Discussion Questions: Ellwood Globalization Then And Now

Rohit Dhar

Maya Gonzales

CLNI 80A

8 October 2014

Discussion Questions: Ellwood Globalization Then and Now

1. Ellwood is touching upon the subject of globalization. Specifically, its implications on those largely marginalized by society. He utilizes the history of trade as the foundation of a narrative in which indigenous groups are disadvantaged by Western institutions due to the expansion of global trade. As such, he employs empirical evidence and succinct analysis to support his point. As a result, Ellwood can eloquently make his point salient to the reader through his supporting arguments.

2. He asserts that globalization is a subtle form of imperialism but rather than European nations imparting mercantile systems on colonies, there are multi-national companies and trade organizations that impose policies and activities to exploit developing nations. He essentially paints a perspective in which Europeans and as of now, Western entities limit or destroy local economies through deregulation, free trade, and growth of financial services. Thus, he argues that these trends consolidate power and wealth for an elite few at the cost of the impoverished many. The end result is a growing trend of inequality and instability that reverberates across the globe. Even in times

His three key arguments are historical trends of trade, economic quality of trade, and contemporary financial destabilization. First, he accounts how Columbus’ explorations instigate an age of exploitation and extraction of resources by the major European powers (16). In addition, he extrapolates through numerous graphs on how trade throughout the decades have outstripped global output by far (20). Also, he recounts the effect that foreign investment of capital had on the “Tiger economies” which lead to massive unemployment and bankruptcy in Southeast Asia (27). All of this compounds to illustrate Ellwood’s argument about the nature of globalization and its debilitating effect on the world at