This weightless economy is one where products have their base in information as is the case with computer software and entertainment products. The emergence of the knowledge society has been linked to the development of a broad base of consumers who are technologically literate and eagerly integrate new advances in computing, entertainment and television into their everyday lives.
The very operation of the global economy reflects the changes that have occurred in the information age, many aspects of the economy now work through networks that cross national boundaries, rather than stopping at them (Castrells 1996). Businesses and cooperation have had to restructure themselves to be more flexible and less hierarchical in nature in order to remain competitive in a rapidly changing global market.
There are many economic factors that drive globalization such as transnational corporations, they are companies that produce goods and services in more than one country, these do not have to be large international companies they can also be small firms. They are at the heart of economic globalization and they account for two thirds of all world trade they are 8instumental in the diffusion of new technology around the globe and they are major actors in the international financial market. (Giddens 2006).
Ultimately, the goal of globalization is to achieve world economy reaping the benefits of additional trade and consequently, mutual dependency and therefore creating more jobs and prosperity for the participating countries. However Martin Khor an economist and director of the NGO Third Worlds Network believe that free trade within a global market will polarize the poorer countries from richer nations. According to some estimates, the industrialized countries which make up 20 percent of the GATT membership will gain 70 percent of the additional income arising from the implementation of the Uruguay Round of GATT (globalize.org)
A simple explanation of what the nation state is required before beginning to ask the question does the nation state have a future with globalization. Specifically the nation state is constituted by the government assuming a legal and moral right to exercise sole jurisdiction, supported by force in the last resort over a particular territory and its citizens. (Cohen,R & Kennedy, P 2002)
National governments have always been responsible for maintaining security and for the economic welfare of its citizens, with global economic changes an ever more integrated global economy and other global trends, political activity increasingly takes place at the global level. Under globalization, politics can take place above the state through political intergovernment organizations such as The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Civil society organizations can act globally by forming alliances with other organizations in other countries using global communications systems instead of the usual route of their own national governments. Some see this as the undermining of the role of the national government and producing a world order in which they are not central. It is said that the power and role of nation states in a globalized world and the capacity of nation states to shape the domestic world had already been undermined and it would do so further. This can be why some believe that globalization will be the ending of states, but it would be wiser to say they are experiencing a transformation in their structures and processes or indeed moving with the times.
So is globalization undermining the sovereignty of nation’s states? If sovereignty can be defined as the ability to exercise control without outside interference, then nation states are clearly experiencing diminishing sovereignty () Government have a lot of work to do, they must recognise and work on the assumption that most issues are required to deal with are affected by or will be affected by the international competitiveness of the country. Participation in international organisations or the adoption of international agreements puts limits on policy options available to governments and may require modifications to current long standing policies and practice. This will be a big shakeup for many who are comfortable with the ways things are run and do not want change, change is inevitable though with an ever-growing population and the need to be ahead.
Some people see various aspects of globalization as harmful, critics claim the results of globalization have not been what was predicted when the attempt to increase free trade began and that many institutions involved in the system of globalization have not taken the interests of poorer nations and the working class into account. The sceptics agree that there may now be more contrast between countries than in previous years but in their eyes the current world economy is not sufficiently integrated to constitute a truly globalised economy. (Giddens 2006)
Globalization will bring mixed feelings to each individual, to some it will bring opportunities and choice whilst to others it will threaten lives, jobs and traditions, so for some it will benefit whilst undermining others. Free market capitalism is often referred to as the driving idea behind globalization as a result of this countries are willing to participate in the global market place and are encouraged to open their economy to free trade private ownership and competition.
Anthony Giddens definition of tradition can be paraphrased as follows: He states that awareness of tradition is a kind of group memory or imagined memory of he past, tradition involves ritual, offers a recipe for the truth, has guardians such as imams or priests and unlike everyday customs generates deep moral and emotional attachment, he also goes on to say that the most prominent social form of modernity is the nation state. (Giddens 1997)
In the contemporary world, economies are increasingly globalised: economic activity is now beyond the directive control of the individual nation states. At the same time production and control of knowledge have become an economic phenomenon and as such an increasingly political question in so far as issues of control over the economy and knowledge increasingly arise. What possibility is there of rational control of these developments? Lyotard maintains that the thought that there might be any sense to these developments has become untenable: they are driven by only what Weber called means end rationality, what Lyotard himself terms performativity.
Globalization is arguably born due to the information age, with huge improvements in telecommunications, computers and lower costs and the development of electronic communication and the internet; these have assisted in overcoming the barrier of distance. It has given people the power to control their lives and investments online. Globalization supporters believe that open economy supports innovation and will contribute to the exchanging of ideas and fresh perspectives. Money transfers will become almost effortless as computers will monitor exchanges and money and transfers. Society will have the opportunity to become a cash free society with everyone using debit cards, this could go some way to helping with the fraud problem some say but with credit card fraud the highest it has ever been are we just creating an even bigger problem?. Supporters will continue to promote that lowered trade arms will bring peace and provide more customer choice and raise the incomes and standards of living of people all over the world, whilst other believe this will be the end of our nation state.
Globalization attracts interest and importance in contemporary world affairs; it also inspires passionate supporters and critics. Globalization has become identified with a number of trends most of which have developed since World war II, These include greater international movement of commodities, money, people and information and the development of technology, systems, organizations to allow this movement.
The internet has spread through border to border, so have drugs technology, finances etc, so this leaves the world having to share problems and challenges that do not obey the nation state borders. Nation states are having to work together to help the ever changing way of the way of the world. The alternative for a world divided up into nation states isn’t one nation state but other forms of division.
Economic globalization with its global market is expanding, but it does not necessarily mean the nation state is finished, one of the key elements of global regulatory arrangements is the role of nation states, and their role will be reconfigured to face important actions and decisions but will remain a highly significant role in governing the contemporary world economy.
BIBILOGRAPHY
- Cohen,R & Kennedy, P (2002) Global Sociology: Palgrave: London
-
Giddens, A (2006) Sociology 5th Edition Polity Press Cambridge
- Waters, A (1995) Globalization: Routledge: New York
- Robertson, R (1992) Globalization-Social theory & Global Culture: Sage Publications: London
- Fitzpatrick, T (2001): Welfare Theory: Palgrave: New York
- Cuff, C Sharrock,W.W, & Francis D, W. (2006) Perspectives In Sociology Routledge: New York
`
