Criticism of globalization is skepticism of the claimed benefits of globalization. Many of these views are held by the anti-globalization movement. Globalization has created much global and internal unrest in many countries. Case studies of Thailand and the Arab nations' view of globalization show that globalization may be a threat to culture and religion, and it may harm indigenous people groups while multinational corporations would profit from it. Although globalization improved the global standard of living and economic development, it has been criticized for its production of negative effects. Globalization is not simply an economic project, but it also influences a country environmentally, politically, and socially as well.
Economic impacts
There is a debate over how globalization affects employment. There is less domestic manufacture of everyday products as a result of globalization. When buyers search for a product, they will usually choose the least expensive option. In affluent countries, local goods are disadvantaged competing with the cheaper prices of goods manufactured abroad.
It was estimated in 2013 that the Chinese import competition as well as American corporations offshoring led to a loss of employment for 548,000 US workers between 1990 and 2000.
Political impacts Globalization as American hegemony According to Lisandro E. Claudio, resistance against American hegemony was seen during the Cold War through the Third World or non-aligned movement that resisted Soviet Communism in addition to American hegemony.
According to English Philosopher John Gray, they described globalization as post-Cold War American triumphalism, and stated "global laissez-faire is an American project". Gray argues that the American system of Globalization is past its prime and is no longer sustainable in the modern world. Globalization in the United States began with the common goal of forming a global collective that facilitates a steady stream of trade, internationalism, and collaboration in various sectors to promote peace and prosperity. Some scholars and critics say the Washington Consensus played a role in solidifying the United States as one of the core nation-states as one of the most significant contributors towards promoting global capitalism in the post-Cold War era.
According to Sanjib Baruah, he criticizes U.S.-led globalism as exporting American hegemony that benefits an English-speaking population at the expense of indigenous populations in developing countries. While speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in 2022, United States President Donald Trump challenges this belief by stating that America had lost its former high regard and that globalism caused his country to bear a disproportionate amount of expenses in international initiatives. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, many citizens in Britain and America have a feeling of being forgotten or swept up by globalization and its lasting effects. The survey also reveals these feelings were influenced by the rising cost of living, culture shifts, industry decline, and the rising influence of American multinational corporations.
Power of corporations Globalization offers benefits for multinational corporations. Domestic and minority groups within nations opting towards globalization may be threatened by the growing power of multinational corporations. For example, this is exemplified with large palm oil companies receiving land to develop from the government that is occupied by the indigenous tribes. According to Jonathan Robins, the experiences of indigenous inhabitants within the palm oil industry had similar experiences where foreign influences caused local governments to push for the promotion and profitability of the commodity with the backing of international economies, consequentially marginalizing locals previously occupying or owning the newly sold off concessions of land. Globalization has been criticized for benefiting those who are already large and in power at the cost of endangering the countries’ indigenous population. In the name of free markets and with the promise of an improved standard of living, local authorities give up some of their political and social powers to international organizations. According to Tara Zahra, countries viewed international intervention from the League of Nations as the encroachment of their sovereignty. Globalization has empowered international organizations while diminishing the influence of domestic and local institutions.
Environmental impacts
Case study of Thailand’s Pak Mun River In the late 1970s and 1980s, hydropower dam projects were conducted in order to recreate Thailand's economy into an export-oriented economy. The projects were funded by loans from the World Bank and was part of globalization efforts. Local villagers whom the project would directly affect were not notified, and the World Bank disregarded their concerns. As a result of the building of the dams, villages that heavily depended on the river lost their livelihood and their means of economic gains (i.e., fishing). The projects contaminated the river, which made the river unfit for villagers to drink, bathe, and do laundry without experiencing negative health conditions such as rashes. Furthermore, the projects resulted in the extermination from the region of 40 edible plant species, 45 mushroom species, and 10 bamboo species, all of which the income of the local markets were dependent on, some of which were important for medical usage. The decline in fish population exterminated fishermen's ways of life, as 169 different fish species were affected and 56 species became totally extinct from the local ecosystem. The globalization efforts in Thailand resulted in environmental impacts that affected the social and economic welfare of indigenous populations.
