The Caribbean’s involvement in the global economy of Drug Trafficking

“Since its inception, the Caribbean has been the most globalized region in the developing world.” This quote by Jorge Heine, shows the reason for many of the problems that the Caribbean region faces today. Due to the fact that it is so globalized, it has made illegal industries, such as the drug industry, flourish.

In a Guardian Article by Urvashi Tiwari-Ropnarine called ‘Drug trade fueling crime‘, she investigates the “flourishing illegal drug trade” in Trinidad and Tobago. In her article, she states that according to Trevor Munroe in his book, ‘Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror‘, “Close to 50 per cent of the cocaine introduced to this US$35 billion United States cocaine market in 2001 passed through the Caribbean.” Yes, you read that correctly. Almost half of the US drug industry passed through the Caribbean in 2001. It can even be assumed that the figures for recent times would be even greater. This is a significant figure but it should be noted that this is not a recent phenomena.

Links between the Caribbean and the drug trade has been active since the 1960s, with one of the most prominent figures in Trinidad and Tobago being Dole Chadee (Nankission Boodram), who was a part of the infamous Pablo Escobar’s drug  ring. Due to its location, in relation to North America and Europe, and the ease at which its borders can be accessed, the Caribbean became a major part of the industry. The Caribbean acts like a “middle man” where the drugs would pass through their borders, and make the task of tracing directly where the drugs originated from even more difficult. In the past, Colombia was at the forefront of the drug trade in the Caribbean, but in recent times, the Mexican cartels have been the ones to take over these duties.

Image obtained from http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21602680-old-route-regains-popularity-drugs-gangs-full-circle

The major drugs that are passed through the Caribbean’s borders are marijuana and cocaine, and it seems like every year, there is a major drug bust, which can amount from millions to billions of dollars. For example, $700 million cocaine bust on Monos Island in 2005, $2.5 million dollar marijuana drug in Tobago,$10.4 million marijuana bust in Antigua and the $30.8 cocaine drug bust in the Caribbean Sea, all in 2015. Though these figures may be large, they can account for only a small portion of the capital that is pumped into this drug industry.This drug industry, inevitably, has adverse effects on the Caribbean region. Rise in organized crime, gang violence and because of the nature of the industry, gun violence is prominent, even though guns are not manufactured in the Caribbean.  Countries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, have an increasing crime rate, due to the presence of this industry in society.

 

Works Cited

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-01-12/drug-trade-fuelling-crime

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/2010/05/28/jamaicas_assertive_gangs_symptom_of_deeper_crisis.html

Human Trafficking in Relation to Globalization

Human trafficking is known to the world as the modern-day slavery, this is the perfect example of how Globalization can create crime rings around the world for economic purposes. In the Caribbean as well as internationally, person are reported missing, one main motive for this would be for human trafficking. Individuals are exploited for prostitution, labor as well as for their organs. Many under aged children are kidnapped and forced into sex rings or even for their organs.

Human trafficking is labeled as the harshest means of slavery because of the manner in which persons are exploited, treated and held captivity against their will and forced to perform exploitative acts. The problem of sexual exploitation of women and children in Brazil is especially acute. Brazil, after Thailand, has the highest number of children involved in prostitution and the highest rate of child prostitution in Latin America. Studies estimate that there are between 100,000 and 500,000 children involved in prostitution in Brazil. During the highly anticipated Carnival in Brazil, many tourists engage themselves in sexual activity with minors. Statistics has stated that in Brazil it has the highest rate of child prostitution in Latin America.

On the other hand, a number of missing persons being kidnapped or taken against their will are killed for their organs. The trafficking of human organs is known to be a contemporary international problem that engages medical researchers as well as representative and as well as the media. The trafficking of human organs is the emergence of white collar or organized crimes, there are certain formalities taken when performing these procedures. The human trafficking ring makes millions of dollars every year, killing innocent humans for their organs to sell in the black market.

A major factor contributing to human trafficking is social media. Social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, are an invitation to human traffickers. These sites allows individual to post their pictures, personal information and the option to “check-in” in place they are situated to make it easier for these traffickers to kidnap them. These human traffickers’ targets are mostly young children and young girls. They may disguise themselves as a teenage male or female regarding on the age of the individual, try to captivate their attention, study their routines and kidnap these persons. As mentioned earlier human trafficking is known to be a form of organized crime.

