VivianA special relationship-Neoliberalism
November 22nd 2007 12:48
In many aspects Sydney can be very glad to be one of the global cities, which overcame the first impacts of globalization and can now profit from several global developments. On the other hand of course globalization did not only bring positive aspects along. It is a heated discussion how the national economy has changed to a global one and what that means for the individual. The thoughts of neoliberalism seem relevant here, which arose in the early beginning of globalization.
The globalization of the world’s economy was forced by those who came to power, to name one of the important representatives; Mrs. Thatcher, Britain. She introduced and pushed what is known to be neoliberalism.
Neoliberalism according to Susan George is the origin of inequality in the world, of a growing gap between the rich and the poor (1999). The breaking down of global barriers allowed companies to compete on an international level. That can mean two things, firstly it brings about the chance for smaller companies to expand globally and therefore increase their profit. But secondly it also means – and that is what neoliberalism stands for- competition on a far greater level than small companies can afford, let alone public sectors. It all results in privatization and the loss of jobs for the national workers. Since the global market was introduced, a power and manly money shifting took place from the lower part to the upper part of society. Whereas the rich gained about 50% income increase the poor lost 15%. Neoliberalism is not what Thatcher said it would be. We need to care about who is left behind in the process of economic globalization. Reality showed that the “well-educated” will not necessarily give back to the world and make it an equal place, quite the opposite has happened. One of many examples are Korea and Thailand. National workers were responsible for a certain wealth among banks and other corporations, which are now transferred to the global market, leaving those who worked hard for the strength of a national economy behind, most of them unemployed.
According to Searle, Sydney seems to gain from the advantages of its location and size. I think, however, that Searle sees Sydney’s future a bit too bright. Of course big cities attract foreign markets and foreign investors are more likely to invest money in a city with an excellent infrastructure and oversea connection, however attracting TNC also means that firstly only the big corporations can compete and survive and secondly that those big corporations transfer most of their manufacturing factories overseas to Asia. Local workers in Sydney are those who suffer. As mentioned above and in Leser’s “The lost man” downsizing seems to become the most popular business strategy at the expense of unemployment amongst local professionals. Whereas the global markets takes jobs away in Asia because big corporations are being transferred and make far more money on a global scale the opposite happens in Australia, companies either need to downsize to enhance their profit and being able to compete or they transfer their factories to Asia where labor force is more than half as cheaper as in Australia. Either way, national professionals are those who suffer. Sydney as a global city can bring higher chances of finding a job because of its size, wealth and advanced communication technologies, but it never guarantees a job for life time, not in a time of globalization where changes can happen from one second to another and one can be unemployed in a blink of an eye. “Perfectly viable businesses [would soon be] gutted or abandoned, capable employees set adrift rather than rewarded, simply because the organization [had to] prove to the market that it was capable of change”. Also change made our world global and gives us chances to work and go everywhere we want, unfortunately change does not always mean something positive.
Maybe we need to shift the global economy back on a national level or help restore a fair economic trade on an international level. Either way- neither neoliberalism nor Sydney and its privilege of being a global city -do not seem to have the answers.
The globalization of the world’s economy was forced by those who came to power, to name one of the important representatives; Mrs. Thatcher, Britain. She introduced and pushed what is known to be neoliberalism.
Maybe we need to shift the global economy back on a national level or help restore a fair economic trade on an international level. Either way- neither neoliberalism nor Sydney and its privilege of being a global city -do not seem to have the answers.
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