My view on the american election

Since one year ago the American election is part of the top news. Wherever you go it is followed with great interest. Why all this passion for the American election?
The USA, first power of the world, has influence all over the world; therefore its presidential election is highlighted, in fact in this global economy USA plays a major role. It gets the ability to direct nation states’ foreign politics due to its deterrent such as dollars and the green weapon (food). Because the outcome of this election can influence in a way or another my life as global citizen, my country and my world in general. I am involved in this election though, I have no voice in it.
Because of the huge differences in views of the two candidates, there are important issues at skate in this election. America is the most involved nation state when it comes to terrorism and Midwest since 9/11. The outcome is closely followed since the protagonist has very different view on the subject. Other issues such as ecology, the global economic crisis and the third world are key points in this election.
The candidate will probably discuss on American housing market, the war in Iraq, the global crisis which affects average American people and other current issues.
To conclude, yes the American election do influence the whole world because of its place in the global economy.

Our three topics are the following:
- food crisis
-facebook
-cellular phone (technologies of communication today)

Global importance of US Presidential election

As the clock ticks closer to November 4th presidential election in the U.S, the world is ever curious to learn about the outcome and its impact in the world.
The two candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are running what seems to be one of the most important presidential elections in decades for what seems to have turned into the worst economic situation since the Great Depression. In fact, the democratic candidate – Barack Obama has stimulated more and more young population to be part of the voting process to determine a future that they all have a stake in. Not only has he sparked interest amongst the Americans, but he’s made this election one of the most popular around the world.

The world has become more and more dependent on each other and that does have its pros and cons. Most people around the world have lost their interest and regards for the United States in the past 8 years of President Bush. Therefore, a new leader of the free world would be able to relate better with world leaders such as that of my country to build an alliance that will benefit both countries. Global warming has become one of the key topic that touches the interest of all nations. The new president of the US will be very influential in changing the perspective and signing the Kyoto Protocol which is a common agreement for all nations in the world to meet the global warming challenges.

The most important issues at stake in the election right now and being discussed by the candidates are health care, social security, national defense, foreign policy, immigration and the economy. All of these issues have become the main worry for all Americans. As the events continue to unfold, the economy was voted as top subject of concern for all Americans as many people loose their homes, increasing debt and unemployment level rising.
I think the next debate will focus on foreign policy and the economy.If the next president fails to succeed in ending these problems in America, then the world would continue to feel the spiraling negative effect of the economy. In that regard, my country will receive less donations from the US; less donations will only mean less infrastructural developments, rise in prices of certain goods and other things I can’t measure at this point. So basically, the world is and will be affected in one way or the other by the next president of United States of America.

Something needs all over the world and its current end would definitely put the entire world in trouble is a good example of market imperative. Therefore I have spontaneously thought of oil. Why oil?
At this time, oil is maybe not the most effective source of energy but the one that meet the global demand. Wherever you go today, oil is the source that makes economies grown because it is available in enough quantities and at any time. However, at the rate of the global growth, the end of the reserves is predicted soon.
Moreover, no other reliable sources are yet found. Scientific from all over the world are working on it but, the latest discoveries are not efficient enough to meet global demand such as oil is doing.
On top of the imminent future shortages of oil, these precious sources belong to few nation states, making this global issue harder to solve.
To conclude I can say that oil is an important factor in the international relations.

Market-Imperative: Internet

Internet represents a main Market imperative. It eases ways of connection between traders and costumers but also helps traders be aware of everything that the Market offers without having to travel.

Nowadays, in developed countries, most of farmers are becoming less dependent on the State for selling their huge amoungs of production. They do not even have to get out of their houses. They connect themselves to the internet, examin all offers and advantages of the Market, then buy their production to the ones who pays most. And they make deal with people in all over the world (which is now a small village), from China to Cap Town, Brasil to Monaco. Internet is really important on today's ways of selling and buying.

People do not really need to be speaking the same language in order to sell or buy with the internet. As we know it, languages borders are being cut, and we find more and more translator programs in the internet.

Traders who know how to sell their products from the internet, are less tired and are at least, taking more profit than the ones who ignore it. When I say less tired, I mean that the trader does not have to be always awake when somebody is buy one of his product. He can be sleeping or doing other things to his amoung of production so that to make more money.

I do think that internet is one of the greattest inventions of Humans.

