APRIL 16, 2019

Opinion: On globalization and cooperation

BY PETER FENTEANY

OPINION
Our world is connected, and this is largely just a natural consequence of human technological
development. Through trade, through the internet, through transportation and on and on. It is now easier
than ever for people to share ideas, customs and products. This is why globalization has become an
increasingly important issue in our time, one that has proven to be very divisive.

The link between this topic and public/private relations should be obvious. This has historical merit,
too. Consider the Cold War, a decades-long ideological conflict between capitalist United States and
communist Soviet Union. Both sides understood the power of asserting one system as the new world
order, and the ripple effect of that turmoil is still present today. Even as the particulars of the tension
fade, the debate still remains.

So with that, we consider why globalization matters for economic and governmental systems, and vice
versa.

At its core, globalization asserts that we should not look at solutions to problems at the national or even
international level—even conflicts between countries affect third parties. Instead, we should as a planet
think about issues globally and their impact on groups of people, not countries. Whether you agree or
disagree that this is how things should work, it is how they currently do. Trade negotiations are often
through coalitions of countries, and foreign countries and people take inspiration from each other all the
time. Global (or at least regional powers) have also emerged, like the European Union or the extension
of the United Nations.

There is clearly a want to make the world work this way more and more. On some level, this makes
complete sense: When we consider working cooperatively as a whole planetary organism, things can
get done a lot more efficiently. Others are not so happy about this, though. President Trump last year
rejected globalism at the United Nations General Assembly, and Brexit is a clear move against
globalization. The argument from skeptics is that globalization undermines sovereignty of nations, and
this also has a fair point. Smaller groups can run the risk of getting ignored if there is only one governing
body.

This dispute represents the public side of the debate, but private groups have already long since decided
how they feel about our interconnected world: They love it! Why would a company want to limit its
business to a single country when there is a whole world of customers out there? But, herein lies the
problem. Companies generally care about money over all, including the wellbeing of people. So, if
companies act as though they don’t have to listen to single governments, and the nations of the world
are too busy squabbling to form an effective global force, we all lose.

This is not just theory, either. Consider the role of private groups in Climate change and how there is
no effective way at regulating them when production is done overseas. Consider tax evasion, where
people based in countries like the United States avoid paying their fair share of taxes by hiding streams
in places like Panama. As a counterexample, consider how good the European Union has been for
protecting consumers, even if they overstep their bounds at times. A lack of global public pressure lets
companies do bad things on a global scale.

All of this ignores the ties between anti-globalism nationalism and xenophobia. I’m not saying that
countries retaining sovereignty isn’t valid, but in terms of building up actual culture, it is important to
realize who the real enemies are. Other countries are not the enemy; private groups trying to pit people
against each other and commodify culture are. Not all companies are evil, but it is important to work
as a group to keep the bad eggs away. In this way, global cooperation from all people is necessary.

Peter Fenteany is a weekly columnist for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at
peter.fenteany@uconn.edu.

TAGGED: WEEKLY COLUMN, GLOBALIZATION, OPINION FEATURED