Globalization, the Human Condition and Sustainable Development in the Twenty-first Century

Arno Tausch, Almas Heshmati

Description

An examination of how the pro-globalist policies of the European Union have precipitated the current European crisis, especially in areas of development. 

‘Globalization, the Human Condition and Sustainable Development in the Twenty-first Century: Cross-national Perspectives and European Implications’ is a cross-national, 175 nation based exploration of the deep crisis in which Europe currently finds itself. Investigating the effects of dependency theory and world systems theory upon the global success of eight dimensions of development – including democracy, environmental sustainability, employment, social cohesion, high quality tertiary education and gender justice – this study argues that the current European crisis has been precipitated by the pro-globalist policies of the European Commission.

The comprehensive analysis of this study reveals the magnitude of Europe’s errors. Lowering comparative price levels and increasing dependency on large, transnational corporations, as correctly predicted by Latin American social science of the 1960s and 1970s, emerges as one of the most serious developmental blockades confronting Europe in global society, whilst increases in military expenditure, as proposed by Article 42.3 of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, are another large stumbling block against development. The harmful potential of these blockades is severe.

The book’s 175-nation investigation shows that Europe’s failure to develop its own MNC headquarter status in the global economy is a key factor that has hindered its developmental performance. This examination, which duly takes into account the control variables proposed by neoclassical economics and contemporary sociology/political science, also demonstrates the potential outcomes of several alternative scenarios, mainly those proposed by the political Left in Europe, and summarizes the effects of globalization on the environment and ecological vulnerability. What this analysis makes most clear is Europe’s need for change: without amending its pro-globalist policies, the continent will learn nothing from its current crisis – and is destined to compete in a destructive “race to the bottom”.

List of Abbreviations; Glossary of Key Terms; Foreword; Preface; 1. Should the Musicians Continue to Play?; 2. Background; 3. Methods; 4. Cross-national Results: Beyond the Pro-globalist Development Approach of the European Commission; 5. Final Cross-national Results for the Combined Development Indicator; 6. A Time Series Perspective on Globalization, Growth and Inequality; 7. Conclusions; Appendix 1: Multiple Regressions – The Dependency Model, Tested against Feminist, Demographic, Neoliberal, Geographic, Cultural, Peace Research and Human Capital Policy Predictors, Migration Theories and Integration Theories; Appendix 2: The Crisis Performance Index (Factor Analytical), 2009–2010 and After; Appendix 3: The Dynamics of Globalization since 1980 in 29 Major Economies of the World – The Time Series; Appendix 4: The Dynamics of Globalization and Inequality since 1970 in Some Major Developing Economies and in the World System as a Whole; Appendix 5: A Non-parametric Global Development Index, Based on 35 Variables; Appendix 6: A Non-parametric Global Development Index, Based on 30 Variables and Its Multivariate Determinants; Appendix 7: The Sources for the Cross-national Data Collection; A Commented Guide to the Literature; References; Index of Persons and Authorships; Index of Subjects and Countries

Informations

• Publié par: Anthem Press
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783080809
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

Extrait

Globalization, the Human Condition and Sustainable Development in the Twenty-rst Century

Globalization, the Human Condition and Sustainable Development in the Twenty-rst Century

Cross-national Perspectives and European Implications

Arno Tausch and Almas Heshmati

Anthem Press An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company www.anthempress.com

This edition rst published in UK and USA 2013 by ANTHEM PRESS 75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK and 244 Madison Ave. #116, New York, NY 10016, USA

First published in hardback by Anthem Press in 2012

Copyright © Arno Tausch and Almas Heshmati 2013

The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

British Library CataloguinginPublication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Tausch, Arno, 1951- Globalization, the human condition, and sustainable development in the Twenty-rst century : cross-national perspectives and European implications / Arno Tausch and Almas Heshmati. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-85728-410-5 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Globalization. 2. Sustainable development. 3. Poverty. 4. European Union countries–Economic integration. 5. European Union countries–Economic policy. I. Heshmati, Almas. II. Title. HF1365.T38 2012 337–dc23 2012007077

ISBN-13: 978 1 78308 049 6 (Pbk) ISBN-10: 1 78308 049 3 (Pbk)

This title is also available as an ebook.

