Economic Globalization

Persuasive Essay # 101531

Environmental Studies > Economics and Policy
International Relations

An analysis of the effects of economic globalization on the environment and on future generations of humans.

2,179 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes to what extent consideration of future generations of humans or the current well-being of other species should be a factor in governing our behaviors towards the environment. It looks at the effect of economic globalization on the environment. It then argues that those in the Global North should not be pursuing luxury and excess at the expense of other species on the planet and at the expense of future generations of humans.

From the Paper:

"In truth, it is becoming daily more difficult to ignore the realities - such as the key fact that the TNCs are engaged in what one expert calls a "terminal grand buffet" - that is, that they are literally eating up the finite resources of our planet (Broswimmer 91). As Broswimmer warns, TNCs in particular, and globalized capitalism in general, have "brought our planet to the brink of social and ecological collapse" (Broswimmer 86). This grim reality makes it incumbent upon us to allow consideration of future generations of humans, and the current well-being of other species, to be a major factor in governing our behaviours towards the environment. While we can make a moral and philosophical argument for this (and have attempted to do so above), the most compelling reason is simply that we have no choice. Our current way of life is unsustainable, and we are now in a position where the fine balance of the Earth could collapse at any minute."

Sample of Sources Used:

Broswimmer, Franz J. "Ecocide and Globalization." Ecocide: A Short History of the Mass Extinction of Species. London: Pluto, 2002.
Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe. Humankind: A Brief History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Kohak, Erazim. "Speaking to Trees." Critical Review, 6.2-3 (1993): 371-388.
White, Lynn Jr. "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis." Reflecting on Nature. Eds. Lori Gruen and Dale Jamieson. New York: Oxford, 1994.