In conclusion, human trafficking is known to be the modern day slavery, it can be in the form of prostitution or even the trafficking of human organs. Human trafficking is a multi million dollar industry, which seeks the interest of businessmen and organized criminals to complete this type of crime.

The US Election is Highlighting the Intellectual Dominance and International Significance of the United States

Living in Trinidad after spending the first 20 years of my life in the United States has given me a unique perspective on what Branislav Gosovic describes as “intellectual dominance in globalization”. As a politics junkie I watch news constantly and I derive my information from “popular” US media such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN and others. Within the United States this seems normal. The elections are of course important to the future of our country, particularly this one, as we see a bombastic, racially insensitive fascist at the forefront of the Republican party who goes by the name of Donald Trump. So for me to follow the election closely, with polls and primaries and what not is nothing out of the ordinary. However while in Trinidad I have noticed that the type of information I am getting is exactly the same as I would have back home. From personal experience I see most TVs tuned in to CNN or Fox News, two of the leading cable news channels in the US. The flow and domination of airwaves and TV time brings the US election into the homes of Trinidadians and others across the world. I believe this is worth exploring further and warrants a discussion on US news is broadcast so prevalently in Trinidad.

As Gosovic points out, developing countries rely on those with intellectual dominance in order to shape their foreign and domestic policy and their economics. Because a country like the United States has that intellectual power and influence, it is very important to many Trinidadians, including I believe, their government, to be following closely what is happening in the United States. Depending on how the US presidency changes hands and more importantly the Senate, things like foreign aid, sharing of information, military assistance and other factors may change significantly for smaller countries such as Trinidad. This includes the structuring of trade deals such as the one currently working its way toward implementation, the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership or TPP. For example both Democratic candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton oppose the TPP while sitting President Barack Obama is one of the authors and its biggest supporter. A massive trade deal such as this could impact Trinidad and its oil / natural gas supply for years to come.

Linked here is an explanation (ironically enough from a major US media source, the New York Times) of the TPP and its potential effects on global trade. Also below is a view into the negotiating (and informational) power that the countries negotiating the TPP hold.

Another example is the flow of scientific information such as fighting ailments like the Zika virus. Depending on how US policy is shaped, availability to vaccines as well as information on combating diseases could change depending on funding for the Center of Disease Control (CDC) or other government agencies. In short, a lot is dependent on whether the Democrats or the Republicans control the US government. It has implications for the entire world, including Trinidad. They dominate intellectually because of their massive resources, their head-start on technology due to labor exploitation and colonialism, and the belief that US and euro-centric information is better than that from other places. So when Trinidadians are watching the US election much more closely than we are watching theirs, it is because the flow of information is decided by who is in power in the US. Because of the globalized system we live in, one that is dominated by the US and European Powers, an election being held 2,500 miles away has significant impacts on the people living around me.

 

Works Cited

Gosovic, G. 2000. Intellectual Hegemony in the Context of Globalisation. In D. Benn, & K. Hall,.Eds. , A Calculus of Inequality. Perspectives from the South. Kingston. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers.

The Globalization Machine

All rights of this cartoon belongs to: http://howtosavetheworld.ca/2013/07/15/links-of-the-month-july-15-2013/

This globalization and free trade machine is constantly exploiting, depleting, and abusing people of the developing world as well as their resources yet it provides absolutely no benefits to the greater working of the planet. The diagram of the machine is missing one key by-product or output per say, which is injustice. You see the natural resources are taken from already impoverished countries, who do not have the means to fight for the conservation of their environment. From these resources, the capitalistic world that we live in emphasizes and encourages materialism which drives the production of consumer junks that are not necessary or needed and end up as waste and pollution back into the natural environment. The labor force needed to provide for the huge demand of junk from the western world is made up of people from poor communities who will work ten hour days in inhumane conditions making barely enough money to feed themselves. These people will also be unequal affected by effects of the inevitable pollution and emissions, which come out of the globalization machine and create further problems to the planet and its habitants. This can include environmental degradation, negative human health impacts, global warming, infertile land, and ozone layer depletion. Once put into perspective this machine is destroying the well being of the earth and all of its citizens including fauna and flora. The world is in need of a new machine driving a different world system. In reality, the world should not be based on one machine but on many different ones, which take into account the history, culture, and background of all countries and peoples to ensure all processes within the machine are fair and equal to all.

