Globalization, Inequality,and a Need for a Society as Fair System of Social Cooperation

This paper is an ethical reflection on globalization and the negative effects it could cause particularly in developing countries. It aims to unmask the chasm between globalization in theory and globalization in practice and then offer a new approach that can help at least to lessen the negative impacts of globalization. It is commonly understood that globalization in nature is a process of interaction aiming at integration among people, business and government of different countries. Strongly marked by free market economic system, globalization emerges as a movement that offers a new hope for societies at large to live a better life. Unfortunately, the credo of competition promoted by free market economy, generally, fails to significantly reduce inequality. Since free market economy has been treated as an economic grand narrative, it in practice tends to marginalize and even destroy local economic wisdoms. Free market economy in practice, therefore, paves the way for big corporations to control globalization. Consequently, the gap between the advanced countries and the developing countries is growing wider. Reviving the original position of economy and adopting the culture of society as a fair system of social cooperation can help to build anew the spirit of globalization to fight inequality. This is possible if globalization is organized and controlled by a fair system of management and regulation. Only in such condition can all involved parties have fair equal opportunity to harvest as much benefit as possible from globalization.