RE VE VE NI ETWS
the free flow of capital across the globe1. This provides incredible bargaining power to corporations in their pursuit of profit, while they are at the most ambiguous about the fate of left behind communities and the identity of the consumers. While the establishment narrative
would point out that affected communities have the chance to advance from lower to higher
Authors Nicolas Lamp and Anthea Roberts
productivity jobs in rising sectors, and at the same time enjoy cheaper consumer goods, such structural changes take time and during that period these job losses have knock-on effects. For instance, on local businesses which are dependent on income from people who suddenly can no longer find jobs at home. As a result, they will move away, further undermining the already shaky foundations of local economies. This development also erodes the tax base, which leads to underfunded public schools, rising health care costs and severe impacts on the housing market. Furthermore, the condition and well- being of humans are not defined by numbers and excel sheets but by a sense of community, self-worth and also the jobs they do2. Far-right parties have learned better than their competitors to feed off these fears3. A potential win-win-scenario turns out to be a lose-lose disaster. However, in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic has made governments aware of the importance of self-reliance and sovereignty in the supply chain of essential products. Geopolitical developments also highlighted that energy sovereignty and data protection are matters of national and regional interest. Tariffs are bandied around especially by protagonists of free markets. Certain countries are happy not to play along the rules they are asking everyone else to follow. This leads to a big question for the Global South and the developing world, how to face the challenges posed by globalization. Multilateral trade regimes
“The authors make an important contribution to the understanding of a phenomenon that increasingly means different things to different people.”
have benefited Asian countries with sectoral advantages such as pliable labour, low wages and rent, driving out manufacturing jobs also from Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time they flooded markets with cheap imported products which benefitted mainly the upper middle class and elites in those countries, in some regions like West Africa by design4. As the authors point out, this led to deindustrialization in many countries of the Global South before they even had a chance to reap the benefits of industrialization. The lack of manufacturing and technological foundation is obvious and institutionalizes the dependency on imports and global supply chains. The proverbial elephant in the room is the question of distributive justice in the sustainability narrative related to climate and development. The non- western perspective is that developed countries are responsible for the largest share of global emissions since the Industrial Revolution, while developing countries are carrying the largest burden when it comes to the impacts of climate change. To make matters worse, in this perspective the advanced economies are also not contributing their fair
share in extending financial support or technology transfer. As the authors put it tellingly: The discussions between the advanced and emerging economies are similar to someone having enjoyed a full three course meal and then asking his neighbor to come over for tea and split the bill. Technology transfer, by the way, turns out to be anything but a silver bullet. Scientists are warning against “data colonialism” as developing countries become data providers for Big Tech and AI investments, while these nations are turned into mere consumers of their own resources5, similar to previously exporting petroleum and importing fuel due to a lack of refineries. The book does not provide a solution on how to solve the issues raise by globalization. But no book can offer this. Instead, the book presents an empathetic and vivid account of different perspectives within an overarching framework. It helps readers to get a better sense of the effects of economic globalization and its ramifications. This in itself is a solid groundwork for developing policy responses that are responsive to the concerns of diverse and sometimes competing parties.
1. See Quinn Slobodian, Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism , Harvard University Press, 2018, 400 pages 2. See Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents or Jacques Lacan, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis , W. Norton Press, 1998, 308 pages 3. See Oliver Nachtwey, Germany’s Hidden Crisis: Social Decline in the Heart of Europe , Verso, 2018, 256 pages 4. For example, see Fanny Pigeaud and Ndonga Samba Sylla, Africa’s last colonial currency, the CFA Franc story , Pluto Press, 2021, 192 pages 5. See Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejias, Data Grab: The new colonialism of Big Tech and how to fight back , University of Chicago Press, 2024, 224 pages
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