FINAL EXAM ESSAY QUESTIONS

Deadline: Wednesday (December 8, 2021)

Instructions: Briefly and accurately answer the questions below.

Follow the indicated sentence limit. If necessary, provide
examples to support your answer. Submit your answers using this
Gdocs. 30 points total.

1. Discuss why nation-states may support restrictions on migration and then elaborate on
the arguments against these barriers. (10 pts; 10-15 sentences only)

A nation-state may support restrictions on migration because of the following concerns:

1) The influx of migrants might lead to conflict. The difficulty of integrating outside
people, with different beliefs and practices, with the locals can cause disagreement
and eventually lead to conflict.
2) The nation-state might want to keep the labor (jobs) to the locals. Migrants
generally take lesser pay and are more flexible than the locals. For the migrants,
whatever type of work they can have abroad is more extensive compared to
whatever they can have back in their respective home countries. With this,
employers might prefer to get migrants over locals, which loses job opportunities for
the locals.
3) Migrants strain the public services. Since migrants need public services (e.g.,
health care, housing benefits, and so on) of the receiving nation-state, locals might
have less of these benefits.

According to Ritzer, G., and Dean, P. (2019), there is evidence, however, against these
migration concerns.

1) Since migrants are usually ambitious and young workers from developing countries
looking for better work in rich countries, the rich countries benefit from the migrants.
They get the best and most elite workers from developing countries to work in their
country.
2) Also, because these migrants are willing to get any work, they free up the locals from
lower-paid menial jobs like taking care of the old, working in restaurants, etc., to
focus on higher-status and better-paying jobs. Aside from this, this encourages local
employers to venture into businesses due to low wages to migrants to create more
jobs.
 3) Lastly, migrants help drive the receiving nation-state's economy. They are workers
and consumers, so they consume local products and services and pay taxes. Some
even put up their businesses that further boost the economy.

2. Discuss how modernization affected the environment and then also explain how
globalization can address this as well through various responses. (10 pts; 10-15
sentences only)

Schmidt (2012) defines modernization as the belief in an evolutionary process that

moves humankind from agricultural and pre-modern societies into the modern era.
Modernization is linked to various aspects of society, but to simplify, the focus of this discussion
is on industrialization and globalization. The advancement of technology allows society to
produce products and distribute them at a high rate, not just within the borders of one nation but
also internationally. However, the resources needed as input to produce products are limited.
Natural resources cannot keep up with the demand. Despite this, some groups of people,
especially capitalists, still push to extract natural resources to the point of exploiting them. This
causes environmental issues in the long run like:

1) Global warming or the continuous warming of the planet that results to:
a. Climate change ensuing unpredictable and more severe weather
b. Rising sea levels due to melting ice glaciers in North and South Poles that
cause floods or submerging islands
2) The threat of food security since due to climate change causes water shortages and
crop failures

Globalization can help temper the harmful effects of modernization by making us aware
of its dangers based on the experience of other nations before all nations are critically affected
by it. I can cite two examples to demonstrate the crucial role of globalization in this.

First is the Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1992). Through the book, Carson was able
to bring attention to the world about the adverse effects of using pesticides in the environment
and humans and the intentional disregard of large chemical companies in the spirit of producing
a large number of crops that are usually restricted by pests. It alarmed people and various
groups worldwide to regulate the chemical industry.

Another example is the spread of the idea of sustainable development. It is an approach

where modernization can be achieved without jeopardizing the future through using renewable
resources. This is reflected in multilateral agreements in United Nations, where members are
encouraged to limit carbons and coals. Although these are met with resistance among some
nations, it is still something rather than doing nothing.
 3. Discuss the importance of civil society in the face of different issues brought by
globalization. (10 pts; 10-15 sentences only)

According to Kaldor (2007), civil society is the process through which individuals
negotiate, argue, struggle, against, or agree with each other and with the centers of political and
economic authority. Examples of these are non-profit organizations or social movements
wherein people come together to have more influence to achieve a shared goal. Most of the
time, they supply shortcomings or criticize the priorities of their political and economic
institutions.

Civil societies are also present on a global scale. Global civil societies are non-
governmental, civilized (i.e., do not resort to violence), and operate globally. They contribute in
various forms depending on the goal of the groups, like dealing with global warming, fighting for
the environment, human rights, etc. The crucial role of global civil societies is the support they
provide to the poor, especially from less developed countries who are more susceptible to the
various dangers mentioned earlier, to improve their positions in coping with their unfortunate
situation caused by various factors. Red Cross is an excellent example of a global civil society.
It is a volunteer group that delivers vital services globally by providing relief and supporting
victims of crises such as war and natural calamities and helping prepare people to respond in
emergencies.