What Is Globalization?
Hi, I’m Golda. I work at the IMF.
What is globalization?
Well, think of it like a bridge between two countries. Now, let’s say this country is very good at growing flowers, it has the right soil and plenty of skilled farmers. And just across the river, that country loves flowers, but doesn’t have the right soil to grow them. You can see where I’m going with this. With our bridge, trade has blossomed. This country makes money from selling flowers abroad and that country can start new businesses and sell new products based on their newfound access to flowers. I mean, who doesn’t love fresh flowers?
Of course, it’s not just flowers that can cross the bridge, it can be used to trade almost anything. Plus, they’re pathways for investing, communicating, and exchanging ideas. And people can come and go, too. Now, what does this have to do with globalization?
Well, imagine bridges just like this, connecting countries all over the world, even countries on opposite sides of the planet, that’s globalization. These bridges, these economic links, have made everything from food to electronics cheaper. And not just that. Globalization has made the whole planet richer, too, especially people in poorer countries. Over the past 30 years, 1.5 billion people have been lifted out of poverty.
But this is only part of the story. While globalization has brought more benefits for more people than ever before, it’s also true that not everyone has benefited from the increased wealth. For many people, it can appear the bridge is bringing more problems than flowers, and that the economy isn’t working for everyone or every country.
So what should we do?
Well, the solution isn’t to destroy our bridges. Or to throw out the rulebook. That would leave us all poorer and less secure. So, do we maintain… rebuild… or redesign these bridges? Write new rules that help them to work better? Or search for new ways to ensure everyone can benefit? Probably all of the above.
More than ever, we need international cooperation, countries working together and the IMF working with its member countries to build the best possible bridges to get us to the future. That will not just be good for the economy, but good for people everywhere.
