Chapter 3 Globalization Is Making the World a Better Place Guy Sorman hat we call “globalization,” one This convergence is exemplified by the 800 of the most powerful and positive million people who, in the past 30 years, have W forces ever to have arisen in the his- left poverty and misery behind. They have tory of mankind, is redefining civilization as greater access to health care, schooling, and we know it. This is one of my hypotheses. To information. They have more choices, and their be more specific, I will try to describe what children will have even more choices. The abso- globalization is, its impact on world peace, lutely remarkable part is that it happened not and the freedom it brings from want, fear, and by accident but through a combination of good misery. economic policy, technology, and management. Globalization has six major characteristics: Of course, not all nations are following this economic development, democracy, cultural path, but since the fall of the Berlin Wall, more enrichment, political and cultural norms, and more are coming closer. Only Africa’s information, and internationalization of the nations have yet to join, but who would have rule of law. hoped and predicted 30 years ago that China and India, with such rapidity and efficiency, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT would pull their people out of misery? There Usually, globalization is described in terms is no reason why Africa, when its turn comes, of intensified commercial and trade exchang- will not do the same. Convergence should be a es, but it is about more than just trade, stock source of hope for us all. exchanges, and currencies. It is about people. What is significant today is that through glo- DEMOCRACY balization many nations are converging toward In general, since 1989, the best system to enhanced welfare. improve the welfare of all people—not only 35 economically, but also in terms of access to the American culture, a bit of the French, a bit equality and freedom—appears to be democ- of other European societies. Perhaps they have racy, the new international norm. As more and become a different sort of Korean, but they more countries turn democratic or converge remain Korean nonetheless. It is quite the illu- toward democratic norms, respect for other sion to think you can lose your identity. And it cultures increases. goes both ways. When you look at the success Democracy has guaranteed welfare far of cultural exports out of Korea—this so-called better than any dictatorship ever could. Even new wave through music, television, movies, enlightened despots cannot bring the kind and art—Korea becomes part of the identity of of safety democracy is bringing. Sometimes other people. a trade-off between economic allotment and Now, as a Frenchman, I am a bit Korean democracy occurs. Sometimes the economy myself. This is how globalization works. We do grows more slowly because of democracy. Let not lose our identity. We enter into the world it be that way. Democracy brings values that that I call the world of multi-identity, and that are as important for the welfare of the human is progress, not loss. being as economy is. After all, as history shows, the chance of POLITICAL AND CULTURAL NORMS international war diminishes step by step any One of the most significant transformations time a country moves from tyranny to democ- in terms of welfare for the people in the glo- racy, as democracies do not war against one balized world is the increased respect given to other. That more and more nations are turning the rights of women and minorities. In many democratic improves everyone’s way of life. nations, to be a woman or to belong to a minor- ity has not been easy. In the past 30 years, how- CULTURAL ENRICHMENT ever, women and minorities everywhere have Critics of globalization frequently charge become better informed and have learned that that it results in an “Americanization of cul- the repression they suffered until very recently ture” and concomitant loss of identity and is not typical in a modern democracy. local cultural values. I would propose a more Let us consider India, where a strong caste optimistic view, and that is that globalization system historically has subjugated women and leads to never-ending exchange of ideas, espe- untouchables. Thanks to the globalization of cially through popular culture, since it affects democratic norms, these minorities are better the greatest number of people. protected; through various affirmative action Through popular culture, people from dif- policies, they can access the better jobs that tra- ferent backgrounds and nations discover one ditionally were forbidden to them. This transfor- another, and their “otherness” suddenly disap- mation has positive consequences for them, of pears. For example, a popular Korean televi- course, and also creates better outcomes for their sion sitcom now popular in Japan has shown children’s welfare and education. We are enter- its Japanese viewers that, like them, Koreans ing into a better world because of their improved fall in love, feel despair, and harbor the same status, thanks to the cultural and democratic hopes and fears for themselves and for their exchanges generated by globalization. children. This sitcom has transformed the image Japanese have of the Korean nation more pro- INFORMATION foundly than any number of diplomatic efforts Through legacy media and, more and more, and demonstrates that globalization can erode through the Internet and cellular phones, prejudices that have existed between neighbor- everyone today, even in authoritarian coun- ing countries for centuries. tries, is better informed. For one year, I lived in Furthermore, this process of better under- the poorest part of China, and I remember well standing allows us to keep our identity and how a farmer, in the most remote village, knew add new identities. The Koreans absorb a bit of exactly what was happening not only in the 36 2008 Index of Economic Freedom next village, but also in Beijing and New York own worst enemies. For 1,000 years, we were because of the Internet and his cellular phone. fighting each other. Why? We do not remember No government can stop information now. very well. Every 30 years, we went to war. The People know today that, as they say, “knowl- French killed the Germans. The Germans killed edge is power.” the French. When you try to explain this his- Now let us imagine if the genocide in Darfur tory to your children, they cannot understand. had happened 20 or 30 years ago. The Darfur Diplomats and politicians from the 18th centu- population would have been annihilated by the ry onward unsuccessfully made plans to avoid Sudanese government, and no one would have this kind of civil war within Europe. known. Today we all know about the genocide. Then, in the 1940s, a businessman came The reason why the international community along named Jean Monnet. His business was has been forced to intervene is because of the to sell cognac in the United States, and he was flood of information. Knowledge is proving to very good at it. The idea Jean Monnet had was be the best protection for oppressed minori- that perhaps the unification process of Europe ties and, thus, one of the most vital aspects of should not be started by diplomats. Maybe it globalization. should be started by business people. He pro- ceeded to build the European Union on a foun- INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE dation of commerce. He started with coal and RULE OF LAW steel in 1950, and it was through the liberation Internationalization of rule of law, of course, of that trade that he conceived the unification has limitations. The institutions in charge of of Europe, which has played a crucial role in this emerging rule of law, whether the United the globalization process. Nations or the World Trade Organization, are Monnet’s guiding principle was that com- criticized. They are not completely legitimate. mercial and financial ties would lead to politi- They are certainly not perfectly democratic, but cal unification. The true basis of European you cannot build a democratic organization solidarity has come through trade. Through with non-democratic governments. It becomes this method, all of the benefits of globalization a trade-off. have been made possible, because free trade In spite of all the weaknesses of international has been at the root level. An attack on free organizations, the emergence of a real interna- trade is an attack on both globalization and tional rule of law replaces the pure barbarism the welfare of the peoples of the world, so we that existed before, which had consisted of the must be very cautious when we discuss trade, most powerful against the weak. Even though as it is the essential key allowing the rest to globalization cannot suppress war, it is remark- happen. ably efficient at containing war. If you examine None of this is to imply that trade is easy. In the kinds of wars we have today, compared to the case of Europe, it was made easier because the history of mankind, the number of victims all of the governments were democratic. It is and number of nations involved are very few. much more complicated to build free trade We are all safer because of both this emerging with non-democratic governments, but because rule of law and the flow of information provid- globalization starts with the construction of ed by globalization. this materialistic solidarity, ideals must come afterwards. INVENTED BY ENTREPRENEURS We also need to remember that globaliza- TWO THREATS TO GLOBALIZATION tion is not some historical accident but has been Perhaps what I have presented so far is devised and built by those who wanted it.