Globalisation is widely referred to as the outward growth and rise in the interchange of services, raw materials, goods, people, information, and money between different parts of the world that are culturally and geographically apart (Hopkins 112). It is a term used to refer to modern trade relationships and whose main characteristic is the rise in the interconnections between economies of different countries to a point where one country’s economic decision bears an effect on other nations, hence, resulting in one global economy with a few local and regional variations. ‘Individuals’, in this context, refer to the consumers and producers of the goods and services that are traded in the global market as well as other people who are directly or indirectly affected or influenced by the effects of globalization and migration. This essay will argue and provide evidence on how globalization and migration influence individuals, give ways in which the two factors impact the individuals’ lives and determine which of the two has a bigger influence on individuals.
There are numerous ways through which globalization influences the lives of individuals ranging from both the positive, which is mainly felt by individuals from the developed countries, to the negative effects that are majorly felt by individuals from the developing countries. First and foremost, globalization, and more specifically global trade, has boosted customer choices since it has ensured that individuals have a wide variety of a particular good or service to choose from as opposed to the few choices available in the case of local trade, hence, leading to greater choices in the goods and services bought by individuals (Hopkins 110). Individuals are now able to buy goods from around the whole world according to their preferences and choices in terms of the amount to spend as well as the difference in style between different countries such as the cheaper computers in Japan, the more stylish Italian shoes, and the strawberries from other parts of the world which individuals can buy if they choose to.
Another way through which globalization influences individuals’ lives is in the way in which it increases or decreases the wealth of individuals from the developed and the developing countries respectively. In the developed countries, globalization has led to a significant increase in wealth of the individuals living in these countries as a result of the increased trade in the countries that has resulted in the domination of the global trade by the developed nations (Hopkins 113). However, this has had an equally great effect in the developing countries where individuals have become poorer as a result of the growing inequality between the developing and the developed world. An example of how this affects individuals is seen where individuals from poor nations migrate to other developed countries to seek better lives.
In addition, as a result of the rise in wealth as well as the increase in the number of choices for individuals in developed countries, there have many instances of lifestyle change that has been seen on different individuals due to the different types of food that have been made available for consumption be globalization and global trade (Hopkins 112). An example of this effect can be seen in the alarming rise in the cases of obesity in children from the developed countries, a condition that has been associated with, among other reasons, the continuous alteration in the type of food consumed by a child.
Globalisation has also influenced the lives of individuals through the unfortunate increase of child labor as a result of its effects, an area that has been widely criticized by the free market critics. This has been seen in recent years in the developing nations through the employment of children in firms, popularly known as ‘sweatshops’, that produce consumer goods and supply to the global market to satisfy the high demand of the goods in the developed countries (Hopkins 109). This situation takes advantage of the fact a number of developing countries depend on child labor in a certain range of industries.
Migration is also another factor that has a big influence on individuals. Human migration is the process through which individuals move, usually over long distances, from one place to another with a motive of temporarily or permanently settling in a new locality. One of the effects of migration on individuals is the creation of employment opportunities (Mangalam 54). Individuals migrating to other countries are able to find and fill the job vacancies available in the country while those remaining in the country of origin are able to fill the vacancies left by the migrants.
Migration has also been seen to affect individuals through the increase in the number of children that are left behind by their family members who migrate to other countries as well as the children who are forced to grow up without the presence of the wider family circle due to international migration (Mangalam 56). This has affected the lives of the children because it has made them experience a whole lot of social problems that are associated with growing up without the presence of the bigger family circle as in the case of a normal child.
Additionally, migration has also influenced individuals because it has made individuals learn different cultures from different nations and link them up with their own cultural practices, a move that has proved very significant in the overall growth of the international trade (Mangalam 54). Migrating to countries with different cultures has enabled individuals to learn a few important aspects of the culture that is crucial to the development of the individual. Furthermore, migrating to other countries helps individuals learn new skills and ways of doing things due to the exposure to new environments where things are done differently.
In conclusion, these two factors are capable of causing huge impacts on individuals’ lives in both the positive as well as the negative ways. Globalisation has made it possible for individuals to acquire goods and services from all over the world at a higher consumer choice. However, the effects of global trade are more beneficial and favorable for the developed nations in terms of wealth and power while the developing countries have the effects have been more of problems and less beneficial. Migration on the other hand, has also influenced many individuals in a number of ways such as in employment as well as in the cultural interactions among others. Nevertheless, it is evident that the effects brought about by globalization are bigger as compared to the ones caused by migration as explained above. Globalisation has also been seen to have a greater influence on individuals as compared to migration.
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