Globalization: A Policy of Apocryphal Benefits
             The idea of globalization is a greatly misconstrued, detrimental policy to those countries and people outside of the North American sphere of life. Corporations are globalizing not only to reduce production costs, but also to expand markets, evade taxes, acquire knowledge and resources, and protect themselves against currency fluctuations and other risks (Brecher and Costello 18). Three hundred companies own an estimated one-quarter of the production assets of the world and the richest fifth receives 82.7% of the total world income (Brecher and Costello 29). The gap between rich and poor is increasing worldwide: almost one-third of the population of developing countries, 1.3 billion people, live in absolute poverty- to poor to provide the minimum diet required for full human functioning (Brecher and Costello 24). The driving force of the marketplace is competition: sales go to the company who offers the lowest price. This alone is not a maligned process as prices are lower and there is improved efficiency in production. But when corporations and governments lower costs by reducing environmental protection, wages, salaries, health care and education, the result can be malevolent- "a downward leveling" of environmental, labor an social conditions (Brecher and Costello 20). The most prevalent symptom of globalization is the reduction in labor, social and environmental conditions that results directly from global competition for jobs and investment (Brecher and Costello 22). As the workforce seeks to become "more competitive" by reducing its wages and social and environmental overheads, income, social and material infrastructures deteriorate. Lower wages and reduced public spending mean less buying power leading to stagnation, recession and unemployment (Brecher and Costello 25). In this paper, I will evaluate globalization and show how its negative effects are widespread: how it ...