Monday, February 4, 2013
G&D #4 - Issues of Globalization & Development
After watching, taking notes on, and reflecting on one of the videos, post a reflection as a comment to this post. In your comment, identify the video you chose and a BRIEF statement of WHY you chose this video. Then, identify any biases/problems with the arguments presented and explain why this issue is something that should be of concern and interest to the global community.
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ReplyDeleteStation 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDelete"How to Combat Modern Slavery"
I chose this video because i wanted to see how prominent slavery is today throughout the world as to how it used to be like during the 1700's. Also, one does not hear about modern slavery as they do with Civil War times slavery. Contemporary slavery is unknown or ignored by so many people because they do not want to have anything to do with it and because they only care about their own needs. Slavery is the condition in which a human is forced to work without pay under the threat of violence and they are not allowed to walk away. Today there are 27 million slaves in the world, who are primarily found in third-world or poverty stricken countries such as Ghana and India. The relationship between slavery and environmental degradation is that slaves are used by their owners to destroy habitats such as rainforests to provide natural resources to companies. There are so many slaves in the world because of population explosion, extreme poverty and vulnerability, and corruption specifically with the police. Most slaves come into slavery by answering, “yes” to the question, “want a job?” Once they take the job they are shipped away to work under terrible conditions and after a few days they ask to leave, but are informed that they are not allowed to, which leads to the revelations that they are now a slave. A huge difference in slavery today than it was in the past is that slaves are very inexpensive. An example of this is that a little boy in India can be sold from five to ten dollars instead of hundreds in the past. Bale says that we can end slavery by spending 10.8 billion dollars on the global level, which will liberate every single slave in the world. The global community can help not only by raising that money, but also by setting up schools and creating jobs for those ex-slaves who would be returning to their old lives. Throughout the video a bias was present over third-world countries. Ted for almost the entire video discusses how slavery affects developing countries, but he never discusses that there is slavery found in the United States. He never discusses how to end slavery and why it is caused in the United States.
Station 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDelete"Global Power Shift"
Paddy Ashdown takes a decent amount of time explaining how the power in our world has shifted immensely. In the ancient times, power shifted laterally, from nation to nation. However, in our modern world, power shifts vertically and it is migrating to a global stage. During this part of the video, Ashdown states his opinion that the United States will stay the most powerful nation on Earth for the next 10-15 years. Following that, Ashdown believes that unregulated space, space that is not subject to the rule of law, will soon become populated with the things civilizations do not want, like terrorism. The 9/11 attack is a perfect example of this. Paddy Ashdown also makes an effort to predict how governance will take shape. He believes that it will happen by the powerful coming together and making treaty based systems to govern that global space. However, a problem with that is that the less powerful or weak will be completely left out in the dust. Next, a mono-polar world means that there are fixed alliances and fixed power. On the other hand, our modern world, which is a multi-polar world, is filled with shifting and changing alliances. The last point Ashdown talks about is how everything is connected to everything in our world, forcing nations to have a shared destiny with their enemies.
Station 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDelete"How to Combat Modern Slavery"
I chose to watch and reflect on this video because slavery is a topic of interest to me. I was unaware that slavery even exists in the world today. I think most people are unaware of contemporary slavery because it may not happen where they live. It also may not be in the news very often or come up in discussion. Slavery is when people are forced to do work without pay under threats of violence, and they cannot walk away. There are 27 million slaves today in the entire world except for Iceland and Greenland. The most prominent areas, however, are poor countries such as Ghana. Slaves' work often forces them to destroy the environment, therefore leading to environmental degradation. Population explosion, poverty, vulnerability, and corruption all caused the large number of slaves today. Most people enter slavery when they are asked "Want a job?" They usually take the job in order to support their families, but find themselves in difficult labor and cannot leave when they try. Slavery is different in the fact that slaves are cheaper today than they were back then. We can liberate slaves by paying to free them. For the entire world, this would cost about $10.8 billion. The global community can raise such funds and create easy jobs in order to liberate the slaves. Biases occur in the video because of the fact that Bale only mentions a few countries, especially Ghana. He does not focus on the rest of the world very often.
