Impact of Corona Virus on Globalization
Introduction
Globalization is the interaction of people and companies from one nation to another when undertaking business activities. The emergence of the covid-19 pandemic has affected globalization significantly by impacting on trade between countries. It feels like the pandemic might reverse globalization because of the states of affairs that the world is experiencing now. The world is feeling a pinch caused by the epidemic, which has disrupted trade in many countries around the world, making life unbearable for some nations. In this paper, we will look at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on globalization.
Globalization involves the movement of goods and services as well as people across the world. Globalization has led to the development of many economies across the globe. Globalization is as a result of advancement in technology which is being experienced in the world. Many economists argue that with globalization, it has caused development as well as possible problems that people are experiencing now (Hufbauer & Suominen 2010). With globalization, countries depend on one another for various goods and services. Some nations depend on others for the market to sell their already manufactured products, while others rely on others for raw materials used in production. Due to globalization, many conflicts have been resolved in the world like the cold war ended since countries needed one another to develop their economies. The UK has shut down all its car operations because globalization has been affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the world’s major companies that rely on raw materials that are exported as well as the foreign market for their produce, have shut down their operations. The virus has impacted many economies as workers no longer have to go to their working place as all people have to stay at home. The UK is going through economic hardships due to the pandemic, which has led to the closure of many industries, and even universities have been shut down. The shutting down of many operations in the UK affects the economic productivity of the country. The country spends much on taking care of the population, which cannot work to sustain themselves, and also, the government has to provide medical services to the people for free in the country. Corona outbreak has led to the shutting down of many universities, which depended on international students. Foreign students acted as a source of revenue for the government. Now such services are no longer there, and tax collected has reduced. The absence of international students means that globalization has been impacted negatively, and there is no more sharing of ideas between countries through students.
Coronavirus pandemic has impacted world trade negatively, and many activities have been shut down. The world trade has been affected because there is no free movement of people and goods from one nation to another as it was experienced some time back. Many governments are now forced to rely on their domestic production to meet the needs of the people. People no longer demand goods in large quantities from abroad as it used to happen. As a result, people are forced to consume locally produced goods offered at higher prices. With the pandemic, it has become so hard for many people to survive as the cost of living has gone up. There is a high demand for certain products that are not readily available, and for that, they are so expensive to acquire from the local manufacturers. International trade has been impacted, and even the trade policies formulated do not apply to the current situations since goods are not moving.
The theory of liberalism suggests that globalization modernization brought about by market-led extensions. Liberalism emerged due to human desire to have economic welfare and liberty in politics. The desire to have control of the market and world trade brings countries together across the world since no nation is self-sufficient. Countries are connected across the globe through advancement in technology and the need to have a legal framework that can allow democracy to be felt in all parts of the world. The liberalism theory enforces the importance of developing institutional infrastructure that will help support globalization.
The critiques of globalization argue that it has brought a lot of damage to the political and economic spheres of the world, creating unrest in many parts of the globe. When a country adopts globalization, it goes through a lot of turmoil from various groups; thus, globalization does not necessarily yield benefits to the people. The current situation that the world is facing can be attributed to globalization. The world is facing much crisis now like the coronavirus, which has stopped all operations in the world. Globalization has also been criticized for having led to the er4ison of the culture of the people in the world. Many people have lost their culture because of globalization, which has led to the borrowing of cultures across the globe. The death of many local industries can be as a result of globalization, where multinational corporations benefit at the expense of the local firms. Globalization has created many problems in the world today, like pollution that is caused by the continuous production of goods and services. Many developing countries are facing the challenge of pollution caused by multinational companies established in those nations. Despite globalization bringing development in many countries, its adverse effects have also been felt in many parts of the world.
The consequences of globalization include the creation of new market opportunities and wealth accumulation for the nations. Many nations, more so the developed countries, gave accumulated enough wealth through globalization by exploring resources from developing countries. Countries like the UK have gathered many resources from the manufacture of cars, which they sell to other countries across the globe. Trade between countries developed as a result of globalization, which made it easy for nations to transact different things, including ideas. Wealth accumulation has enabled many governments to develop their economies and control world trade. In the case of the UK, their industries have thrived because of the support they get from other countries in the world. Globalization has enabled even small countries to access resources that they cannot produce by trading with nations that can provide them.