Domination made easier by “modern day” Globalization

When one hears the term globalization, many people would immediately gravitate to the benign view that globalization is the “increased interconnectedness and interdependance of peoples and countries” or that globalization has made the world a “global village”. This may be true as it has made things such as global trade and communication easier among nations, but it also fails to mention what it has also made easier for core nations such as the US and Europe: domination.

Girvan set to differentiate globalization as a term that described a particular program that took place in the 1990s to a process that was 500 years in the making. In 1492, in an attempt to discover an alternate route to India, Christopher Columbus essentially “re-discovered” the Caribbean islands. This “re-discovery” in turn led to the domination of the Caribbean Islands by European countries, and led to the creation of what is known as the “Global South”. This domination is still present in today’s societies, albeit in a different, just as effective form. In the 15th century, in order for one of these European nations to dominate or control one of the Caribbean islands, they would need to invade these nations in order to exert their power and influence. For the sake of this post, this can be considered as the “pre-modern” form of globalization.

In today’s society however, these core nations do not need to physically invade countries to control them but can exert their power on a more psychological level. These core nations can now “invade” a person’s mind, from influencing the food they eat, to the clothes they wear, and this is largely due to the influence of the media. The television, for instance, is one of the major channels that is used to exercise the media’s influence. The news, advertisements, TV shows and movies all play a part in emitting this psychological domination. In today’s Caribbean society, namely Trinidad and Tobago, there is the known conception that “foreign is better”, so persons may opt to purchase items or use products that are not local, as they deem them of a higher quality. They may even decide that foreign foods are better, choosing to buy from “KFC” as opposed to buying from the local food chain “Royal Castle”. This conception can be seen as a direct result of the psychological domination of these core nations.

This “invasion” of the mind is so discreet, people are unaware that they are succumbing to this domination and this in turn becomes beneficial for the core nations. The Caribbean people aspire to be like these core nations and because of this, the core nations are able to generate more revenue. When people purchase from these fast food outlets like “KFC” for instance, the money earned goes back to the mother country, whereas purchasing from local outlets would allow for the revenue to be circulated within the local economy.

It can therefore be seen that, though globalization has made certain aspects of life easier, such as communication and trade, “modern day” globalization has helped to facilitate the psychological “invasion” into the Caribbean minds by the core nations. This has greatly benefited the core nations at the expense of the Caribbean. The question must then be asked, is there anyway the Caribbean can escape this “mental slavery” that has been imbued upon them?

Domination in “Pre modern” Globalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Dominican_Republic

Domination in “modern day” globalization https://www.pinterest.com/pin/573505333769295737/

 

Works Cited

Globalisation And Counter-Globalisation: The Caribbean In The Context Of The South – Norman Girvan – (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

“Globalization.” WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016

Technology as it impacts our everyday lives, living through globalization.

Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences.

~Freeman Dyson

 

 

Globalization has already been impacting the economies and societies in the Caribbean, and with the rapid pace in technology its effects will intensify. Technological development is conceived as the main facilitator ad driving force of most of the globalization process. Firstly technology can be defined as the socialized knowledge of producing goods and services. We can describe the term technology with five important elements: production, knowledge, instruments, possession and change, technology as a socialized knowledge can be better conceived with these elements. Advances in technology are one of the main reasons that globalization has escalated in the past decade. In information and communication technology, innovations have become smaller in size, more efficient and often more affordable. In transport technology, vehicles have tended to become larger and faster, as well as becoming more environmentally friendly and cheaper to run. Whether for personal use or for business, technology has made the world seem a smaller place and assisted in the rise of globalization.

The effects on technological changes on the global economic structure are creating immense transformations in the way companies and nations organize production, trade goods, invest capital, and develop new products and processes. Sophisticated information technologies permit instantaneous communication among the far-flung operations of global enterprises. New materials are revolutionizing sectors as diverse as construction and communications. Advanced manufacturing technologies have altered long-standing patterns of productivity and employment. Improved air and sea transportation has greatly accelerated the worldwide flow of people and goods.

All this has both created and mandated greater interdependence among firms and nations. The rapid rate of innovation and the dynamics of technology flows mean that comparative advantage is short-lived. To maximize returns, arrangements such as transnational mergers and shared production agreements are sought to bring together partners with complementary interests and strengths. This permits both developed and developing countries to harness technology more efficiently, with the expectation of creating higher standards of living for all involved.