I chose to watch the "How to Combat Modern Slavery" video, with Kevin Bales. I chose to reflect on this video because I found it interesting how unaware many people-inlcuding myself- are. Therefore, I believe the "Contemporary Slavery" is unknown or unheard of by many, because I believe this nation chooses what we want to hear about, not what we need to hear about. Also, it's most likely not going on in a region even relatively close to where most of the world is, so it goes under the radar, because most people are only interested in what's going on directly around them. Furthermore, the definition of slavery is; People being coerced to work in unsafe conditions (dangerous jobs) for no pay whatsoever, and those of which that are enslaved are always under the threat of violence. There are approximately twenty-seven million slaves in the world today, and they are often more prominent in the poorer countries, one often mentioned is Ghana. Moreover, slavery and environmental degradation coincide, because most slaves in the Amazon or various other regions are forced into hard manual labor, (as in cutting down trees,) which is a huge contributor to environmental degradation. Sadly, most people come into slavery by the simple question "Want a job?" I know that if I was struggling to keep me and my family well provided, this question would be appealing to me, and I would do as they would, and agree to the labor they require. People don't even realize they're enslaved until they cannot leave the work force, and are continuely abused and unpaid. Most of the slavery today is caused by population increase, poverty, the vulnerability and emotional appeal towards the economic struggle, and police corruption. However, the differences between slavery today and in history are easily distinguishable. The cost of buying a slave has gone down completely, and the liberation process is much less expensive now, than in history. In poorer countries, like Ghana, one can free a slave with $400. It may seem like a lot, but Bales pointed out that over 10.8 dollars was spent just in holiday money, and if it was given to slave labor in Ghana, it would free millions of slaves. Lastly, the only thing Bales forgets to mention is the other places slavery occurs in. There must be places much closer to home that are also affected by slavery, and those should be focused on so the cost of freeing those slaves is well known, and practiced.
ReplyDeleteStation 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDeletePaddy Ashdown "Global Power Shift"
I chose to watch this video because I was interested in determining how power will be dispersed in the future. Ashdown discusses at length the difference between lateral and vertical power shift being that lateral transferred power nation to nation, no power disperses at a global level. One bias present in this idea is the fact that Ashdown considers United States as the most powerful in the world. In many ways other nations could be considered superior to the United States on economic levels, political levels, etc. Ashdown also states his belief that the United States will remain in power for at least ten to fifteen more years, whereas other historians may see other countries such as China developing at a more rapid rate. In, addition, Ashdown believes that unregulated space occurs in the most powerful nations that feel they don't have to comply with any rules or live by their own judgement. He infers that this was the cause of the terroristic attack on September 11th. He states that governance of the global world will occur only between the most powerful countries, and weaker countries will be neglected. He continues to detail a monopolar world in which there are fixed alliances. A mulitpolar world would include the shifting of alliances. Lastly, Ashdown concludes that vertical hierachy of strong alliences will be neglible due to the new capacity to network, connecting countries and inevitably leading to their downfall.
Station 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDeleteParag Khanna " Maps the Future of Countries"
I chose this video because understanding the different concepts of how maps project countries and their future seemed pertinent to the world we live in today and that it would break the subject down into a more simple and understandable way. Throughout the talk Khanna vocalizes that lots of his points are his own opinions being based off of the facts. Khanna uses phrases such as " I believe" and " in my opinion" which show his semi bias arguments on the topic. Also, Khanna uses view points coming from an outsider of most of the areas described. Khanna goes into the argument with facts but does not and will not truly understand what life is like in the regions and how the way maps portrays them works.