In memory of the Austrian political economist Kurt W. Rothschild, 21 October 1914  15 November 2010

List of Abbreviations Glossary of Key Terms Foreword Preface

C

O

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TEN

TS

1. Should the Musicians Continue to Play? 2. Background 3. Methods 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Index Methodology 3.2.1 Non-parametric index 3.3 ParametriIcndex 3.4 A New Parametric Composite Index 3.5 Distribution of the Indices 3.6 Simple, Multiple and Stepwise Regression Analysis 3.7 Introduction to the Data 3.8 The Potential Determinants 3.9 The Potentially Explained Variables 3.10 Cross-disciplineCommunication 3.11 The Current Combined Variable List 3.12 The List of Independent Variables 3.13 The List of Dependent Variables

4. Cross-national Results: Beyond the Pro-globalist Development Approach of the European Commission 5. Final Cross-national Results for the Combined Development Indicator 6. A Time Series Perspective on Globalization, Growth and Inequality 7. Conclusions

58

xi xv xxxv xxxix

1 9 57 57 58

60 62 64 65 66 66 68 69 71 73 75

79

123 139 155

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GLOBALIZATION, THE HUMAN CONDITION

Appendices Appendix 1: Multiple Regressions  The Dependency Model, Tested against Feminist, Demographic, Neoliberal, Geographic, Cultural, Peace Research and Human Capital Policy Predictors, Migration Theories and Integration Theories 162 Appendix 2: The Crisis Performance Index (Factor Analytical), 20092010 and After 185

Appendix 3: The Dynamics of Globalization since 1980 in 29 Major Economies of the World  The Time Series

Appendix 4: The Dynamics of Globalization and Inequality since 1970 in Some Major Developing Economies and in the World System as a Whole

Appendix 5: A Non-parametric Global Development Index, Based on 35 Variables

Appendix 6: A Non-parametric Global Development Index, Based on 30 Variables and Its Multivariate Determinants

Appendix 7: The Sources for the Cross-national Data Collection

A Commented Guide to the Literature: Major International Studies in Peer-Reviewed Social Science Journals about Globalization and Other Preconditions of Policy Success or Failure for the Nine European Union 2020 Guidelines (Compiled from Cambridge Scientic Abstracts and the Social Sciences Citation Index)

References Index of Persons and Authorships Index of Subjects and Countries

191

207

216

225 235

241

267 290 294

Let me start by saying that for Europe openness is a congenital condition. For Europe, openness is like breathing. It has been an integral part of our values since the beginning. Fifty years ago the Treaty of Rome foresaw an open market and an area of freedoms which have expanded enormously over time. Today, the four freedoms of movement in the single market are deeply rooted in the life of our continent and its citizens.

—José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, from ‘Europe: An open society in a globalised world’, International Forum ‘The economy and the open society’, Milan, 1 8 May 2007

Nobody can fall in love with the single market, Jacques Delors used to say. That the single market is not loved is normal and even reassuring. A market is an instrument, not an end in itself. When the market is regarded as a superior entity, as if it were always able to deliver efciently and did not need appropriate regulation and rigorous supervision, dangers are likely to lie ahead, as shown by the nancial crisis. It was forgotten by many that the market is a good servant but a bad master. Yet the single market is a crucial servant for the European Union. First, it is a necessary  though not sufcient  condition for a good performance of the European economy, just as well-functioning domestic markets are for national economies. Secondly, and even more importantly, a robust single market is key to the overall health of the European Union, because it represents the very foundation of the integration project. But today the single market not only is not loved. It is seen by many Europeans  citizens as well as political leaders  with suspicion, fear and sometimes open hostility. The single market and its four freedoms embodies an ideal: that of a space across national boundaries within which citizens can move, work, do research or start up a business without any discrimination. As the single market grew in scope and size, it was felt that this was not always the case. Market opening would widen the horizons for big business, but would not work for the many and the small: citizens, consumers, or SMEs. Surveys show that attitudes towards the single market today range from lack of interest to open rejection. In part, economic integration and its benets have

1 Available at: http:/ /europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/293& format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en (accessed 13 November 2011).

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GLOBALIZATION, THE HUMAN CONDITION

becomebusinessasusualandthusundervalued.Muhcofthedisillusionment,however, comes from frustration with remaining barriers or the feeling of disempowerment that citizens experience when dealing with the single market.

—Mario Monti, ‘A New Strategy for the Single Market: At the Service Of Europe’s Economy and Society’, report to the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, 2 9 May 2010

In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The rst is freedom of speech and expression  everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way  everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want  which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants  everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear  which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbour  anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a denite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.

—President Franklin D. Roosevelt, excerpted from the State of the Union Address to the Congress, 6 January 1941

2 Available at: http:/ec.europa.eu/internal_market/strategy/index_en.htm (accessed 13 November 2011).