Globalisation conversation questions

Globalisation
According to Wikipedia: "Globalization" (or globalisation) is the process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. "Globalization" is often used to refer to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. This process is usually recognized as being driven by a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural, political and biological factors.

The term can also refer to the transnational dissemination of ideas, languages, or popular culture.


 * What do you think of this definition of "globalisation"?
 * How do you think others will react to the consequences of it if it gets out of hand?
 * What are the pros and cons of globalisation?
 * Why do you think so many people oppose it?
 * Do you think it would be a good idea if all barriers to trade were removed from the world and people could freely export and import without customs duties or any other problems? What impact would such a change have?
 * Do you think it would be a good idea if people could live and work in any country they liked without restriction? What impact would such a change have?
 * How would you react if a multinational employing several hundred people in your area announced they were moving to another country where production costs were lower?
 * Would your reaction be any different if that private company had previously received large amounts of public money to set up their plant in your area? Why/why not?
 * How would you react if a multinational employing several hundred people announced they were moving to your country because production costs were lower?
 * How much cheaper do you think goods are to produce in a developing country than in a developed country? Why do you think this is?
 * How should developed countries respond to the challenges presented by developing countries which have lower wage costs?
 * "Protectionism" refers to the practice of putting up trade barriers such as import duties so as to reduce or prevent the importation of goods from poorer countries and protect higher cost industries in more developed nations. What do you think of the morality of excluding goods from poor or developing countries?
 * Do you think goods that you normally buy are cheaper/more expensive if produced where you live rather than imported?
 * Do you think imported goods are better quality than locally-produced ones? Why/why not?
 * If your region/country were an apple-growing region, for instance, would you be willing to pay more for locally-grown apples than for imported ones?
 * One frequently-quoted example of globalisation is McDonalds. Some people say that McDonalds restaurants are a bad thing because they mean that everybody will eat the the same food; others say that they are a good thing because you are always able to eat something you recognise know and like.  What is your opinion?
 * Consider, cities around the world are becoming increasingly more homogenous (think McDonald’s, KFC, Coke, sushi, pizza, kebab, Tesco, Hollywood films, CNN, MTV, E!TV, ESPN vodka, clubs, shopping malls, etc.) while simultaneously offering inhabitants greater choice and opportunities than they had before globalisation. What opportunities have appeared in your region due to globalisation?
 * Emo, ergo sum! (I shop, therefore I am!) A phenomenon that comes with Americanization is the construction and valorization of identity as a consumer. An important dimension of Americanization is the consumer culture that “originated in the United States” and has been exported around the world through the process of globalization. “A major function of consumerism is to produce consumers – to recast individuals as consumers, to reforge them into consumers.”  The key here is not that there are similarities in the particular products consumed, but rather, the function of consumption, its role, in different cultures. “Under a consumer culture, consumption becomes the main form of self-expression and the chief source of identity.”   Consider, consumer culture erodes a fixed sense of identity (or, it dominates, supplants, marginalizes other identities). This can be both liberating and debilitating. What aspects of such a culture are liberating for you? Which are debilitating, or negative?