How Does Globalization Impact Consumers? Essay

How does globalization impact consumers? This question has been highly debated by economists. Some believe consumers will be negatively affected by globalization with greater economic instability and multiple financial crisis’ while corporations receive record profits. Other experts are of the opinion that globalization will provide customers with more wealth, more goods at lower costs, and will end poverty. Globalization gives customers the advantage of getting the best products at the best prices, per many economists and theorists. Each country, in a global market, manufacturers a product (or products) that they are best and most efficient at producing. As a result, consumers have affordable products that were previously out of their price range in some cultures (i.e. cars). Thus, the standard of living in each country is raised due to the positive effects of globalization. According to this perspective, the new global economy will shift millions of people from absolute poverty to the middle class. Another predicted benefit of globalization is that it will increase global salaries of managers and professionals and provide an increased market for international positions. Consumer access to disposable income will increase demand for technological advancement and new and improved goods. Further, lower prices give consumers the benefit of being able to save money or spend money on things they want instead of only things they need. In the article â€Å"Global Marketing and Advertising,† de Mooij suggests (Sage, 2005) that â€Å"wealth brings choice† and she believes consumers will choose to bring back old values to contain or in an effort to halt the westernizing of their culture. Harvard Professor Samuel Huntington agrees that globalization will cause a renewed interest in local traditions. In his article, â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations and Remaking of World Order† (Simon & Schuster, 1997), he opined that modernization encourages local social confidence and a resurgence of faith in local traditions and customs. Some see many disadvantages of globalization. Opponents of globalization state that it makes the rich more wealthy and the poor even poorer, particularly in cultures without ethical protections of its workforce. The opponents believe poor cultures will become too dependent upon other cultures because they cannot keep up. For example, India’s poverty in factions could worsen due to becoming more dependent on imports from other countries that could lead to high inflation. Instead of India’s  manufacturing sector expanding it could cause India’s people greater disadvantage due to not being able to complete with other nations technologically or scientifically. Another opponent of globalization stated that growth in Third World exports will create more oppression of workers because cheap labor will be more common and in more demand. Thus, common people in Indonesia and Bangladesh will suffer more harshly. Put in another way, cheap labor will be the demand, not efficiency of industry, and will be the new â€Å"cotton†.