But it also have his drawbacks as a Market imperative. I was wondering why former singers sold more CDs than actual ones. And I realized that it was done because of the internet. Now people do not have to buy CDs, they just download any kind of music they want from the internet.

Market Imperative- Petroleum

Market Imperatives
Petrol has played a major role in the world’s industries productivity for decades. In most cases, it plays a serious role in determining the expansion of economies across the world including that of the big industrial nations such as United States.

Most of the petroleum deposits are found in zones such as the Middle East, Africa, South America etc… These individual nations of 13 decided to come together to create the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Their main goal is to act in their individual and group interest to maximize profits for their own people. In that regard, they have huge leverage in controlling price inflation and regulations that will benefit them. They control two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves.In this view, they have become very instrumental in determining the expansion of economies around the world. The United States economy for example, is greatly affected by the price of oil. The United States has about 3% of the oil reserves but consumes about a quarter of the world’s oil. A high price has helped lower the power of the dollar and reduced the demand for big cars worldwide. Ford, GMC and many auto manufacturers are now embarking on making more fuel efficient cars. The demand has gone down.The worldwide effect of petrol has spiraled all the way to hit major worldwide companies even well establised companies such as Alitalia. And today, we all pay higher airfare due to higher petrol prices. Locally, we all pay more for taxi and even the drivers will tell you the reason is "petrol is expensive." Some few nations in OPEC like UAE do benefit a lot while others instead get higher prices for many things including food.

In conclusion, the effect of petroleum in the world’s economy is great. The higher the prices, the less the productivity for many worldwide industries because the world is still HIGHLY DEPENDENT on petroleum. Unless nations embark on spending more to find alternative energy methods or expand use of wind power, solar power etc… it will be hard to forecast the long term profitability of industries worldwide. All being said, petroleum problem in one nation might have an effect on global markets; and this shows how intertwined the worlds market is today.

As the author stated the world is threatened by two antagonist politics: “retribalization” and globalization. I understand his concerns about them and the fact that there are both going against democratic principles. But I am much more concern about “retribalization” than anything else though, globalization is an angel. I am going to explain my mind in the following lines.
Even though globalization is not a democratic system with all its drawbacks it has interesting outcomes such as opening markets, an easier people, information, and commodities movements even being unequal.
“Retribalisation” is a threat for the world security and a utopia in this current world. It just can works out. It goes totally in opposite of democracy principals. When almost the whole world is trying to link up for better opportunities a minority cannot refuse it in the name of parochial views. It’s subject of incomprehensible wars seeming endless and unsolvable. The world is made today such as all nation states are interdependently linked to each others.
‘Retribalization” is for sure doomed to disappear soon or later. Globalization, in this fight, is obviously the winner. It has certainly good effect but also bad ones. Where will it drives us our world that’s the entire question.

Jihad vs Mcworld

After my reading I saw that the article here is about the difference between ideologies of Jihad and Mcworld. We can say that Jihad is struggle,meaning that they its a group that want to keep their culture,traditions whereas Mcworld can be modernity removing any kind of barriers to bring the world together.
Mcworld can be mentioned as integrity and costumize; meaning the "cry" for one world. It has 4 keys factors that affect it:
a) Markets imperatives which shows the effect of one global market on state-economies( e.g the tsunami of financial market problems that started from Wall Street)
b) Resources imperative:bring the world together as we're all dependent on each other. "No man is an island"
c) I.T Imperative:universalizing solutions to a particular problem using technology.
d) Ecological Imperative: effects of world's weather etc such as ramification of the Kyoto Protocol which caps the greenhouse effects to protect a global weather. Greenhouse gas emissions in US has helped damage the ozone layer that affects even species in Guinea-Bissau or Antartica.

From the transition point of Jihad to Mcworld was foreseen by Ortega y Gasset as explained over 5 decades ago in their idea that nacionalism will not last forever. Instead nacionalism would be a barrier to a new ideology which rather supports globalization. Today,Mcworld is slowly gaining popularity and in my opinion will vanquish over Jihad.

To support my idea, we can see how globalization has even conquered borders culturely;as in the lights of urban rap music that started from hoods of America to become popular culture in the streets of France, Nigeria and even stronger societies such as China.

