Taiwan's accession to the WTO is a concrete achievement in globalization. Along with changes in the world's political and economic situation, people's understanding of globalization has changed dramatically. Before the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, even though the global economy was already in a downturn, people expected it to be merely a cyclical phenomenon and that the US would be able to climb up and lead the world back to prosperity.
Since US strikes on Afghanistan began, however, this optimistic mood has been in retreat. The start of the 21st Century has turned gloomy and the future is fraught with uncertainty. This has been a surprise for those who study world trends and a major setback for the idea of globalization, which has been in vogue for some time.
It is unlikely, however, that the idea of globalization will be shelved. Instead, people will start to seriously review its significance in all its complexity, rather than wishfully emphasizing only the economic and technological success it can bring.
Now, deeper problems, such as culture, ideology and values, can be brought to the surface. People have to ask: Where will globalization take us? Will it ease or worsen the historical hatred and conflicts between civilizations? Do so-called "universal values" exist?
These are not only debates over different theoretical viewpoints, but are also related to daily life. They also continue to create new significance in the intertwined relationship between localization and globalization.
In retrospect, human development in the 20th Century has provided a series of warnings. Perhaps it was because most national leaders disregarded these warnings that hideous suicidal terrorist acts such those on as Sept. 11 occurred, sparking the first war of the new century.
Since modern capitalism started to develop, Western culture has outshone all others, putting age-old non-Western civilizations and traditional societies under strong developmental pressure and driving them onto the path of modernization. But different cultures have different capabilities for absorbing and transplanting modern institutions, which results in immense inequalities between rich and poor countries, as well as conflicts between traditional and modern life styles.
In addition, the application of modern technology in economic development has increased productivity enormously. Industrialization, however, has brought side effects of massive energy consumption, ecological destruction and environmental pollution. Not until the 1970s did Western scholars begin to sense the potential crisis brought by this development model. The notions of environmental protection and sustainable development then began to catch on.
Amid this ideological trend, the modern Western development model began to be critiqued and reviewed. Those conducting the studies pointed out that developmentalism -- disregarding everything for the pursuit of economic growth -- completely ignores the ecological balance and justitia distributiva (distribution of justice) and fails to effectively improve the quality of life on the planet. Recently, the fact that many international meetings faced vehement protests by anti-globalization groups can be seen as a strong backlash from long-suppressed forces.
Simply put, the tug of war between globalization and anti-globalization still surrounds a question: What is the goal and method of development? Should humanity only focus on economic growth and disregard human exploitation of man and nature? Or is humanity willing to respect culture, show concern for the underprivileged and help prevent the excessive concentration of the world's resources in a handful of rich countries in order to avoid fanning ethnic and cultural hatreds and regional conflicts.
The Sept. 11 incident will neither change the trend of globalization, nor block the progress of the WTO. But it revealed the ugly side of modern Western civilization, and exploded the myth that globalization amounts to human unification. The incident seems like a reminder that people must not ignore underprivileged groups' appeals for justice as they eagerly pursue economic prosperity.
The obstacles to global trade have gradually disappeared and the issue of justitia distributiva has been widely discussed. These these two issues will be the most fundamental questions in the 21st Century and all governments will need to deal with them carefully.
Deplorably, Taiwan's Economic Development Advisory Conference was restricted to narrow developmental viewpoints. It did, however, raise one doubt: What is the significance of this kind of development if Taiwan ends up becoming a society at risk because it spares no effort in boosting its economic competitiveness?
The understanding of globalization among Taiwan's political parties and general public has remained at a shallow level -- more trade opportunities and more convenience to travel around the world. It is rarely noted that since 1990, the UN Development Program has emphasized that the "development model" has been changed and that the Human Development Index has replaced traditional economic indicators such as GNP.
Complacent and conservative, the people of Taiwan lack understanding of new development models and their backgrounds, and have not proposed any new ideas. After Taiwan joins the WTO, problems such as rising unemployment and widening gaps between rich and poor will arise in rapid succession.
Facing this new chess game, those in power should try to broaden their vision and re-position Taiwan, so that they can lead the nation with creative strategies and turn crises into opportunities.
Ku Chung-hwa is a professor of sociology at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Jackie Lin
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