Globalization and Social Work

1. Globalization
and Social Work
By Dr. Maureen Wilson
Dr. Linda Kreitzer
For ACSW Conference
Edmonton
March 25, 2006

2. Globalization Terms
Globalization
Globalism
Neo-liberal Economic Agenda
Structural Adjustment Programs

3. Globalization
1. Internationalization (cross-border
relations between countries).
2. Liberalization (creating open borders
between countries and international
economic integration).
3. Universalization (the spreading of world
objects and experiences to all corners of
the world).

4. Globalization
4. Westernization (modernization or
Americanization that tend to destroy local and
indigenous cultures).
5. Deterritorialization (a reconfiguration of
geography so that time and space are not seen in
terms of territories).
6. Human interconnections and their dynamism.
(Scholte, 2000; Robertson, 2003)

5. Globalism
 A conscious process of globalization or a
set of policies designed specifically to
effect greater global rather than
international interactions (Robertson,
2003).
 Globalism is the ideological orientation
underlying neo-liberal policies that affect
the world (Wilson & Whitmore, 2000).
This is known as the neo-liberal agenda.

6. Neoliberalism
1. An ideology that makes the market
central in governing economic, social and
political life. It is based on the belief in
the inherent wisdom of the market, it
assumes the rules of the market should
govern societies and not the other way
around.

7. Neo-liberalism
2. Competition is valued for its ability to get
things done in the most efficient way
possible. Allowing the talents of the most
able to find expression will eventually
benefit everyone: the rising tide of
capitalism will lift all boats.
(Wilson & Whitmore, 2000)

10. Neoliberalism
3. Neoliberalism’s agenda is advanced
through structural adjustment programs.

11. History of Globalization
1. Three waves of globalization
1. First wave - After 1500 centred on
globalization of regional trade.
2. Second wave – After 1800 and
gained momentum from industrialization.
3. Third wave – A new world order
after 1945.
(Robertson, 2003)

12. History - Industrialization
 Industrialization enabled environments to carry
larger populations, which in turn generated new
social and political dynamics. Technology had
the capacity to generate huge profits.
 Societies transformed by the First Wave of
globalization benefited most from the second
wave.
 Societies unable to refashion themselves as
industrialized nations became imprisoned as
colonies or semi-colonies of other nations

13. History - Industrialization
 Colonialism – We must find new lands from
which we can easily obtain raw materials and at
the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that
is available from the natives of the colonies. The
colonies will also provide a dumping ground for
surplus goods produced in our factories (Cecil
Rhodes)
 The machinery of industrialization was oiled by
palm oil from Africa.
 Countries who managed to retain their autonomy
soon realized there was no equality.

14. History - Industrialization
 Colonies brought no lasting stability. They destabilized
communities, denied inclusion, suppressed demand, and
created new forms of difference and inequality.
 The second wave promoted nationalism and the creation
of empires that sought to become worlds unto
themselves. Colonialism left most independent countries
poorly equipped to survive in a more globalized world.
 Towards the end of the 19th century, an internationalist
movement began which was concerned with social
justice, world peace, human rights, environmental
protection, etc.

15. After 1945
 The third wave established the first global world order
called globalism and in particular American globalism. It
laid the basis both for domestic political stability in
industrialized nations and for international co-operation.
 Decolonization was encouraged but did not guarantee
future meaningful participation in the new economic
order.
 The internationalist movement brought in the League of
Nations, the United Nations, international NGO’s like the
Red Cross, Amnesty international who looked at the
social needs of humanity.

16. After 1945
 The third wave established the first global world order
called globalism and in particular American globalism. It
laid the basis both for domestic political stability in
industrialized nations and for international co-operation.
 Decolonization was encouraged but did not guarantee
future meaningful participation in the new economic
order.
 The internationalist movement brought in the League of
Nations, the United Nations, international NGO’s like the
Red Cross, Amnesty international who looked at the
social needs of humanity.

17. After 1945
 After the two world wars, a new global economy
was put together to prevent another great
depression of the 1930’s. This was created at
Bretton Woods under the influence of Keynesian
economics.
 Three economic mechanisms were created from
this meeting: The International Monetary Fund
(IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)/World
Trade Organization (WTO).

18. After 1945
 In the 1970’s, the western countries had a huge
pool of money they didn’t know what to do with.
So they encouraged poorer countries to borrow
money with a very lax rules for paying back the
money.
 By the late 1970’s interest rates soared and
borrowed money became expensive and world
prices in raw materials went down. Due to these
interest rates many countries could not pay their
debts from the borrowed money.

19. After 1945
 As a result, countries borrowed more money to
pay off the debts and the IMF tightened its noose
around the neck of countries by introducing
structural adjustment programs. As a result most
of the increase in debt during the 1990’s was to
pay interest on existing loans and not used to
tackle poverty or to invest in productive
investment. The conditions of SAP’s diverts
money away from social issues like education,
health and social welfare to debt repayment and
promotion of exports.

20. After 1945
 “SAP’s really only make sense when seen
through the lens of economic globalization. They
are an integral part of the free-market orthodoxy
which aims to give free rein to private
corporations to trade, invest and move capital
around the globe with a minimum amount of
government interference” (Ellwood).
 As a result civil society around the world is
protesting these programs, restructuring their
financial situation and marching for a more
egalitarian world.

