In the article "Assessing Globalization: Benefits and
drawbacks of trade and integration", Kohut and Wike (2008) discuss about the positive and negative impacts of globalization and state that
the perception of people towards globalization is dependent on the impact that
it creates on the economy, society and environment.
One key concern about the negative impact of globalization which
is highlighted in the article is the increasing inequality between the rich and
poor. Many people are worried that the disadvantaged groups in the society will
not benefit from the economic progress so they supported the view that the
state should be the one responsible for alleviating the plight of the
poor.
In my opinion, although I agree that it is the duty of the state
to look after the welfare of the poor, the government should be careful when
implementing welfare policies to help the poor in order to prevent the poor
from becoming too dependent on the government for support. Being too reliant on
the government for assistance will only result in the poor losing the chance to
break free from the poverty cycle as they will lose the motivation to work hard
and become self-sufficient. For example, in welfare states like the United
Kingdom and United States, unemployment benefits were given to the poor to
safeguard their welfare. This might lead to the poor having the mindset of
remaining poor and unemployed so that they can continue to be eligible for
these schemes. According to a survey (The Salvation Army, 2012), twenty-seven
percent of the Americans believe that people are poor because they are lazy and
not because of the economic circumstances while forty-three percent of the
people believe that people living in poverty can always find a job if they
really want to. Hence, the government should be cautious and evaluate on the
possible drawbacks before embarking on the various welfare schemes to ensure
that the poor will truly benefit from the policies and successfully break free
from the poverty cycle. In order to prevent the poor from merely depending on
the state for help, the government can create more subsidized programs which will increase the skills and knowledge of the lower skilled locals or giving low interest
loans to people interested in starting their own businesses so as to encourage
the poor to be self-reliant and strive for their best to earn a higher income.
These policies will have better long term effects than giving direct financial
subsides as they will teach the disadvantaged groups the essential skills and
knowledge to stay relevant in the society and even catch up with the rest of
the population to enjoy the benefits of economic growth.
In conclusion, while is it undeniable that the government has the
responsibility to take care of the needs of the less fortunate citizens, it is
vital that the assistance provided by the state does not come at the expanse of
the poor losing the motivation to become financially independent.
References:
Kohut, A., &
Wike, R. (2008). Assessing globalization: Benefits and drawbacks of
No comments:
Post a Comment