Social Policy and Globalization

Without discussing the global processes influencing our day-to-day lives, one cannot fully comprehend the current social policy landscape. Globalization, which has been hailed as a global economic phenomenon, has had a profound effect on people's social, political, and cultural lives all over the world. Referencing supranational factors is therefore a given when evaluating social policy frameworks. In this post, we'll look at how globalisation has affected the traditional Welfare State structure and assess how it affects social policy. The reader will be able to comprehend after reading this post.

The Social, Political, and Cultural Phenomenon of Globalization
Impact of Globalization on the Welfare State
A Path Forward in the Global Age

Content

Globalization - A Multidimensional Phenomenon
Globalization and its impact on Social Policy
Way Forward: Social Policy

Globalization - A Multidimensional Phenomenon

The multifaceted phenomenon of globalisation has an impact on our lives in the economic, political, cultural, technological, and social spheres. While trade expansion has historically been a priority, globalisation also emphasises the unification of all national economies into a single global economy. In other words, one definition of globalisation is:

‘the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa’ (Giddens, 1990: 64)

The effects of globalisation can be seen on the nation states' economic, political, social, and cultural landscapes. The world is essentially becoming smaller through this intensification process. The phenomenon of the world "smalling" could be accurately characterised as "space-time compression," a technique developed by the eminent David Harvey (1990). Boundaries are now clearly defined in order to facilitate trade, knowledge and cultural exchange, the expansion of political interest, and the escalation of social vulnerabilities.

Because of this, the term "globalisation" has typically been used to describe "processes (such as the growth and internationalisation of financial markets), interactive networks (such as global corporate management; global epistemic and interpretive communities), structures (such as newly emerging power relationships resulting from shifting global investment patterns), and discourses (such as new social constructions of cognition, identity, and meaning built upon postmodern global conditions) (Armstrong, 1998)

Below are the elements of globalization and key actors (Kennett, 2001)

Economics

Volume and Intensification on international finance transactions
Expansion of Capitalism
Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and their increasing share of world trade
Development in information and communication technology
Global interconnectedness of production due to changes in technology of production and services

Social and Cultural

Movement of people for trade and labour
Creation of global consumer culture
Fragmentation and Polarization
‘Socialization’ of global citizens (e.g.
environment, human rights)
Emergence of Global Civil Society

Ideological

Neoliberal and free market global economy

Political and Institutional

Expansion of political democracy
Increasing influence of international organizations such as (IMF, World Bank, WTO)
Growth of international NGOs
Erosion of function of State
Supranational Governance

These components have allowed globalization to unleash a wide range of phenomena that are having different effects on communities. Class mobility, which includes both upward and downward mobility, is one of the major effects of globalization. In this globalized world, people have, on the one hand, discovered new employment opportunities, but there have also been many communities whose traditional livelihoods have been destroyed. These communities are now left vulnerable and marginalized and must fight to participate in the mainstream economy. Increased income inequality across nations, growing vulnerability due to high crime rates and precarious employment, and increased social exclusion from the economic gains of globalization are only a few of the socially unfavorable effects of liberalization and globalization.

The emphasis on people has shifted from production in modern society to consumption in post-modern society, or what Bauman refers to as consumer society. It is a liquid modernity because "the consumer is a person on the move and bound to remain such," according to Bauman. People in this fluid modernity are split into two groups: tourists and vagrants. In a market economy, tourists have benefited while vagrants have suffered. Tourists and vagrants are both consumers, but the vagrant is a faulty customer who is scorned by the market system and reduced to nothing but useless waste. The upward mobility of tourists is a priority, as is preventing them from becoming vagrants. People who support the market economy have the idealistic goal of creating a society without vagrants, hence there is an increasing tendency to criminalize poverty in order to achieve this goal. Bauman (2000).

The growing gap has led to ghettoization in urban life along with the criminalization of poverty. where a wealthy, gated, guarded, fenced, and secured class of society resides. And the other class is confined to a "ghetto" on the outskirts of the city with little to no access to civic and commercial organizations. According to Bauman, poverty in these ghettos is caused by people' exclusion from "normal ways of life," or by not being "up to the mark." To put it another way, "the poor of a consumer society are socially defined, and self-defined, first and foremost as blemished, imperfect, faulty and deficient - in other words, inadequate - customers" (Abrahamson, 2004).

The welfare state's function is deteriorating over time as a result of this social breakdown. The Welfare State, which originally served as a guarantee of all-inclusive benefits, is gradually shifting toward more specialized benefits. Division rather than integration or exclusion rather than inclusion is the foundation of the means-testing. According to Bauman, there is no place for the welfare state in the consumer society; instead, the traditional welfare regime resembles a "nanny state," which breeds inefficiency and reliance on public resources. The Welfare regime has been at odds with the Neo-liberal worldview. This shrinking of the welfare state is also followed by a decline in civic engagement, which causes social rifts in the community. Our social policies have consciously shifted from welfare to workfare. According to Bauman, "the recently popular 'welfare to workfare' schemes meant to make the welfare state redundant are not measures aimed at improving the lot of the poor and the disadvantaged, but rather a statistical exercise meant to wipe them off the register of social, and even ethical, problems through the simple trick of reclassification." As a result, the welfare state has been affected more than anticipated. However, it is important to first comprehend the causes of this societal fragmentation before discussing the welfare state's current situation.

