Globalization over the past twenty has become an issue in many countries. This
industrialization of second and third world countries by Western Civilization
creates many opportunities for the inhabitants. Not only does it expand trading
markets, but also promotes productivity and efficiency; thus improving the
country and integrating it into the industrial world. This process not only
benefits third world counties, but also industrialized nations by allowing them
to export goods to the developing world and increase their profit margin. East
Asia and Latin America seem to benefit most from this. The East Asian economy
has developed the fastest with an annual growth of nearly 8 percent (Stand 43
4). This has been achieved through maintaining economic stability and production
output. However, western influence in some ways has harmed the culture within
these countries, many of them now talk of returning to their roots through
Asianization or Islaminization. Many of these people feel that western influence
has stripped away values and hindered their cultural growth. With the rise of
international industries such as McDonalds, Wal-Mart and K-mart western culture
has invaded the world in an attempt to “modernize” these countries that
could very well do with out. CEO’s may think that they are helping by
providing jobs and easy access to goods, but with this help there is also the
price of destroying values and exploiting workers. They attempt to Americanize
these people and enforce our values upon them. With the rise of
industrialization, the question of free trade has arisen. Free trade is the
elimination of taxes, tariffs and quotas over international borders. The North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), consisting of Mexico, the USA and Canada,
creates the largest free-trading zone in the world (Stand 51 1). Does NAFTA help
or harm an economy is one of the most poignant questions? The Mexican economy
seems to benefit from NAFTA through increased trade of Mexican made products and
the availability of more jobs to the Mexican people; however, along with
benefits comes a downside. Many American companies have taken advantage of NAFTA
and moved production plants to Mexican because there they can exploit the
workers. Many companies pay less than 1 dollar an hour in unsafe and unsanitary
conditions. While these American companies benefit from NAFTA, the American
workers suffer. As a result of large companies moving production plants to
Mexico, thousands of American laborers are laid off, often with no benefits or
compensation. Many American companies deny the moving plants to Mexico in an
effort to evade the Labor Department. One city that has suffered the most is El
Paso, Texas. The majority of its workers are willing to accept minimum wage, the
average unemployment rate is 11.7 percent and has lost more than 5,600 jobs to
Mexico (Stand 57 8). An example of this is Johnson & and Johnson, who
laid-off 110 workers and moved to Mexico. The company claimed that they did this
because all their competitors had left because of NAFTA (Stand 58 7). To
conclude, while NAFTA helps the Mexican economy and American businesses, it
harms workers in both America and Mexico; whether, it is through job loss or
exploitation. While I don’t believe that America needs to become a
protectionist nation-sate, I do believe by allowing this to happen we are
harming our citizens. I do believe we should help developing countries has long
as it doesn’t interfere with the lives and jobs of the American people;
unfortunately, NAFTA does interfere and I believe should be disbanded.

BibliographySTAND: Contending Ideas and Opinions. World Politics, edited by Marc Genest,
copyright 1999, Coursewise Publishing, Inc. Boulder CO. Works Cited STAND:
Contending Ideas and Opinions. World Politics, edited by Marc Genest, copyright
1999, Coursewise Publishing, Inc. Boulder CO.