidly changing economic environment in which production networks could operate, was rapidly created. The drive for the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, the privatization of public companies, the liberalization of controls on capital flow as well is a rapid advancement in information technology have, in fact all contributed to denote the feeling that there is a growing interconnectedness m our lives. Nevertheless, at one and the same time, globalization, did change the fabric of societies, for while the role of the state in the economy, had to change to promote further the extent of capitalism, this, in turn created an incompatibility with the ideals of a welfare society and the democratization of the state. In the following thesis, I will try to show that as economic globalization becomes even more important to the livelihood of us all, some modifications are urgently needed to make it sustainable in the long run.