Decreased biodiversity The decrease in biodiversity worldwide is an effect of human activity; human impact on ecosystems can be measured by biological diversity. Harmful effects from globalization are visible from reduced genetic diversity in agriculture from the loss of crop varieties and livestock breeds, loss of biological species, increase of "exotic species" which live outside their natural geographic range, pollution in Earth's natural elements such as air, water, soil, rapid climate change, exhaustion of resources, and social or spiritual disruption.
According to David Ehrenfeld, agricultural effects have been documented for all food plants from vegetables, grains, and tree tops. Since 1970, over a thousand independent seed companies have been purchased by pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and other transnational corporations. As transnationals drop all but the profitable seed varieties there is a significant loss of germ plasm. The Garden Seed Inventory has listed all commercially available, non-hybrid vegetable varieties in the United States and Canada, and shows that beet roots, cabbage, and broccoli will diminish as a result of globalization faster than per capita income increases.
One example of the loss of domestic livestock including the ever-diminishing Haiti Creole Pigs also demonstrates the pressures of globalization. They were nearly killed off due to a disease control effort to "integrate Haiti into the hemispheric economy." There were efforts to try replacing the pigs with those from Iowa from the United States, but the costly project was a failure since the pigs needs could not be met, leading to Haiti suffering a US$600 million loss.
Threats to animal livelihood Extinction rates in the 20th and 21st century have far exceeded the historical norm evolutionary history. In the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, global trade and expansion was growing rapidly; however, this has been accompanied by a loss of species comparable to the great extinctions of early geological times. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that corporations have prioritized high-output breeds over gene pools that could ensure future food security; about 20 percent of domestic animals are near-extinction, with a breed lost each month. Of the 7,600 FAO breeds logged in the farm animal genetics resources, 190 have gone extinct in the past 15 years with another 1,500 species at risk of extinction. According to the FAO, globalization of livestock markets is the single most important factor contributing to the decline of farm animal genetic diversity
The factors resulting in habitat destruction can be narrowed down to: exploitations of populations and natural areas for production or trade, increased housing, agriculture, over-fishing, road building, mining, and dam construction. There are also subtle effects of globalization on wild species, expansions of ecotourism-based industries, changes in land-use practice, and competition for resources has increased contact between wildlife and humans. It has also introduced human-pathogens to wild species such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mongooses of Botswana. The resulting mortality in mongooses has been near-extinction threatening.
Increased emissions Globalization is criticized for its role in increasing carbon dioxide emissions. According to Robert B. Marks, the period known as the Anthropocene has linked increased economic activity correlating with increased emissions impacting the natural environment. According to a 2001 study, a relationship was linked between economic globalization and open trade leads to increases in energy consumption and CO2 emissions that impacts the environment. International trade relies on various means of transportation including trains, motorized vehicles, planes, boats, and ships, each emitting a large quantity of emissions. The relationship of global trade and the consumption of fuel contribute to CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. According to a 2022 study, the transportation sector in the United States emits 1.9 billion tons of CO2 annually, connecting the proliferation of global trade to increase the impact of greenhouse gasses on the atmosphere. The further a good travels, more fuel is burned in its contributions towards releasing . These CO2 emissions contribute to climate change, ocean acidification, and decreased biodiversity.
Moreover, the good being traded is created using electricity and intermediate goods, which are oftentimes products from international trading. In 2018, countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and ten countries of ASEAN) accounted for 39.1% of global emissions. Through globalization, trade partnerships have been created to facilitate easy international trade for intermediate goods. This ease allows for more goods to be traded internationally for a cheaper export price, encouraging foreign countries to continue transporting goods, and thus increasing emissions.
Invasive species Globalization intensifies the spread of invasive species through the increase of trade transportation. Today, the development of trading has open trade routes and markets across the globe. The increased methods of transportation allows living organisms to latch on to the shipping containers and travel to a new location where it can grow invasive without the checks and balances present in its natural environment. Rising volumes of air and ship transport are identified as the main source of marine invasions.
Decreased renewable resources