Rapid technological innovation and the creation of transnational organizations are driving the formation of a global economy that sometimes conflicts with nationalistic concerns about maintaining comparative advantage and competitiveness.

Developments in information and communication technology have changed our way of life, whether it is at home, at work, at school or at leisure. The internet and the development of digital technology (computer-based technology) in particular, have made the most significant impact in the field of information and communication technology in the past decade.

The internet is essentially a network of computers across the world which is linked through global telecommunications. The World Wide Web (www) is a collection of interconnected documents which are accessible using the internet. It enables people from almost anywhere in the world to access information on almost any topic from shopping to weather forecasts; and from research to downloading music and movies.

In addition to the internet, global media networks (corporations which include television and media companies with branches in multiple countries) also bring news and information about current events to people all over the globe. It is now possible for someone in Trinidad and Tobago to gain access to live programs via live stream. They also have access to viewing the latest fashion magazines in any country around the world, also even purchase items. In addition to the internet, mobile phones, voice mail, and text messaging allow instant contact across states and countries.

Digital technologies have opened the way towards global networks. Global networks are the networks in which all information and knowledge also the ideology necessary for the realization, maintenance and the reproduction of the system, basically the capitalist system. The term “New Economy” is the clearest explanation of how all these information, knowledge and ideology are in close relation to capitalism.

Capitalism is an economic system that emerged in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and was discussed quite a bit by sociologist Karl Marx. From a Marxist perspective, capitalism is organized around the concept of capital (the ownership and control of the means of production by those who employ workers to produce goods and services in exchange for wages). The fact that people depend on technology to dictate their lives shows clear similarities of the capitalist system.

The internet and especially e-commerce are the terms that are basically used for justifying the recent approach of techno-globalism. Techno-globalism can be summarized as the ideology which rationalizes globalism on technological grounds. The techno-globalists, most of them live in the Anglo-Saxon countries claim that technology makes globalism irresistible. Therefore, techno-globalists wishing to dismantle all worldwide barriers to economic or technology flows, suggest a “liberal” global economic system on technologically improved infrastructure.

Technology has without doubt an impact on society. As a matter of fact, we experience this effect in our daily lives. It has an effect on the growth of the economy, our culture and our living standards. It is however important to note that the benefits are a double-edged sword with some being detrimental and other being beneficial. One should be very careful and get to know how the effects on society affect the business activities and operations.

Technology impacts on our daily lives. Our environments are all so full of technology to the point that most of the time we take it for granted and never actually notice the level of impact that it has on us until when we have no telephone, transport, water or electricity. Advancements in technology have greatly increased our living standards. Despite the fact that we are currently experiencing very high inflation rates and the rates of unemployment are very high, generally, people are feeding better, are dressing better and are as a matter of fact living more comfortable lives.

Technology also has a great impact on all the fundamental aspects of all our cultures including laws and how they are enforced, language, art, health care, mobility, education and religion. For instance the great technological improvements in health care have given a chance to doctors to treat their patients in an environment that is virtual through the use of mediums such as video conferencing which has also greatly benefited the legal environment as it allows the judges to still listen to the cases of hard core criminals who cannot be allowed to get into the court rooms due to security reasons.

With every advancement that is made in the technological world, creative destruction results. For example, television impacts negatively on the movies and synthetic fibers impact the cotton fibers negatively. The coming in of new types of technology also results in a negative impact on the growth of the economy at times; television and mobile devices at times consumes all the productive hours that a man has in a day. Every new form of technology gets into the market together with long term consequences that are most of the time not foreseeable.

In conclusion, despite the fact that we cannot really ignore that there are a number of ways in which technology negatively impacts our society, for the better part it has greatly helped to make out lives better. Technology has greatly helped us to become more efficient thus increasing our productivity. It has also helped us a great deal to be able to save on many resources such as time and money and these are great benefits that cannot be ignored. It has also worked well in bringing unity into the world by turning it into a global village which has in turn helped people to more easily overcome their cultural, racial and continental barriers.

Education in a Globalized World: The Fifth Genocide

Nowadays, education seems to be the answer for most of the world’s problems; decreasing crime, better employment, and health improvements are all social benefits that can be attained through better education. All countries of the world stress the importance of attending schools in order to become better and more engaged citizens. We are living in a world, where education is increasingly becoming necessary and borderline required to achieve a successful career, as defined by the western world-system. This world-system dominates all aspects of our lives, from the moment we are born as it is passed down from parents to children often in an involuntary manner, but is it really beneficial or just a cycle of standard behaviors passed on according to societal norms?