Jihad vs Mcworld

Jihad vs. McWorld

By reading the paper, we can notice that Benjamin R. Barber (the author), is comparing two things: Jihad and MacWorld. He defines the MacWorld as a process that presses nations into our commercially homogenous global network. The MacWorld tied together by technology, ecology, communications and commerce. The author is much more focused on drawbacks of the MacWorld. We can learn from him that nowadays, all national economies are vulnerable to the inroads of larger, transnational markets within which trade is free, currencies are convertible, access to banking is open, and contrasts are enforced under law. We are in a world of interdependence, and this leaves even the wealthiest societies ever more resource- dependent and many other nations in permanently desperate straits.
But the MacWorld is in competition with forces of global breakdown, national dissolution, and centrifugal corruption. These forces are working in the opposite direction and are called Jihad. The Jihad’s aim is to redraw boundaries and resecure parochial identities in order to escape MacWorld’s dully insistent imperatives. So Jihad is a war for an expression of community, an end in itself and an emblem of unity. It offers a vibrant local identity, a sense of community, solidarity among kinsmen, neighbors and narrowly conceived.
To me I do think that Jihad war is done because most of countries do not want to lose their values or mix them with any others. For example, countries in which people strongly believe in Islam Values(like Saudite Arabia), the way citizens dress are different from the McWorld's tendencies of dressing which is spread all over the world. I strongly think that the author, by putting together McWorld and Jihad, wants to make it less complicated to understand. Because as we all know it, Jihad was done on the purspose to stop the expansion of fanaticism and Christhianicity. And, he wants to show us that Jihad is doing the same thing nowadays, but against MacWorld.

I think that we cannot talk about globalization without emphasizing
on words like emergin markets, economy, stabilization policy, monopoly
and free circulation of humans and goods.
Nowadays, powerful countries try to create oraganisations in order to offer to less wealthy ones an opportunity to develop. That is the case in Europe with the European Union (EU), which was created by five(5) wealthy countries and now regroups more than twenty five (25) countries. In all those countries, borders are reduced, markets and people are freed. For goods and other materials entering those countries, taxes are the same. And we can also give the example of the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada. It also allowed free circulation of goods but not people. It helps Mexico to import and export goods and other materials from the two other countries. Globalization can helps diffuse knowledge and reduce poverty. It has also some drawbacks. Developed countries, wealthy people , take more profit from globalization. The reality, even if it has changed a little bit, is still the same: poor countries stay poor and rich ones remain rich and even become more wealthy.
Personnaly, the thing I like more about it, is the fact that it reduces the length of the world. It becomes a small village where everything happening in the more hidden town is known. News from Senegal, can be announce in China in less than five(5) minutes with the improvement of new technologies of informations. We no longer see the world as a big globe with the internet, phones..etc.

After my reading of those new texts my conception of globalization has improved from the latest. In fact I have come to the state that globalization is not only the ability for people, ideas and commodities to move with less barriers but also disabilities and injustices it has created.
Globalization is normally supposed to include all parts of the world but it is not the case. Some areas have been left apart because of being economically uninteresting such as some underdeveloped countries which do not present any interest to exploit.
Globalization belongs to the capitalism and therefore it does not care about whether its acts can have drawbacks or not on people around. For instance, it makes some main raw materials out of reach for developing countries. Developed countries also subsidy their agricultures such as it is impossible for African agriculture to compete with them in the international market.
This global system is made such as only the wealthy can rule. Thus, making developed countries the one that take advantage it. For instance they fix the price they buy the raw materials from developing countries and they also fix the price they sell it back into manufactured products.
Globalization is less barriers as we have said previously, but it actually only involve westerners. People from developing countries are even feeling more and more obstacles to move around the globe.
To conclude I come to question myself whether or not globalization is profitable to all us? Isn’t it a new way to take advantage of the third world? I seriously doubt.

The ideas interview: Saskia Sassen

- the globalization is decreasing the rigths of citizens in liberal democracies countries because of some unrespected human rigths.

North Atlantic Universals: Analytical Fictions

First moment of globality:
-rise of the west
-conquest of the Americas
-plantation slavery
-the industrial revolution
-population flows

What is the concept of globalization good for?

- student from contemporany politics
- world market:
*rich countries to roll back their welfare
* poor to reduce social expenditures
- people's exposures to media ( dress, music, to fantasy of good life)
- taxes
- examination of wide variety of units/affinity and mobilisation
- variety of claims
- constrict political imagination


**Globalization is referent to Berlim Wall (fall down) meaning more possibilities, less barriers between economies