Topic: Survey about globalization

[Bergente]

Hi all!

I'm doing a survey about globalization and how people from different parts of the world think about it. I would appreciate if you could fill out the survey which can be found here:
 
 It's rather short and completing the survey will only take about 3 minutes. Thank you very much for your help!

edit: link removed

[Combuijs]

Done...

[alexbaettig]

I've got a small question after completing the questionnaire: How are you going to evaluate the last question? I suspect that's going to be difficult.
And a small observation: You are not based in Switzerland! Here you couldn't make a questionnaire with 5 fields… everyone would tic the middle one!

[kierongreen]

It's a bit too simplistic for my liking - it doesn't really define what you mean by globalisation. My opinion is that globalisation in itself is not intrinsically good or bad. I don't like companies exploiting people due to globalisation, but that is down to companies rather than globalisation. Hence if I completed the survey I'd just select the middle option for everything (which I didn't think was particularly helpful...)

[VS]

+1 on completion.

Well, one could talk about +/- of globalization itself, or its effects, or its causes... To me, the way these questions are phrased suggests that the author can make these distinctions (or makes the same kind of distinctions as me), so IMO this works.

[Zeno]

Done. Most things sound a little bit abstract for me, but for statistical purposes it might do the job.

[Bergente]

Thanks for the input!
About the last question: I know that it is hard to answer. My thoughts were to get an idea about what comes to peoples mind when i confront them with such an open question. After a few weeks I plan to do another survey (it won't be an online questionnaire, though) which will go much deeper into detail. This online surveys goal is not to get highly sophisticated answers but to show trends about how people in different countries think about various aspects of globalization.
So please continue to participate!

[Fabio]

Done it, too! It was a nice one...

[ӔO]

done.

[prissi]

I think the survey is assuming that globalisation is either good or bad. This is a big (historical) misconception. You could do exactly the same survey on capitalism 30 years ago, with just replacing the words globalisation by free market/capitalism.

Surprisingly after the end of real-world socialism 25 years ago, capitalism is not judged by good/evil categories any more but rather by accepted as ineviteable and just needed to be regulated. I am very confident, globalisation will be seen similar.

It is just a lazy excuse for politicians to say that gloablisation cannot be ruled by national laws. It can very well; China just demonstrates this nicely, as they only use selected parts of globalisations. They employ strategically high export/import taxes as well as a national monopol law (all companies 51%+ chinese).

The US pushed very much for open markets, when they were the strongest superpower, and they employed the same strategies. (Just remember, the US signed the copyright treaty only less than twentyfive year ago. Before even lord of the rings and other UK authors (as well as all translations) was printed without royalties in the US ... ) Just like china still does today.

I am not implying that the US still actively employs this doctrine any more. (Although the mixed signals from them leaves half of the world confused, same as EU. [But that is another cake.])

[alexbaettig]

capitalism (…) accepted as ineviteable

I don't accept capitalism as inevitable…

However, your view on the topic is interesting! What you are describing as a pretty new phenomenon in China and the US is in fact very old: It is "mercantilism" which was french national policy in the 17 hundreds. This policy lead in France together with some wars to a state bankruptcy with the most long lasting consequences a state bankruptcy ever had (and probably ever will have)!

This also shows that globalisation is not a new phenomenon! It started in the 16th century and will carry on for a long time in the future…

[prissi]

You can also go back to the romans, who sucessfully put their economic system on their new colonies. (Or the chinese in the east.)

However, while I was around in 1985 (and even demonstrating on the streets then), I only learned about mercantilism from history books.

With "capitalism (…) accepted as ineviteable" I was mostly referring to the "end of history" concept by Francis Fukuyama from the 90ies. I think I made clear, that any -ism / -ation or whtever needs rules to be tamed. I have the feeling, that the more rules are given, the less different the approaches will be in the pratice at the end.

[isidoro]

I don't see Capitalism as inevitable either.  Much on the contrary.  And Capitalism itself has many flavors.

It seems funny to me that no later than a few months after the destruction of the Berlin wall, Communism was regarded as extinct, once and for all.

Now, three decades after the Thatcher/Reagan/Wojtyla triumvirate, their theses have come to be wrong as well, but everybody is trying to save their system, no matter the cost...

The truth is that, in my opinion, with Communism we used to live much better, at least in the free world.  We had to show that our system was better, we had competition and free market for the political system itself.  We could even afford to send a man to the Moon...

As to Globalization, for me it has no advantage whatsoever.  The main problem is that the Market is globalized, but not the working conditions and the social protections.  And that is not free competition, that is unfair competition.  For a really fair competition, there should be the same working conditions everywhere.  And that's not the case.  Either conditions improve in Third World Countries, or, as it is the case now, conditions must be worsen in First World.

Whoever thinks that having 1 EUR oriental-made products, which used to cost 10 EUR when made locally, will have no additional hidden cost, is deeply wrong.

The solution to Globalization is Localization.  But can we, Westeners, specially the sons of the British Empire, say that we were wrong and we now want to localize, specially after the Opium Wars, for instance?  Will we have the courage to be humble enough?

[alexbaettig]

I was mostly referring to the "end of history" concept by Francis Fukuyama from the 90ies.

Uhh… I was not thinking about such things back then…   But it seems understandable to have such a world view at the time looking back at the developments before

I was around in 1985 (and even demonstrating on the streets then)

It's interesting to see how things have developed on both sides form then on. For me all this thing with the division seems both odd and distant (geographically and historically). It's like stepping into a parallel universe looking at things from back then and also imagining how people on both sides thought about the others. Today this is really incomprehensible!

I have the feeling, that the more rules are given, the less different the approaches will be in the pratice at the end.

I'm not sure about this! Generally rules in the political sphere are not mathematical equations; they are interpreted and this opens infinite possibilities to have different outcomes.

[colonyan]

They seems to want to provide their product for cheaper. At the same time, they also seems to want to hold control of all means of production, process and distribution.
They want to run all aspects of production and consummation. They want to run everything. Profit and margin just for them and their share holders.
They decide. They control. Then what will come ... next ... ?

Globalization means stronger and haves getting more powerful. Didn't power too great corrupt always?

World has become complex place but basic thing got never change. It is the scene of power struggle.
Someone wants to dominate. Others are sage enough to seek out cooperation.
I will vote for cooperation. Globalization must be strictly regulated.

Consumer also has to change their mind. There is a reason why it is cheap.

Planet has not enough space and resource to satisfy all greed. (But from where it becomes greed!? Where do we draw the line?)
Corporates fuel greed. Competition for resource rises even more. Then followed by instability.

[sdog]

@Bergente
i'm missing some information in this questionaire. Most importantly for what university and at what department are you doing it. Something on use of data and privacy ought to be mentioned too.

[Bergente]

@sdog:

Hehe, out of all the posters in 20 forums all over the world where i posted this survey, you are the first one to bring that issue up
But I have to admit that adding some more information might have been a good idea. thank you for the advice!

[mEGa]

done

[Spacethingy]

Done! Nice survey! Wish I'd known about Google Docs for my Research Project at 6th form...

[harrydv]

Bookmarked, will do it later, I know how you need this for school/college from my own experience :/

[Leva]

Done