When one says “education” most minds automatically associated it with schools and universities. These establishments have been created and dominated by white supremacy ideologies. More specifically, according to Ramon Grosfoguel these establishments are called Westernized universities which citizens of the earth are expected to attend to gain knowledge, based on the views of five men from different western countries. This knowledge is significantly skewed and biased to further drive its students into a system where the western world powers benefit from a neoliberalism globalization.

Throughout my tertiary education I have had the opportunity to attend three different establishments: St Lawrence University in the United States, University of Otago in New Zealand, and University of West Indies in Trinidad. All of which have been very different in terms of geographical location and school demographics, yet the information taught and the way in which it is taught remained constant throughout all three institutions. All materials were based on a western point of view, written by ‘scholars’ who had themselves attended higher education at a western-based university. If an individual did not receive a higher degree from an institution the information they share cannot be taken as credible, and students were discouraged from their use in course work. Everywhere classes consisted of many students sitting down at a desk facing the lecturer, and listening to whatever topic was being presented that day. How is it that in three very different parts of the world, with different professors whom have never met each other, and in different subjects held the same expectations of students and taught with the same world-view perspective? To me, this observation serves as a proof that these universities and society in general have conditioned the youth to act a certain way.

Grosfoguel speaks of four different genocides of different groups of people whose knowledge has been seen as inferior: Jews and Muslims, Indigenous people, Africans, and women. However based on my experience I would argue for a fifth genocide: genocide of childhood. In this westernized society, children have been robbed of their childhood. Through direct education from their parents and indirectly society, children have been taught that they were inferior just like the four groups of people who were genocide were said to be inferior from white Christian men. The obedience of children manifests itself when they grow up in acting a certain way or saying certain things because that is how society taught them to behave. Most of the time people do not recognize that the manner in which they behave is due to societal standards and not natural habits contrary to popular belief.

These behaviors can be metaphorically explained by an experiment conducted by John Stepper entitled “The Five Monkeys Experiment (with a new lesson)”. To read the experiment follow: http://johnstepper.com/2013/10/26/the-five-monkeys-experiment-with-a-new-lesson/ These monkeys have been trained to act a certain way which goes against their natural behavior, in a similar way that society has taught children to behave according to standards which aren’t their natural youth behavior.

While Grosfoguel argues for a decolonization of the Westernized university, I believe that decolonization should go beyond or rather earlier than university and be implemented during childhood. Childhood or youth is a time to explore, be vulnerable and make mistakes, not a time to be suppress under parental control and expectations of obedience.

While education in school as been proven to be beneficial in improving various global issues, one must remember that education goes beyond just institutions. Education starts during the earliest years of childhood, and often times these years are being blindly robbed by societal standards. Instead, the young citizens of the world are being taught behaviors seen as natural but which are in fact very calculated to lure them into the western-dominated world system.

Work Cited

Grosfoguel, Ramón (2013) “The Structure of Knowledge in Westernized Universities: Epistemic Racism/Sexism and the Four Genocides/Epistemicides of the Long 16th Century,” Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge: Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 8.

http://johnstepper.com/2013/10/26/the-five-monkeys-experiment-with-a-new-lesson/

 

Globalization and the Food Industry

Globalization is the integration of markets to expand on goods and services as well as capital and labor. Globalization is also “the free movement of capital and the increasing domination of national economies by global financial markets and multinational corporations.” (Soros, 2002). In Trinidad and Tobago as well as the Caribbean there is an immense amount of multinational corporations exist. My main focus would be multinational corporations in the form of fast food outlets.

In Trinidad, the introductions of multinational corporations in the form of fast food outlets have widened our taste preferences in the types of food we consume daily. Multinational corporations such as Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, Burger King, and Wendy’s, just to name a few are some of the fast food outlets that are present in Trinidad.

Although Caribbean food is enjoyed by many locals as well as tourists from across the globe, these foreign fast food outlets are dominating the food industry, placing an economic strain on the local food industry. Local fast food outlets would be on a financial strain because locals would prefer these westernized fast food, which would decrease the sales on these local food outlets. Another disadvantage of these multinational food industries is that the food being prepared for individuals are unhealthy. These foods are mostly processed food which can lead to great health risks in persons, health risk such as obesity, heart diseases, diabetes and high blood pressure can be cause by these foods if it is in high consumption. All profit made by these multinational corporations are repatriated to the company’s headquarters and not invested in the host country.