Station 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDeletePaddy Ashdown, "Global Power Shift"
I chose to watch “Global Power Shift” because I am interested in knowing and understanding where power will move in the future. However, Ashdown, the speaker had a few biases towards the more developed and large country powers and did not necessarily understand the underdeveloped nations. Furthermore, he thought that America would remain a world power for several more year, and did not consider other world powers. This topic is of the highest importance because it will determine the fate of the world. Paddy Ashdown argues the idea of power shifts from a country or region to the entire world. Power has always shifted laterally from one country or region to another. For example, the power shifted from Greece to Rome thousands of years in the past. However, today, power shifts vertically, and is now shifting to a global power. Ashdown also discusses unregulated space, which is the space that has no form of government. As of now, the global stage has no governing body, so anything can occur inside of it. Good things, such as trade and economic growth can stem from these uncontrolled spaces, but unwanted things, such as crime and terrorism can sprout from unregulated space. In order to solve this power shift, a type of government must be formed on the global stage (“where power goes, governance must follow”). Ashdown believes that this world government will occur through a treaty based organization between the most developed nations. He however states that this is problematic because it does not include the underdeveloped nations. Also, mono-polar and multi-polar worlds are discussed. In a mono-polar world, everything is directed towards a single power and all treaties are definite. In a multi-polar world, there are several powers, treaties work towards the same goals, but they are not definite. In a vertical hierarchy, all parts of a nation are separated, including military and housing. However, a network requires the connecting of all parts of a nation and government.
Station 4: Issues of Development
ReplyDelete"Parag Khanna, Maps the Future of Countries"
I chose this video because I was curious to see what aspect that the presenter would base his argument off of. The changing of borders of nations can be a rather opinionated and or biased topic, so listening to his point of view was very interesting. Geo-political alterations such as WWII and the Cold War caused the addition of many countries. Even so, with more countries, old ways of conquering are not as prevalent. Economics and buying other countries is more efficient and much less dramatic that older habits of declaring war. Also, Mr. Khanna describes a process of Chinese globalization where China is re-establishing its old rule in the far East. China slowly moving and utilizing resources in Siberia while buying Mongolian Mines is an example of this economic reign. Khanna also refers to the Middle-East and the "Stans" in his presentation. Independence of Kurdistan, part of Iran, would most likely benefit the country because rebels of Kurdistan use Iran's vital resource of oil against them in territory disputes. Additionally, Kanna believes that infrastructure in Israel will help with relations within that country, and that the "Stans" or less useful countries now become more productive with the resources that they can offer such as coal, natural gas, and ores. Mr. Khanna did give a very well educated presentation, but did have some bouts of economic bias and opinion related to Middle-Eastern and South Asian countries when he described how easy the promotion of infrastructure would solve serious problems of the world.
Station 4: Issues of Developement
ReplyDelete"Kevin Bales, How to Combat Modern Slavery"
At first even before choosing this video I was actually going to choose the first one because of its topic which sounded quite intreging, but then I saw the Letter D option saying "Modern Slavery" and I stopped and thought to myself is their slavery in the world today? This question intrigued me so much that I chose the video. In the video Mr. Bales describes to use how slavery is still up and running today. Now this startled me due to the fact I thought we abolished slavery generations before mine, however its still thriving today.Kevin Bales informed us that slavery today, modern slavery, is not what we think it is. It is not someone being taken from their home voluntarily and sent into the workforce without pay and harsh treatment. Modern slavery happens today because people travel to impoverished lands where jobs are scarce and ask "want a job?". This intices people to come and work. However when the employee tries to leave they are forced to stay and thats when they realize that they are enslaved. He also explained that today there are the most slaves ever in the world due to environment factors, population increase, poverty and corruption in the workforce. In the end though he says that today there is the smallest fraction of slaves compared to the population in history. Then he preaches that to end slavery we must free the slaves and then teach them to never to become enslaved again and to have a stable home. This is a global interest because when all of the slaves become free the become good workers and want better life for their kids therefore creating a better economy.
Station #4: Issues of Development
ReplyDelete"Maps the Future of Countries"
I chose to watch this video to get a better understanding on how the maps would change in years to come due to globalization. Khanna illustrates how different maps and borders have become over the past century. Khanna shows us the major Global Hubs around the world which include the Unites States, Europe and Asia. Asia by far is the largest. He goes into detail about globalization Chinese style. He demonstrates how the Chinese population "leases" countries like Russia in order to get goods or supplies. In his lecture Khanna throws light upon how important geopolitics are. He states "it’s changing the world just like climate change, were always searching for equilibrium and how we divide ourselves across the planet. I would say Khanna is not very bias about this topic. He has his opinions but backs them up with facts such as there term someone’s gain is someone’s loss.
