Globalization East and West by Bryan S Turner Habibul Haque Khondker

Author:Bryan S Turner, Habibul Haque Khondker [Bryan S Turner, Habibul Haque Khondker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General, Political Science, Globalization, Business & Economics, International
ISBN: 9780857026705
Google: fJJxW0wmDIgC
Publisher: SAGE
Published: 2010-03-25T05:37:28+00:00

CONCLUSION

The principal conclusion of our discussion is that the economy and the state are driven by very different interests or logics. Modern economies require a flexible labour market in which workers can move rapidly and easily between different work sites depending on the local demand for labour inputs. For example, local labour markets may not have enough young workers if the society as a whole has had a low fertility rate for many decades. Or there may be a shortage of skilled workers or technicians. In such situations, local capitalist firms need to draw on fresh inputs of labour. However, large-scale migration can often create racial conflicts. For example, in the post-war period Britain recruited large numbers of Caribbean and Indian workers to support its demand for unskilled workers. The result was often racial conflict, and politicians like Enoch Powell called for an aggressive policy of repatriation. More recently, attacks on the Twin Towers, the Madrid railway and London’s underground have led to Islamophobia, attacks on mosques and condemnation of liberal traditions associated with freedom of speech. In this context of the demand for greater political security, the state becomes involved in more stringent control over borders. These controls inevitably involve the greater management of migration and the result is the interruption of labour mobility. The state’s need for sovereignty and security outweighs the economic needs of labour mobility.

While liberal politicians and cosmopolitan intellectuals may wish to celebrate the cultural diversity that comes with open borders and boundaries, modern states appear to be committed to limiting multi-culturalism and containing difference. From the perspective of political pragmatism, it is easier to rule in a social context that is homogeneous rather than heterogeneous. However, this struggle over difference is by no means over and there was global enthusiasm over the election of President Obama, whose new foreign policy promises, to keep the door open.

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