Globalization has also created a positive impact in Trinidad as well as the Caribbean by construction these multinational corporations. It has created a gateway for employment, there is a large population of unemployed persons who are willing to work at any wage given to them, the Caribbean has become a home to investors, which soothingly invites them to invest and construct their firms here, which assist in the development of the Caribbean.

In conclusion, Globalization has impacted the Caribbean greatly both positively and negatively by giving the Caribbean the opportunity to invite investors, and negatively by letting our diverse culture disappear slowly. Although these foreign fast food outlets are placing us Caribbean people at a disadvantage, we do however enjoy the wide variety of food offered to us by these foreign companies.

 

 

 

Living Through Low Gas Prices

Today, March 1st, crude oil closed on the Nasdaq at $34.40 a barrel. This is down from almost $110 a barrel in January of 2012. This is the result of a market that has been flooded with increasing production but a lower demand. It could be stopped as a group of oil exporting countries could freeze production at current levels to let demand catch up. Essentially a group of 14 countries control global oil prices regardless of what the market is dictating. These are the United States, Canada and the twelve members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting countries or OPEC. Other oil exporting countries such as Trinidad and Tobago are forced to sell their crude oil at the price dictated by these fourteen countries. They lose sovereignty and have no real control over the price at which crude is sold. Both of these facts speak to Thomas Friedman’s assessment of globalization. He speaks on the golden straitjacket as well as the idea of globalization as the internet where “nobody is quite in charge” (Friedman 2002). Oil exporters in Trinidad and other countries are living through the negative effects of globalization and they are giving up control in order to remain within the system and continue trading even though they cannot impact the price as economic players.

When Thomas Friedman speaks on the golden straitjacket he refers to the positive benefits that countries can reap, such as more investment and better prices, from giving up some of their sovereignty to multi-national corporations and global markets. He would probably use Trinidad as an example. The country has abundant oil reserves but are too small a country to use the oil themselves or even refine it all themselves. By abiding by free trade agreements and selling oil on the global market in theory they are benefitting. However their lack of sovereignty also includes a total lack of control over the price of their own oil. Because they are not a member of the OPEC cartel or a global hegemonic power such as the United States they do not hold the same sway that these countries do. This power structure reduces Trinidad’s options in terms of what to do with their oil. They can not sell their oil because they believe the price is too low or they can sell at the price that the rest of the world sets, unsure of what they could have made per barrel if the market was not as globalized as it is today.

Additionally Trinidad could join OPEC (in theory) in order to be part of a cartel that controls the market price. Here they also lose sovereignty because they would be one of the smallest producers of oil within the 12 country cartel. So whether Trinidad sells on its own in the market or joins a coalition like OPEC, they are still restricted by Friedman’s “global straitjacket”.

Friedman also writes an analogy for globalization, saying it is similar to the internet where no one is in charged and everyone is interconnected. An initial look at a global market might confirm this. Markets fluctuate and are not controlled by a single corporation or country. Because of the diversity and interconnectivity of the market it is very difficult to single-handlely influence the market. However the problem that Friedman does not address lies within the oil market. When a group of countries like OPEC form a coalition they have massive oil reserves which they can use to artificially boost or bottom out the price of oil. If they flood the market with cheap oil it undercuts the ability of countries like the United States or Canada to make a profit off of domestic oil, forcing them to buy from OPEC. An example of this is the Alberta Tar Sands in Canada. Originally though to be a profitable operation where oil would be piped out of the tar sands, though the US and into the Gulf of Mexico is now seen as less favorable because of low oil prices. It does not make sense for Canada to invest so much in domestic production when foreign oil is so cheap. Small countries like Trinidad feel these effects at all, however they have no part in the power struggle that is causing the issue. When the market if flooded the price of all oil goes down and Trinidad does not have the amount of output where if they froze production they could firm up the price. As the New York Times points out the prices could theoretically firm up and stabilize if large exporting countries would cut down on their output.

In short, small countries that have oil reserves are an example of a negative externality of our globalized system. Gasoline may be cheap and people may be happy but generally we are unaware of the fact that those cheap prices come at the cost of the sovereignty of small nation-states.