Station #4- Issues of Development
ReplyDelete"How to Combat Modern Slavery"
I chose to watch this video because it was unbeknownst to me that slavery exists in the modern world, and I was curious about how slavery can continue in today. The video began with Bales describing his surprise when he learned that slavery exists today. I think he, and others, are unaware of modern slavery because it does not directly affect them. He went on to say that slavery is being "forced to work without pay under threat of violence and unable to walk away." Of the 27 million slaves today, most are located in South, East, and Southeast Asia. Many are also accounted for in South America and Africa. North America, Europe, and Australia do not have as much slavery. Slaves are degrading the environment by working with dangerous chemicals in mines and practicing deforestation. There is a large number of slaves currently because the total world population is high. Most people who become enslaved are looking for a job to support their families, but end up being lied to and taken into slavery. Slavery is different today than it was in the past because the cost of slaves is much less today. According to Bale, we can liberate slaves and end slavery by using our economic and intellectual power. A bias I saw in the video was when Bales describes the ex-slaves' gratitude for being liberated by people from the other side of the world. This is biased because although the organizations in the western countries are helping, other countries are giving aid as well. Modern slavery should concern the global community because as humans, we should recognize that slavery is not only wrong, but its presence influences the global economy.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete“Maps the Future of Countries”
ReplyDeleteI chose to view this video because it attracted me to know the possible changes in the geopolitical world. I also wished to know how the maps of today may predict the possible geopolitical changes of the future. The geo-political changes rendered by the 20th century are the border disputes happening throughout the world. I believe that it is true that countries are no longer colonized but instead bought. According to Khanna, China is buying out Mongolia based on the use of Mongolian mines by Chinese firms who then import the goods South and East to mainland China. Though I do believe that countries are being bought, I do not think that it is right to do so. Globalization Chinese-style is explained by the influx of Chinese people in Russia and Mongolia who bring along with them their culture. With this, China is becoming an ever-growing presence in these countries and soon may become the majority. China is re-establishing its hierarchy in the Far East by making trade routines with every country in the region, thusly becoming the anchor of economy in the area. China is also sending people into other Far East countries that bring along with them Chinese culture and language which then expands throughout the other countries. Though this may better the stabilities of countries in East Asia, I believe that it will only hurt them in the end because with the influx of Chinese culture and peoples the other countries’ cultures may become the minorities in the regions. The disintegration of Iraq comes from the growing presence of the Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, which covers some of the most productive oil areas of Iraq. An independent Kurdistan may be preferable because the new free State will end a very long running conflict and Iraq will still be the 2nd largest oil producer in the world. I believe that the Kurds deserve their freedom after years of suffering from the countries that dominate them. A problem I found with this discussion though is that Khana shows a map of the possible Kurdistan and how it may affect Iraq. But he does not discuss its effects on other countries that Kurdistan lies in. Even though this may hurt Iraq, I believe that it will overall benefit the entire world. If Gaza and West Bank unite under a strong infrastructure, then their economy could skyrocket and would be able to become an independent State. I do not believe that an infrastructure is the only thing that will help qualify Palestine as an independent State. Because of their conflicts with Israel, I think that there will always be unrest in that region. Stalin purposefully created the borders of the Central Asian “Stan” countries so that they don’t make sense. With the confusing borders, the ethnicities could not blend and the regions would rely on the power of the Soviet Union for stability. After hearing this, it makes more sense to me why those countries always seemed confusing and unstably ethnic. Kazakhstan is becoming a geopolitical player because of its astutely designed pipelines through the Caspian Sea, and to Russia and China. A bias in these statements may be that the speaker is viewing things from a very American point of view. For example, from an American point of view, it looks as though China is trying to re-globalize East Asia while to East Asians it may look as though China is trying to help them by involving them in their trades and educating them on their culture. A problem that I found with Khana’s discussion is that he does not include impacts of possible wars in the future, no one knows what the future holds for national borders during wartime but he never addresses them.