21. Structural Adjustment programs
 These are institutionally enforced
programs for countries in debt to the
international organizations like the World
Bank and the IMF. They are as follows:
 Cuts in government spending
 Strong promotion of exports
 Privatization of public enterprise

22. Structural Adjustment programs
 Currency Devaluations
 High interest rates
 Strict control of credit and money supply
 Removal of controls on trade and
exchange
 Deregulation of wages and prices

23. World Poverty Statistics
1. One third of deaths – some 18 million people a year or
50,000 per day – are due to poverty-related causes. The
majority are women and children.
2. Every year more than 10 million children die of hunger
and preventable diseases
3. Over 1 billion people live on less than $1 ad day with
nearly half the world’s population living on less than
$2 a day.
4. The three richest people in the world control more
wealth than all 600 million people living in the world’s
poorest countries.

24. World Poverty Statistics
5. Around 2.5 billion people do not have access to
improved sanitation and some 1.2 billion people
do not have access to an improved source of
water.
6. There are 42 million people living with HIV and
AIDS worldwide. It is a global emergency
claiming approximately 8,000 lives every day in
some of the poorest countries.
8. Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around
the world, 70% are women.

25. World Poverty Statistics
9. The U.N. estimates that unfair trade rules deny
poor countries $700 billion every year.
10. International trade is worth $10 million a
minute. 70% of this is controlled by
multinational corporations.
11. The poorest 49 countries make up 10% of the
world’s population but account for only 0.4% of
world trade. Their share has halved since 1980.

26. World Poverty Statistics
15. It is estimated that rich countries are gaining
$141.8 billion per year in trade and Africa is $2.6
billion per year worse off.
16. World trade robs poor countries of 1.3 billion
pounds a day – 14 times what they get in aid.
17. Seven million children die each year as a result
of the debt crisis.
18. For every $2 in grant aid to developing
countries,
More than $26 comes back in debt repayment.

27. Canada and SAP’s
 Canada has been part of the SAP’s for many
years and as a result money is channeled into
debt repayment at the expense of education,
social programs and health care.
 We are seeing the erosion of the social safety net
which has traditionally provided protection from
the hardship and suffering caused by social and
economic disruption. The result is an even
greater burden on the limited resources of local
voluntary organizations, individuals and families.

28. Canadian Poverty Stats
1. 1 out of every 6 children live in poverty or 1.2
million children. 15.5%
2. Poverty increased in urban Canada by 33.8%
between 1990-1995. Poverty in areas outside
metro regions grew by 18.2%
3. Extreme poverty rates are visible among
aboriginal communities, recent immigrants,
non-permanent residents, visible minorities,
person with disabilities, lone-parent families
and unattached individuals.

29. Poverty Stats in Canada
 The global income gap is remarkable; but a vast gap
between rich and poor in Canada is also widely
documented. In fact, the richest one-fifth of Canadians
receives close to one-half (44.3 percent) of all the income
in Canada, while the poorest fifth receives just 4.6
percent.

30. Poverty Stats in Canada
 Moreover the past 15 years have seen the number of food
banks triple and the proportion of the population relying
on them double. 41% of food bank users in 2004 were
children – 325,390 children.
 Overall, Canada’s economic indicators have continued to
rise at a respectable pace making the so-called economic
‘pie’ bigger. But the rewards are being shared
increasingly unequally.
 And there are discouraging ‘absolute’ poverty indicators
as well, there is a growing number of Canadian families
with an income below $20,000.
 According to Campaign 2000, the number of children
living in poverty has risen by 20% since 1989.

31. Aboriginal communities
 On reserves unemployment is 3 times the average. In some there is
90% unemployment that lead to poor housing, cycle of poverty and
cultural disintegration.
 56% of Aboriginals living in urban areas are living in poverty as
opposed to 24% non-aboriginal.
 Infant mortality rates are double of that in Canada.
 Suicide averages 2-7 times the national average.
 Incarcerations are 5-6 times higher than the national average
 Aboriginal children are overrepresented in the child welfare system.
 Aboriginal women are worse off then non-aboriginal women and
aboriginal men.

32. Neo-liberal agenda
These policies nor their perceptions give weight to
the democratic imperative. Instead, segregation
of economic sectors, denial of social reform and
reinforced dependence on export production has
increased.
The third wave, instead of peace and global
harmony began with a global ideological
division, arms race and a Soviet-American
rivalry.

33. Neo-liberal agenda
 The victor is transnationalism. Large
corporations and their allies exploit popular
fears, deregulate domestic economies and
transform global regulatory systems to their
advantage.
 New global production networks exploit
developing countries’ vulnerabilities.
 They promote corporate survival and find new
avenues for profit.
 This agenda has threatened the achievements of
democratization.

34. References
 Ellwood, W. (2003). The no-nonsense guide to
globalization. Toronto: Between the lines.
 McKenzie, B. & Morrissette, V. (2003). Social Work
practice with Canadians of Aboriginal Background:
Guidelines for respectful social work. In A. Al-Krenawi
& J.R. Graham (Eds.) Multicultural social work in
Canada: Working with diverse Ethno-racial communities.
 Robertson, R. (2003). The three waves of globalization.
Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.
 Scholte, J.A. (2000). Globalization: A critical
introduction. 2nd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave
MacMillan.

35. References
 Wilson, M. & Whitmore, E. (2000). Seeds
of Fire. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.
 www.millenniumcampaign.org
 www.ccsd.ca
 www.napo-onap.ca
 www.campaign2000.ca