The Trinidad Carnival as a Testimony for Globalization

From massive masquerade bands mixed with extravagant costumes, to soca and calypso music, the Trinidad carnival is known as one of the best festivals on earth. People come from all over the world to be able to experience the euphoria of this celebration that encompasses and celebrates the diversity and heritance of Trinidadians. But beyond all of the music, clothes, and parties lies the testimony of a globalized world.

The very first notion of Carnival was brought to Trinidad by colonization through fancy masquerade balls led by French elites. Over the years, the African people and other ethnic groups have added their own take on the festival, resulting in the famous street parade, which occurs on Carnival Tuesday. In Girvan’s words, globalization is not just a modern phenomenon but a five hundred year process that first began when western world powers were competing for maritime and commercial expansion. Colonizers brought their customs over to what has come to be defined as “the south”, and overtime these have been implemented into the culture of countries with adaptations from other ethnic groups. The extent to which globalization has turned carnival into a festival which encompasses a blend of culture can be viewed through the mainstream definition as the integration and interactions of peoples and countries of the world. However, this definition masks missing power relations, inequalities and injustices, paralleling the changes overtime that have taken place throughout the carnival festivities.

Cultural norms have increasingly shifted to project those of the western world. This phenomenon has been observed through carnival overtime by the commercialization and modernization of the festival mirroring the growth of neo-liberal economy. Nowadays many of the traditional events are not accessible to the whole population because of the price associated with attendance. Masquerade bands and costumes have become privatized and expensive to the point where only certain social classes have the opportunity to be a part of it. Keith Nurse in his article called Globalization and Trinidad Carnival: Diaspora, Hybridity, and Identity in Global Culture, states other transformations such as gender, ethnicity, and class roles in the festival. Women are now the main participants in mas, outnumbering the men in a four to five ratio. Additionally, more involvement from the East Indian community has been recorded both in mas and pan. Historically, the Trinidad carnival has been a time and place for Trinidadian women to express themselves through their extravagant costumes while also celebrating their curves and skin color. Overtime, the carnival has turned towards the westernized standards of slimmer, and lighter skin colored women, including more and more foreigners each year.

This involvement of western standards creeping its way into the sharing of traditions and customs is causing a loss in the authenticity of the original Trinidad carnival and an increasing trend towards a “westernized” or “globalized” carnival. In Thomas Klak’s words from globalization and neo-liberalism, it is a movement towards a more laissez-faire capitalism and framework in which one size fits all, not sensitive to issues faced outside of the western world, especially not to the needs of the people of the Caribbean’s. In other words, it is a worldview in which only the aspects of western culture are benefited and accepted.

More than just a festival, carnival has turned into a huge business industry. In this day and age with increasing technology allowing for better communication and information sharing amongst countries across the globe, the popularity of carnival has spread to North America and Europe. This allows for designers and artists to work year-round, both overseas and in Trinidad, in the carnival industry. According to Nurse, there are more than sixty overseas Caribbean carnivals, which all vary as they take on different aspects of carnival art from the Caribbean’s, South America, Africa, and Europe. This increase in connection and information sharing due to technology such as computer networks, T.V, and the Internet many different carnivals are now celebrated with implementations from other societies. While this brings attention to Caribbean culture around the world, it is often concealed under western traditions and views of how the carnival should be.

In theory, globalization enabled the very roots of the Trinidadian carnival to be formed and created all of the traditions that the festival encompasses. Today, with the help of increasing communication technologies, it has allowed for other countries across the globe to be exposed to these unique traditions. However, this exposure comes at a cost with increasing foreigner involvement, western standards, and neo-liberal economy dictating events and their participants. The traditional Trinidad carnival is losing its authenticity overtime to a more westernized version. In the same way that the globalization process started the Trinidad carnival through colonization, it has the ablity to suppress it under the western world-views.

https://amandasabgaphoto.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/carnival-tabanca/

http://socavideo.com/?page_id=3202

goddesspromotionstt.com

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/351562314636617586/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Caribbean/Selected_picture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_Carnival

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Klak, T., ed. 1998. Globalization and Neoliberalism: The Caribbean Context. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Nurse, Keith.1999.Globalization and Trinidad Carnival: Diaspora, Hybridity and Identity In Global Culture, Cultural Studies, 13:4, 661-690.

Girvan, N. 2000. Globalization and Counter-Globalization: The Caribbean in the Context of the South. In Globalization: A Calculus of Inequality, ed. D.Benn and K.Hall. Jamaica: Ian Randle, Kingston.