Whether we want it or not, we are sucked into the vortex of globalisation. If you are able to read these lines, bless yours stars, it is because of a globalized communication structure.
Globalization may mean spreading something around the globe. But the heart of the matter is what is being diffused. An effective vaccine against the global problem of killer malaria getting globalized will be welcome news. The world is waiting for such good news. According to WHO there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 and an estimated 660,000 deaths. (World Malaria Report, 2012, WHO: ww.who.int/malaria).
But the globalisation of a deadly virus can cause untold harm to humanity. Unscrupulous merchants of death may not shy away from such a venture.
Mind you, if your computer gets hacked or your web portal gets an unusual hacker visitor, it is because of globalization.
Today terrorism is getting globalised. So are religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism.
But there is something that large sections of humanity are seriously concerned and are questioning. The globalization of neo-liberal capitalism! With its overpowering materialistic world-view, it drone-bombs other cultures and devastates indigenous wisdom and cultural heritage. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It doesn’t matter if the poor get marginalized in the national and the world economy as long as the big brother theory of the survival of the fittest carries the centre stage.
If just eight individuals own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population, economic justice and social equality are a far cry. There is no question of a fair distribution of wealth without which there is no economic empowerment. The Indian situation too is nothing to be proud of. “As of Nov. 2016, India is the second-most unequal country in the world. The richest 1% of Indians own 58.4% of the nation’s wealth. The richest 10 % of the Indians own 80.7 % of the wealth. This trend is going in the upward direction every year, which means the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.” (Wikipedia)
Some wealthy and oversized rich people seem to be engaged in some sort of philanthropic activities. But, as far as rendering socio-economic justice or narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor is concerned, such philanthropic handouts are just palliatives. The real issue is social and economic inequality and the wealthy wielding political power to go footloose to gain more power and more control over human resources and human lives.
Some National governments seem to engage in welfare measures such as even providing free latrines to the poor. At election time parties announce a mountain of promises like free tablets for school children, free cycles for school girls, one rupee per kilo ration for people living below poverty line and what have you. But, these are all devices to hoodwink the poor and to keep their mouths shut so that they may scramble for crumbs and not raise an alarm against the imbalance in society or against violations of their human and fundamental rights to live as decent human beings.
Once you have the big cake, the selfish world does not want to part with it or give a fair bite to others.