Free Trade and Globalization for Prosperity

Globalization is a subject with many facets, however, it aims to interconnect the world at a global scale in all the functions of life, be it financial or spiritual, while free trade is a policy that allows trade to take place naturally on an international scale without levies and restrictions such as tariffs and quotas. Therefore, these two features are being instigated by many nations so as to allow growth of the scale of trade, thus, specialization in a certain trading area, allocation of labor and therefore, giving a country a competitive advantage (Noe et al. Nevertheless, some other time this is not the case, and free trade and globalization will not always end up in the happy go lucky results.

Such that, despite the positive influence on a country’s resources, the political sphere and cultural diversity, there are a couple of drawbacks (Currie & Newson, 1998). Just like it takes sadness to know true happiness, it takes globalization and free trade to appreciate the increased prosperity. It is mainly attributed to the fact that countries progress at different paces, therefore countries in Africa have been left lagging behind. Before free trade and globalization, these developing countries could feed for themselves. This argument is just subjective. If we could start by incorporating these developing countries in the global economy then they will start to get up to speed. Case in point are countries from the Asian continent such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore.

There is a free flow of trade in terms of goods and services without restrictions of countries’ boundaries. Traders are at liberty to choose the appropriate manufacturers for their goods while the consumers have unlimited options of the products they will use regardless of the source nation. Free flow of trade creates free markets that will flourish and thrive in commerce. As a result, the countries interdepend on each other’s’ services and products. For instance, Asian countries such as Singapore are the best-known examples of countries that have prospered from allowing free trade in their countries (Dickens, 2007). Thus, the most prudent decisions in such circumstances are made from building an inclusive security network. For instance, the United Nations is tasked with formulating plans for establishing a system in conjoined countries by overseeing the regulations (Finnemore, 1993).

Fourth, it is evident that global trade has cemented international relations. When countries participate in trade, they build co-operation. This co-operation translates to international harmony. Global trade not only increases the prosperity of the first world countries but also developing countries. An example is a direct investment of $331. 39 billion dollars in Bermuda, United Kingdoms Islands. Bermuda has a non-existent financial citizenship program thus the United States has taken the opportunity to invest in their tourism sector and some of the resident businesses (Ricketts, 1987). On the other hand, there is strong opposition to global trade with the explanation that this free flow of trade is centered on the developed countries. Force of labor is adequately compensated in developing countries, unlike the developed countries which reduce the cost of manufacturing goods for these countries (Gaines, 2012).

What’s more, when these individuals are expatriated into foreign countries they leave a gap in labor from the countries where they come from. In addition, there are no permanent job positions as they live in constant fear of losing their jobs, getting moved to a new job department or being returned to their countries of origin. To sum up, the counter-argument is the argument that as global trade encourages the free flow of trade there is the chance that powerful companies will take advantage of the underdeveloped countries. The big companies take it as an opportunity to expand into developing countries. Another solution is a global collective action which considers all the countries in trade despite their development status have equal say.

For instance, there should be a regulated framework for terms of employment and contracts for all foreign workers in whichever country they choose to work in. Once the unfair rules and trade barriers are removed, the prosperity from free trade and globalization will be felt immensely (Dickens, 2007). Conclusion One factor is agreeable on: the magnitude to which free trade and globalization are felt varies from country to country depending on the level of development of the country. As much as we may want prosperity of globalization and free trade to be felt by all the countries, it may not happen. Sage publications. Dickens, P. Global shift: Mapping the changing contours of the world economy. SAGE Publications Ltd. Finnemore, M. Human Resources Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage, Tenth Global Edition.