Globalisation as a continuing and vaguely defined process can have varying degrees of effects dependant upon social, economic and political factors. What shall be discussed is whether globalisation restricts or frees “the integration of economic, cultural, political and social systems across geographical boundaries”. (Beardsworth et al. 1997)
A relevant issue to begin with is the origins of the inter-societal stratification. Bolshevik revolutionary, Lenin argues that there is a systematic progression from the beginning of capitalism to the end product of “international capitalist monopolies” (Waters, M. 1995) The first phase shows high competitiveness between nations. Unevenness and finally monopolisation of various sectors eventually follows as unsuccessful companies are forced out by their competitors. From this financial capital and industrial capital combine to provide a mechanism for extension over boundaries, (globalisation). This simplistic view could easily be defined as unbridled capitalism but negative effects like inter-national inequalities may occur.
When considering globalisation in a liberalised fashion, it is defined as “an open, borderless world economy” (Scholte, 2000). This may be the intention but quite often never materialises. The first important question to ask oneself is, if globalisation leads to uneven restrictions around the world then what does this mean for the countries, or on a micro-scale, the people in question? One form of restriction is very prevalent in many Asian and African countries. This is bondage labour and because of this there exists “persistent denials of basic freedom to seek wage employment away from ones traditional bosses”. (Sen. A, 1999) Many of these employees work for transnational corporations and are tied to their job because of financial restrictions imposed by the company. It is then fair to say that transnational corporations are the main faces of globalisation. In this respect economic and social...