Intercultural Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intercultural Relations - Essay Example However, critics believe otherwise. Pointing to its â€Å"anarchic and competitive character† (Cox 2), they instead see globalisation â€Å"an exploitative phenomenon† (Prempeh 586) that â€Å"has often perpetuated poverty, widened material inequalities, increased ecological degradation, sustained militarism, fragmented communities, marginalised subordinated groups, fed intolerance and deepened crises of democracy† (Scholte 53). These adverse effects of globalisation as encapsulated in the following terms: â€Å"disempowerment, marginalisation, exclusion and inequality† (Prempeh 596) cultivate and encourage racial discrimination, especially so that historically racism has been an effective tool in rationalising and covering-up exploitation (Shah, section 1, par. 2; Sivanandan, par. 1) in favour of the powerful. Globalisation proponents proudly claim globalisation has equalised the playing field for all nations and races in almost all spheres of life; thus, it has transcended nation-states; that today we are more than our nationality but citizens of the world – we are a cosmopolitan – a multi-cultural world free from national prejudices. With this rosy picture being painted about globalisation, this world could have been a better and safer place to live in. But then, why do we have ogre things such as ethnic tensions/wars (â€Å"Greek Albanians† BBC News), racial profiling (Monbiot, par. 2), racial crimes like racial bombing (â€Å"Racist bomb† BBC News) and race riots (â€Å"Spain Struggles† BBC News), and war on terrorism (Bidwai, par. 18-19)? With these grim pictures around the world, anti-globalisation forces see globalisation nothing but a tool of neo-liberal market forces to systematically exploit the economy of the world through â€Å"racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other oppressions† (Gorski 4). Anytime, anywhere and anyhow, racism is evil. It is damaging as it disempowers people by