Reader Response

In the article ‘The Double Edge of Globalization’ by Chanda (2007), he highlighted that globalization encourages the expansion of international trade which aggravates and accelerates environmental degradation and pollution. However, the emergence of greater interconnectivity as a result of globlization also promotes the ease of reaching out to a global audience through the advancement of technology.  

Despite the detrimental effects of globalization, I believe that the benefits of interconnectivity outweigh the negative impacts. Firstly, globalization promotes specialization and creates competition for local markets hence lowering the costs. Furthermore, the expansion of international trade between nations translate to economic growth for most countries in the age of globalization. Secondly, the interconnectivity resulted from globalization means that the public is becoming more conscious of the negative impacts of globalisation and nations are now actively looking into possible courses of actions to avert the environmental consequences. The Montreal Protocol (Chanda, 2007) proved that with effective interventions and joint efforts between the nations, the challenges of globalization can be successfully curbed.

Therefore, while globalization may bring about harmful environmental impacts, these can be averted by the efforts of both the government and the public. The prominent benefit derived from globalization, namely interconnectivity, enables nations to thrive economically and socially, which are the key factors of survival in the globalized world today.