Globalization and its impact on Social Policy

Paul Wilding claims that the Welfare State has been negatively impacted by five key aspects of globalization. These include:

Increase in power and mobility of capital : The entire economy has been flooded with capital as a result of globalization, and this capital has greatly diminished the influence of nation-states and the collectivism of organized labor.
Global competition in markets : As nation-states compete to cut welfare spending to the bone, this rising competitiveness has fueled social dumping and deregulation. Due to competition, nation-states are now less committed to preserving full employment, high social spending, and real wages.
Globalization has intensified existing issues while creating new ones. Globalization-related problems are outside the purview of nation-states and can only be solved by supranational organizations. Additionally, globalization has helped to exacerbate social ills like poverty, inequality, exclusion, and similar ones that currently exist.
The connection between globalization and neoliberalism Neoliberalism fosters a world where globalization is in full swing. Globalization's prerequisite, the global circulation of capital, was fostered by neoliberalism. Globalization is therefore inherently opposed to the logic of collectivist ideas in society.
Internationalism and supratism The conventional national component of the Keynesian welfare state promoted a nationalist and protectionist approach to creating welfare programs. However, social policies are being created by supranational organizations with a wider perspective.

All of these factors have made the welfare state an ineffective institution for defending and preserving human rights. The following are the actual effects of these aspects of globalization on the landscape of social policy:

Issues with Globalization Requests for Global-Scale Solutions: As we previously stated, there are two different types of problems: those that globalization causes and those that it makes worse. The first is the expanding problem of climate change or the environment, which is a byproduct of the economic expansion brought about by globalization. Environmental concerns have been put on hold due to the unrestricted flow of capital and competition to become investment friendly. In order to maximize profits, unrestricted capital investment has been promoted in nations with lax environmental restrictions, which has contributed to the issue of global warming. Second, issues like migration, drug misuse, unemployment, human trafficking, etc. have gotten worse as a result of globalization. Due to the loss of traditional means of subsistence, corporate displacement, or the mobility of labor brought on by globalization, these issues have gotten worse. However, given that the nation-state is constrained in how it can deal with these issues, both of these issues underscore the growing necessity for action by supranational organizations.

“Hollowing Out” of the State Daniel Bell said “

The Nation State is getting too huge for the little problems in life and too little for the major ones. This encapsulates how the nation state is becoming increasingly irrelevant to people's daily lives. The nation state's authority, autonomy, nature, and competency have all been harmed by globalization (McGrew). The extent of the government's power over national policy objectives has been limited by economic interdependence. Their nation-priority state's has switched from regulating macro-level policies to managing micro-level policies to create local conducive environments for the influx of capital and international investors. Hence The nation-priorities state's agenda's for social policy have fallen off. States are also adopting steps to reduce non-wage labor costs, such as social security and tax rates, in order to compete globally, which translates into weaker state labor law protections. Through training and skill development, there has been an increasing emphasis on the supply side of the labor market, highlighting the shift in social policy from dependents to young and working-age adults. (2000) Esping Anderson

Altered Balance of Power between Power and Capital

The fixed mobility of capital has always supported the power of labor. The unfettered flow of capital has, however, made labor less secure and reduced its ability to bargain. The capital now goes to an area with cheap costs and large returns. The monopoly of capital has been further strengthened by the lower wages and subpar working conditions provided to migrant laborers. Globalization, in Elliott's words, "represents the ultimate victory of capital over labor." All of the structures that granted industrial workers political and collective power, such as the rise of contract workers and the communist-left dictatorship, are being destroyed by globalization.

Stimulated Ideology of Competition

Various nations are now more wary of the global economic competition as a result of globalization. They have made achieving global competitiveness a key objective of their economic policy, which occasionally also shows up in their social programs. Because of this competition, welfare programs have come to be known as costly State expenditures. The social sector is the first to suffer as the State feeds its competitive nature. The cost of social policy and its expenditures have been under pressure from this global competition. However, the demand for welfare grows as a result of globalization and the problems it causes. In addition, a strong welfare state demonstrates a stable society, which draws in outside capital. The need for a productivist social policy has been fostered by globalization, although social policy is still important in this regard. Therefore, rather of focusing on social needs or rights, like large-scale skill development programs, such social policies are more concerned with economic goals of efficiency and economic growth.