Globalization has opened up market opportunities for countries in different parts of the world. Nations, like the UK, export manufactured cars to other parts of the world. The market created overseas is a result of globalization, which allows countries to trade with each other in resources that are abundant in their land (Mack et al., 2010). Demand and supply have necessitated globalization across the world. Nations demand goods that are not within their disposal while at the same time supplying products that are in abundance in their home country. These two market forces have enabled the nations of the world to depend on each other for many years leading to growth and development of trade in the world. Through globalization, many people have been able to come together and develop ideas that have led to the expansion of business in the world. New ideas are developed every day because of the interaction brought about by globalization. Globalization has enabled counties of the world to share not only goods and services but also information regarding various activities or new inventions that have been developed in the world. Many European countries are good at sharing new ideas and information around the globe.
Technological advancement has been seen since the beginning of globalization in the world. Countries have been able to access technology developed in one country because of globalization, which enables countries to share information and new inventions in technology. During this time that the world is being faced by coronavirus, technology plays an important role in ensuring that people are informed across the globe on the possible ways to stay safe from corona. Internet and network connectivity provided enables people to access the information about the disease in al, parts of the world. Some countries are offering free internet access to citizens to increase the sensitization of the masses about covid-19. Individuals at the comfort of their homes can access the preventive measures for covid-19 through Google (Mack et al., 2010). As the world continues to suffer from the pandemic, through advanced technology, some firms enable their employees to work from home using their computers. Students can also attend their classes by interacting with teachers online. Online services allow teachers to deliver content to students in the comfort of their homes. Through online services, people are also able to shop for goods, and they are delivered at their doorsteps. Services offered by firms like Amazon makes shopping for individuals easy despite the hard times that people are going through since the outbreak of covid-19. Since the outbreak of the disease, the impact of technology on the lives of the people has been seen. Technology now impacts on the lives of people by being the only platform that can be used to sensitize people. Technology is also used in research to come up with a vaccine that can be used to cure the prevailing disease. Technology plays an important role in the lives of the people by being a source of entertainment for people at home during this time that all people are at home. Network connectivity makes it easy for people to access information from the internet at a faster rate.
With continued advancement in technology, artificial intelligence continues to grow across the world. Machines are used to undertake various activities, and human labor is replaced by robots that physically undertake multiple tasks in the world. Technology has consequences on humans since there will be a loss of jobs by many people across the globe. With many people losing their jobs, the consumption of resources will go down because people have no money to access resources. Globalization, which is necessitated by advancement in technology, has adverse effects on the environment. Climate change is caused by advancements in technology, which has increased the pace of production, exhausting the available natural resources.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, many activities have been halted, and the economies have been affected by the disease. There is degradation in the production of goods and services across the world. The health of the people is affected, and therefore there is no production at all, making the life of people miserable more so those who depended on daily wages for survival. The survival of people entirely depends on the government to provide for them (Wyse & Opfer, 2010). The pandemic outbreak has created opportunities for doctors to be employed and for researchers to engage in inquiries to come up with the vaccine that can help cure the disease. Coronavirus has caused many people to work from home, making workers undertake their activities online rather than being physically in the office. Laborers during this time have to be computer literate to enable them to work from home. The labor market has been shifted from manual to online service delivery.
Looking at the situation now, covid-19 might reverse globalization in the world. Many countries are now focusing on local production to help meet the demands of their citizens since the disease has impacted globalization. There is no more physical movement of goods and services across the world because of the fear of the disease. Globalization is being reversed to local production and consumption. With the absence of international trade, there will be no globalization because there is no interaction between countries and no exchange of goods and resources between nations. Globalization is where one country depends on the other for one commodity, and vice versa is true. No country is self-sufficient, and therefore the pandemic has changed the world order. Countries no longer have to depend on others for survival; each nation has to put measures that will help it meet the needs of the citizens. Local industries might develop during this period that the world is experiencing lockdown because people are forced to buy locally available products. The locally produced goods are costly, but people have no choice.