"How to Combat Modern Slavery"
ReplyDeleteI picked this video out of the four because learning about the history of slavery and segregation has always interested me and I was surprised when i initially read the title. Before watching, I had no idea that slavery still existed in present day. Bales was even surprised at the fact that slavery still existed today, he even initially denied the fact because he figured he would know about something this severe. I think that others are unaware of modern slavery because it is not in North America as much but in places like Southeastern Asia and also that they believe slavery was permanently abolished by Lincoln a long time ago. He revealed that although it is still around, slavery differs a lot from the past. One difference is, that this is not an act of people being forced out of their homes and lives to do harsh labor for people of "higher class". Instead, the modern day slaves get tricked into slavery because they needed a job. For instance, a lower class man or woman that needs to support his or her family might see a job wanted. Then the "employer" brings them into a business of harsh conditions and no pay. A bias and problem with the information presented by Bales is that he proposed solutions of using our money, power, and intellects to help liberate slaves and end the practice of slavery. This is an arguable statement and can hold different ideas and outlooks besides just his. This issue of modern slavery is something that should be of concern and interest to the global community because it effects us all as a whole. The disagreement between what is right and wrong vary and can spark violence. Also, other locations without slavery should not want to do nothing while people are suffering under this cruel dilemma.
"Ending Poverty"
ReplyDeleteI decided to choose this video for two reasons. One, I do not believe anyone else chose to watch this. Two, I found the name very intriguing since I never thought about finally putting an end to the horrific acts of poverty that haunt so many individuals today. I thought it would be interesting to hear what Thomas Pogge's ideas are about poverty and how to stop it. In Pogge's arguments, he gives few legitimate biases that I would account for. However, many could see problems in his statements about the distribution of income. He argues that the first and second class receive ninety percent of the world's income where the lower classes have to split the remaining ten percent. Many will argue this is not true and that money is distributed equally or those gaining more money work harder for it. There are many debates on this topic at the moment, so many could disagree with Pogge. In addition, he blames poverty mostly on the inequalities between the top five percent of income individuals and the bottom. He believes if money had just been distributed equally, poverty would already be history. Obviously, this could be challenged in numerous ways since many believe other sources are the main contributors to poverty. This is an incredibly important issue for Americans and individuals in general to focus time and energy on. Pogge demonstrates how just over the last twenty-two years, over forty billion people have died from unstable conditions in poverty. So much of the world's population is in poverty today and although many say it is improving in some areas, the lessening in other areas outweighs it. This is a global issue and all nations should be thinking about ways to solve it.
"How to Combat Modern Slavery"
ReplyDeleteMy desire to watch this video derives from one simple idea: interest. I was genuinely interested in this video. Modern slavery? This was an idea I had trouble wrapping my head around, much like Mr. Kevin Bales, the speaker in the video.
However, my newfound reality was slowly unveiled, and the horror proved true.
Perhaps I was unaware of this truth simply because it is ignored by the educated, and unbeknownst to the ignorant. The ignorant seem to make up more and more of society. But it is the educated whom turn the other cheek that are most at fault. It's embarrassing, really. I thought we learned our lesson over a century ago. White people have learned they are no better than black people when compared solely by skin color. Racism is morally frowned upon, and that's that.
Right?
That's what we thought. But with this modern slavery, we never really 'learned a lesson'. Racism is real, and prevalent. It's not ancient history, and it's hard for some people to grasp that.
This slavery, where humans are being forced into harsh living conditions to work for no pay, affects about 27 million people in the world today. Twenty-seven million people, largely through the middle east, south Asia, and Africa, but still spanning mostly every inhabited region.
Thomas Pogge- Ending Poverty
ReplyDeleteThomas Pogge describes poverty as deprivation from necessities such as clean water or shelter, but states that most poeverty is severe poverty, which he describes as life threatening deprivation of necessities. For evidence of poverty being a concern, he showed statistics that showed that 783 million people lack healthy drinking water, 1.6 billion people lack sufficient shelter, 1.6 billion people don't have electricity, 2.5 billion people lack sufficient sanitation, 760 million adults are illiterate, and 218 million kids work for wages outside their homes. Pogge descibed the cause of this as partially globalization, but mostly the fact that people are not aware of their own international rights, and it is very difficult to communicate them to large amounts of people. Pogge stated that the two responsibilites of citizens were to work towards supernational institutional arrangements, and to compensate for harm done by other organizations. Lastly, the programs that were established by ASAP include: Know Your Rights India, the Health Impact Fund, and the Supply Chain of Universities.