Globalisation Test - 1

Resistance to globalisation in India has come from different quarters. There have been left wing protests to economic liberalisation voiced through political parties as well as through forums like the Indian Social Forum. Trade unions of industrial workforce as well as those representing farmer interests have organised protests against the entry of multinationals. The patenting of certain plants like Neem by American and European firms has also generated considerable opposition.

While cultural homogenisation is an aspect of globalisation, the same process also generates precisely the opposite effect. It leads to each culture becoming more different and distinctive. This phenomenon is called cultural heterogenisation. 

Liberalisation refers to the removal of unnecessary controls and restrictions of the government in the form of licences, permits and quotas. India initiated liberalisation of industries in 1991.

 Globalisation has also led to the flow of ideas across national boundaries. 

Anti-globalisation movements too participate in global networks, allying with those who feel like them in other countries. Many anti-globalisation movements are not opposed to the idea of globalisation per se as much as they are opposed to a specific programme of globalisation, which they see as a form of imperialism.

The cultural effect of globalisation leads to the fear that this process poses a threat to cultures in the world. It does so, because globalisation leads to the rise of a uniform culture or what is called cultural homogenisation.

Critics of globalisation from the political right express anxiety over the political, economic and cultural effects.

In 1999, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting there were widespread protests at Seattle alleging unfair trading practices by the economically powerful states. It was argued that the interests of the developing world were not given sufficient importance in the evolving global economic system.

Globalisation is a multidimensional concept. It has political, economic and cultural manifestations, and these must be adequately distinguished. It is wrong to assume that globalisation has purely economic dimensions, just as it would also be mistaken to assume that it is a purely cultural phenomenon.

Those on the left argue that contemporary globalisation represents a particular phase of global capitalism that makes the rich richer (and fewer) and the poor poorer.