Professor Goldin argues that after the pandemic, the world might experience what was seen in 1918 or 1945. International organizations might become weak with increasing protectionism, economic depression, and nationalism (BBC NEWS). This is because of what is being experienced now as many countries are trying to protect the available resources at their disposal, or the world might end up with more cooperation, and internationalism. From the viewpoint of David Henig, director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the European Centre for International Political Economy, the world is experiencing globalization reversal because, during autumn, the number of students expected in the universities will drop significantly. Many universities in the UK depend on international students that pay a lot to come and study in the country. Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, there is a possibility that globalization will not be seen in the near future. Many students will have to make arrangements and start studying in their home countries. This will negatively impact globalization, indicating that nationalism is taking control in many countries. The protectionism that countries are developing shows that globalization is no more important in international trade. Trade has been effected and the movement of goods from one nation to another restricted. Globalization in terms of sharing information and people has been infected, and there is no more reliance on international support.
The problem that is facing many countries now is a shortage of resources since no country can trade with itself. Nations are endorsed with different resources, and through trade, they can acquire resources that they have an absolute disadvantage in their production. The gap between developed nations and developing countries is going to widen as a result of the covid-19. Many developing nations depended on developed countries for many resources as well as for finances used for investment. Due to the pandemic, these countries will not be able to access such services making it hard for them to provide economic, social, and political resources to citizens. Covid-19 has not only affected the international trade but also the relationship between countries of Europe has deteriorated.
There is a possibility of a conflict arising when it comes to political and economic sharing of resources. Countries now have few resources at their disposal, which makes it difficult to allocate them equally among all the citizens of the nation. With increased protectionism adopted by governments, there is a likelihood that political conflicts will arise in the country due to the unfair distribution of resources. Politics in many countries play an essential role in the growth and development of the economy. With scarce resources, there will be political unrest in the country. The economic crisis will be experienced during this period because production has gone down, and the consumption of goods and services has increased. Countries have few resources which cannot sustain the economy for a long time.
Coronavirus pandemic is affecting the world trade making many countries struggle economically to sustain their needs. Nations like the UK are facing hard times at this moment, and the economy is under recession brought about by covid-19, which has blocked globalization affecting world trade. People are struggling to make ends meet by competing for the available resources, which are scarce at the moment (Wyse & Opfer 2010). Some people are exploited in the course of acquiring resources. The poor individuals in society are the ones that suffer a lot since they do not have the power and authority when it comes to accessing resources. With the pandemic, some countries are working together to try and see how much they can survive the coronavirus. Nations are supporting each other in terms of research to come up with the vaccine. With the outbreak of the disease, the new world order is approaching because the superpower nations are no longer in control of the world because they have been hit so hard by the pandemic. After the end of this epidemic, the world might experience new forms of leadership and control of resources and power in the world. There is no leadership in international trade, as professor Porte argues that now the G20 is facing a challenge of no leadership because even the US does not exist in the world trade anymore (BBC NEWS). According to professor Porte, the London G20 summit of 2009 had agreed on an amount equivalent to a $1tn (£800bn) package for international trade.
With the covid-19 outbreak, there is no more exercise of power and control over others. The pandemic has disrupted many activities making the powerful nations that had control lose their power and remain weak. The powerful G20 countries are no longer exercising their power and control in the world because the pandemic has also hit them. The disease is changing the way things are run in the world with each nation depending on itself. Increased levels of internal dependency are felt, and there is no more economic control exercised by a few governments on others. Countries are now mobilizing their people to rely on the local industries for the supply of various products. With no international trade, nations will only survive by ensuring that they increase the pace of local manufacturing to ensure that they meet the needs of the market. The locally produced commodities are sold at very high prices, but because there is no more international trade, people are forced to accept the prices set.
In conclusion, the world has been tilted upside down by the pandemic, and economic development in many countries has been affected. Counties are struggling to restore their economy despite the continued spread of the disease across the world, impacting on trade and manufacture of goods. Depending on local production, it will not lead to development because no country is endorsed with all resources to help it meet its needs.
References
Mack, A., Choffnes, E. R., & Relman, D. A. (Eds.). (2010). The Domestic and International Impacts of the 2009-H1N1 Influenza a Pandemic: Global Challenges, Global Solutions: Workshop Summary. National Academies Press.
Hufbauer, G. C., & Suominen, K. (2010). Globalization at Risk. Yale University Press.
Wyse, D., & Opfer, D. (2010). Globalization and the international context for literacy policy reform in England. The Routledge international handbook series, 438-447.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business 52104978?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cywd23g0g55t/car-industry&link_location=live-reporting-story