Globalization is good
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Globalization has lowered prices
The free movement of goods and people has brought overheads down and allowed companies to sell products more cheaply.
Economics
Globalisation
Politcs
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Context
Economic globalization allows companies to reduce their overheads by shifting their production operations from high cost to low cost countries. In a free market, without financial barriers to international trade, these cost savings can be passed onto the consumer, driving prices down for many consumer goods.
The Argument
The camera industry illuminates the impact of globalization on consumer prices.
In 2000, Japan exported the highest volume of cameras to international markets.
By 2005, many Japanese camera companies had outsourced their manufacturing processes to Chinese plants and China had overtaken Japan as the world’s biggest camera exporter.[1]
The same period saw camera prices fall by between 2% and 5% annually.
By changing the source country and reducing labour costs, businesses can sell their product to consumers more cheaply.
This allows more people to enjoy a standard of living previously reserved for the wealthy.
Counter arguments
Lower prices for consumer goods may look like an advantage of globalization on the surface.
But it is an environmental death sentence.
Globalization creates new desires and consumption patterns that are unsustainable.
The world cannot sustain a level of consumption enabled by globalization.
If all 7 billion of the global population consumed goods at the same scale as the inhabitants of the West, we would need 10 planet earths to support our lifestyle.[2]
Proponents
Premises
[P1] Globalization enhances businesses' ability to relocate to cheaper labour markets.
[P2] This reduces the manufacturing costs involved in producing consumer goods.
[P3] These savings are passed on to the consumer, lowering the cost of consumer goods.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P3] This is not an advantage. It is an environmental death sentence.