Civil Society
The International Monetary Fund makes the point that civil societies increase the rate of globalization because they transcend national boundaries. This is perhaps one reason that democracy increases the rate of globalization because it encourages free thought and the growth of these civil societies. The problem with this is that civil societies ( and democracy) work best in affluent societies where the twelve hour work day allows for free time and free thought, not just bare survival. Perhaps civil societies themselves are one of the reasons why there is a growing gap between the developed and developing world. Boy scouts is probably less popular in Sierra Lone than it is in
Great Britain.
The effects of globalization on democratization are varied; while capitalism promotes democracy, rapid expansion also leads to instabilities; a vicious cycle created by (of all things) progress. For one thing, the mere force of population increase caused by better living conditions often reaches a point where mass famine is caused by a shortage of jobs and food supplies. Thus, many countries are caught in the demographic transition; perhaps one of the greatest reasons why many countries never rise out of poverty despite efforts towards improvement. Population control is necessary. However, The spread of the aids virus has taught us, it is hard (but not impossible) to change cultural attitudes in areas such as birth control. As the author of my political science book noted, industrialization also causes urbanization, which created an undercurrent of poverty within newly industrialized cities. Partnered together with the income gap between rural and urban areas this creates further political turmoil. This is the argument set forth for the good created by totalitarian regimes. If people in
China felt they had political freedom chances are that the poor might start demanding more socialist policies and class conflict might arise. As it is, young Chinese are conditioned to completely disregard politics. Could
China have developed under a democracy? I don’t have a great deal of knowledge about Chinese political culture, but I think that the answer is no. The difference in beliefs between the rural and urban populations might have been enough to knock it down during urbanization.
Mexico seams to be having these difficulties as many sections of the economy struggle under NAFTA. My point is not that these obstacles can not be overcome.. Certainly capitalism causes exposure to culture that would not have existed otherwise (such as in
China), and this in the long run will strengthen democracy. I have a hard time proposing that governments prone to human rights abuses are left into place simply because they are stable My point is that while globalization inspires democracy in the long run, the medium run will continue to be a challenge.
The only feasible way to overcome this in my mind would be to couple capitalism with increased educational opportunities, etz. Maybe equalizing things such as social security (which doubles as a vehicle for population control because people no longer feel the need to have children to support them at an old age) would be a useful method, although not practical in most countries because of the high cost.
