Have we sold our souls for a can of Pepsi?

Globalization has affected all of us in one way or the other. Some of us have been positively affected by it while others have had a negative impact on their lives. Anyone who has studied the phenomenon in depth recognizes that this is a new era. Whatever affinities it might have with it, the current global age is not merely a replica of the past. There are massive changes affecting our world. The globalization debate itself has become global in a way that would simply not have been possible before the advent of recent global communication systems.

Globalization has helped us enhance our lives in ways more than one. It has provided us with things we couldn’t imagine to have in our cupboards otherwise. Take a pen for an example. It was invented in Europe, but is used the world over today. Just imagine our lives without a pen! Would you prefer to write with a piece of wood dipped in a paste of green leaves? How would it feel writing your exam with a piece of wood? Just imagine. This is just a single instance, think of all the products and services that we use. About half of the products that we use today are produced in other countries and around 90% of them have been discovered or formulated on distant shores. It has connected our lives to those of others in ways more than one. Today we can contact anyone across the globe at anytime through multiple channels.

It has helped people mingle with one another. An Indian works for Microsoft Inc. on a project assigned to him in Japan. It gives him an idea of an American work culture in a Japanese environment. In a way, he is learning three cultures at a time. Same applies to an American working for Microsoft in India. This has led to the growth of a global culture. If we in India know about the American culture today, it’s all thanks to globalization. Same holds true for food. If we expect to get Indian food on the streets of New York, its all due to the bane called globalization.
Moreover, it’s not a one sided affair wherein one country is on a selling spree and the other on a buying one, it’s mutual and multilateral. If we are using computers manufactured in the United States, they are eating the Basmati rice produced in India at the same time. Globalization is heavily reliant on International trade which in turn relies on specialization. The economists favoring International trade are unanimous in their advocacy of specialization. This means that if a country is efficient at producing coffee, it should dedicate most of its land and resources towards the production of coffee and import other commodities from other countries. This would generate maximum revenue for the country from the export of surplus coffee and import other goods at a lower cost.

But this applies to an ideal world scenario where there are no trade restrictions as such.
International trade without restrictions leads to efficient allocation of the scarce resources and helps eradicate hunger, strife and poverty the world over, both at the same time.

Nationalism and patriotism are great virtues. Every one of us should possess these. But the question is, at what cost! How patriotic can you expect a poor & hungry soul to be!
Do we expect a person struggling to secure a square meal a day to be patriotic? These great virtues can be adopted and promoted only once our three basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter are satisfied. As goes a famous saying in Hindi, “Bhukhe pet bhajan naa hoye Gopala”.

So, the next time you pick up a can of Pepsi, just ponder for a few seconds. Are you selling your soul to purchase that can? Or does your purchase help the person who filled that can with the liquid at a non-descript filling plant in rural Karnataka? Does it help him earn a living for his family? And finally, does that piece of information provide you with a sense of content and satisfaction. Just ponder…..