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Insecurity is the price of globalization. Is it worth paying?

There is no way to answer this question in an objective way.  It is probably possible to objectively state the costs and benefits of globalization (though not everyone will agree on what those are).  However, it is not possible to objectively decide whether the benefits are greater than the costs.


The benefits of globalization are generally spread around and hard to see.  Globalization helps us because it allows us to have high-quality goods for the...

There is no way to answer this question in an objective way.  It is probably possible to objectively state the costs and benefits of globalization (though not everyone will agree on what those are).  However, it is not possible to objectively decide whether the benefits are greater than the costs.


The benefits of globalization are generally spread around and hard to see.  Globalization helps us because it allows us to have high-quality goods for the lowest possible price.  If we did not have globalization, we would be paying higher prices for almost everything we own.  As we can see in the articles in the links below, some experts believe that an iPhone produced in the United States would cost at least twice as much as an iPhone made by foreign workers who work for lower wages.  Because so many things are produced outside the US (because of globalization) we are able to have a high standard of living with many material possessions.  We would not be able to have such a high standard of living without globalization.  However, it is hard to know how much worse-off we would be.


The costs of globalization are easily visible.  When a company moves its factories to China, it is easy to see the people who have lost their jobs.  It is easy to understand how much they have been harmed by globalization.  In our globalized world, more and more of us face insecurity because we know our jobs could potentially be sent to another country.  We can easily imagine how hard life would be for us if we lost our jobs.  This cost is very easy to understand.


So which of these effects is more important?  Globalization has given us a higher standard of living.  On the other hand, it has made us have to fear that we will lose our jobs to foreign workers.  Is the higher standard of living worth the fear of losing our jobs?  What is your opinion on this issue?

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