Importance of Trade in Social Policy

The Keynesian welfare regime is in danger as a result of globalization, which favors trading regimes. In comparison to advanced economies built on Keynesian welfare regimes with real wages and full employment, the emerging regimes with uncontrolled wages and labor norms look to be more competitive. Trade is therefore a key component of the policy planning for such regimes, and in this context, the negotiating power of labor gradually decreases. Consumption, or citizens demanding the best goods at the lowest price, is prioritized under this system, regardless of how this price pressure may affect the availability of labor on the labor market.

Internationalization of Social Policy

International organizations have taken over the field of social policy from the Welfare State, which initially had a very nationalistic approach to policy development. Organizations like the IMF, World Bank, and WTO began supporting and sponsoring efforts for economic and social development in diverse nations. Gradually, there was barely a concern that the supranational bodies did not address. Comparison is encouraged by globalization, and thus encourages the internationalization of economic and social progress. It also creates problems that are universal in scope and are best handled by supranational and international agencies, such as environmental problems. Hence Pressures and institutions that further supranationalize social policies are fostered by globalization.

According to Deacon, "the politics of the national government no longer entirely dictate (if they ever did) the social policies of a country or locale. It is being influenced more and more by the implicit and overt policies of a variety of supranational organizations, including international organizations like the World Bank and IMF, supranational organizations like the OECD and EU, and supranational NGOs like OXFAM.

Social Order a priority for Social Policy

Due to competition, reduced salaries, the contractual nature of work, and other changes in the labor market, globalization has contributed to a disruption in the labor market. Therefore, in order to maintain social order, new social policy priorities and agendas are required as a result of the labor market upheavals. Globalization causes a number of disruptions, including loss of livelihood, deterioration of labor rights, weakened cultural values, and decreased political engagement. Therefore, social policy has a heightened significance to uphold social stability as a priority in these globally turbulent times. There are stronger incentives for social policies to increase welfare programs so they can act as a safety net for the market economy's outcasts.

As a result, many nation-states have been working with supranational organizations and international organizations to develop social policies with the aim of stabilizing the society that is reeling from the effects of globalization. What will social policy look like in the modern, globalized world?

Way Forward: Social Policy

The emergence of supranational or multinational organizations cannot be reduced to solely economic considerations; it is also deeply influenced by political and social factors. These organizations have a voice in the formulation of political or social policies in addition to interfering with nation governments' economic agendas. Thus, a shared welfare policy is increasingly necessary in modern times to address common problems brought on by globalization. For instance, because environmental problems like global warming and climate change are the byproducts of impolite and careless capitalism, they have now become a worldwide issue that can only be remedied if a global solution is found. Global initiatives have been made by a number of working groups and pressure groups that have organized international summits to call on nations to get together and find a solution to this serious issue.

Additionally, access to resources like education or health care must be granted on a reciprocal basis for unrestricted labor movements. If implemented by supranational organizations and authorities, such common social policies will promote a sense of solidarity to support a common economic strategy. To win over the populace's support, a deep economic integration would need to be accompanied by a deeper social integration.

Another argument suggests that supranational organizations should play a bigger role because country governments' attention has waned to social policy as a result of the economic rivalry among them. They view any additional social spending as a financial burden on their ability to compete in the global economy; as a result, social programs are not viewed as investments in the development of social capital in their narrow view of the national interest. However, such a deterioration of social policies will ultimately harm the global goal of economic efficiency and growth in the future, for example, some nation states may view improving the educational levels of their citizens as pointless due to free movement of labor as they have an incentive to underinvest in education in the hope of luring educated citizens from other nations. Underinvestment in specific social policy sectors will result from such national pursuit of individual nations as a whole, which will have detrimental effects on the world economy.

Supranational social policies may seem promising, but there are several obstacles that must be overcome before a single welfare system can be established. Naturally, there will be ideological barriers that prevent nations from cooperating to create a global social safety net. Different nations will undoubtedly have different views on the concerns that should be prioritized, the amount of money that should be allocated to each issue, and the inevitable loss of territorial sovereignty. Creating a universal social welfare program will be a difficult challenge, but to start, supranational organizations and organisations are increasingly influencing national governments' social policy. Nation states have realized that they cannot pursue economic policies in isolation from social policies. In order to establish social policies and welfare programs for their populations, nation states are now increasingly accepting of working together with international organizations and organisations like the UN, EU, or OECD. This is a step toward a shared welfare regime in the future.

References

Abrahamson, P. (2004). Liquid Modernity: Bauman on Contemporary Welfare Society. Acta Sociologica, 171-179.
Armstrong, D. (1998, October). Globalization and the Social State. Review of International Studies, pp. 461-478.
Bauman, Z. (1998). Globalization The Human Consequence. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Kennett, P. (2001). Compararitive Social Policy Theory and Research. Buckingham: Poen University Press.
Wilding, P. (1997). Globalization, Regionalism and Social Policy. Social Policy and Administration, 410-428.