Do Social Inequalities Cause Globalization or Does Globalization Cause Social Inequalities ~ From Katherine Clancy

I am writing with a question regarding something discussed in lecture yesterday.


My notes tell me that one of the strategic learning paths to take with our readings is to look for what links social inequality to globalization. I may be completely over thinking this...here goes... the way I read this literally is that globalization has causation rooted in existing social inequalities. This counters what I interpreted as the consensus of class discussion yesterday that globalization causes social inequalities. Which perspective is most imperative to our learning objectives...to look at ways domestic and international existing social injustices (poverty, corruption, etc.) creates a market for globalization, or that globalization causes social injustices. (For example, one of our classmates brought up a great point that those affected by globalization were better off not having any introduction to oversea market interference whatsoever because they were doing fine beforehand, existing without knowledge of what the West calls poverty.)

If the former is true, that social inequalities create a ripe field for globalization to take root, then should we be examining domestic and international inequities separately, based on an assumption (mine) that what is defined as social inequality would have different meanings in developed versus developing countries (Americans keep abortion as a major health topic, no matter which side of the fence one resides. Ethiopian women, along with women from at least a dozen other countries, are fighting for what the West considers a basic obstetric fistula repair available to them. It's relative, true. But the nuances within that relativity must surely be examined, right?)

If the later is true, that globalization is the causing agent, creating the social injustice, then aren't we supposed to be asking what causes that kind of tyranny? Naivety due to lack of education due to inadequate supplies of basic life needs such as food, health and shelter are my first suspects. If I'm on the right track there, then is it ok to say that globalization must be addressed both at the macro and micro levels of what causes these shortages. What I mean is, is globalization its own entity, or rather, an amalgamation of more specific social injustices unified through the term globalization?