Global Policy Forum

by Ash Pulcifer

Thousands of investors fear that the Islamic fundamentalist backlash to globalization will lead to further weakening of the world economy by creating global instability. These fears are not unfounded. All the economic progress toward free trade capitalism that was achieved after the fall of the Soviet Union is now being threatened. The traditional societies fighting against the global culture that globalization brings have seen which strategies work in dismantling the global system: simply add insecurity to the marketplace.

The fundamentalist strategy was exemplified in the explosions of Bali, Indonesia. With two well-placed bombs, Indonesia's economy sank and uncertainty entered Southeast Asia's markets. Suddenly, investors and the global elite are seeing how easily everything they worked for can be destroyed; they are witnessing how truly fragile economic security is. Think about it. If there were an explosion in London, followed by another in New York with a grand finale in Tokyo, there would be world panic. The markets would tank unleashing a wave of stock sales; people would pull their money out of banks; consumer confidence would fall and the global economy would enter deep recession.

While large economies could sustain the above scenario, smaller economies would not and could go bottom up, as we saw in Argentina. In South America alone, such market uncertainty would tip the already teetering economies of Ecuador and Brazil over the edge.

Then the final phase of the strategy to dismantle globalization would begin. As the smaller economies suffer tremendously and collapse altogether, much resentment toward wealthy nations would develop.Wealthy nations would be blamed for pressuring these bankrupt countries into joining the "free world" that only brought poverty and instability. This would give rise to nationalist or other movements that promise a social welfare state and protection against the volatility of the free market. Such resentment can already be seen growing in Argentina and Brazil.

The world is entering a new and interesting phase of globalization. If the opposition to globalization is strong enough to continue the strategy outlined above, we could see a retreat from free market capitalism and a return to closed, more secure societies.

The Western elite will not let this happen easily. As powerful interests watch their plans and profits recede, they will put up a brutal fight to squash any nationalist or other profit threatening movements. As always, they will lobby the United States government to use force against such global insurrections.

Use of force to quell anti-globalization movements could successfully limit any serious opposition to globalization. Before the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States government was involved in shutting down such movements all over the world, most noticeably in Latin and South America. But such use of force could also hasten the backlash against globalization. Any time overt force is used, it exposes the ruthlessness of the global elite; this would make the U.S. look more like modern day imperialists. The future definitely remains uncertain.

*Ash Pulcifer, a lifelong activist for international human rights, lives in the United States. Ash finds it unacceptable that the world often turns its back to those less fortunate members of our species who are forced to endure poverty and civil strife.