A Critique of the Juliette Beck Speech

A Critique of the Juliette Beck Speech

Juliette Beck's speech, "Reclaiming Just and Sustainable Communities in the Age of Corporate Globalization" neither adequately described the problems of globalization as it is currently structured, nor did it provide any answers to the problems with it, either the real problems that actually exist (labor and environmental exploitation) or the problems that Beck purported (large corporations). Primarily, Beck's speech was flawed in that it was incoherent and empirical incorrect. For instance 1) it purported the idea that globalization was "not inevitable", 2) it called upon the myth of "small is beautiful", confusing the real problem with globalization (Capitalist structure) with a false problem (the scale of the Corporate in a globalized world), and 3) it was often merely incorrect in some of the ideas and statistics that it stated. Also, the speech was not true to its title (well, maybe it was in that both were basically ridden with non-sense), in that it did not give real economic or political alternatives to Corporate Globalization.

First, globalization already exists. The world's economic structure is already on a global scale. Although change is possible, the idea that we can regress back into history, destroying a globalized world and making Localism over all is not only a bad idea, but a useless, silly one. Capitalism, by its nature, is acquisitive, as is also imperialism. As long as either exist (usually joint hand and hand, at least in this point of pre-history), they will seek out, with the world's wonderful technology and knowledge, the few unmolested areas left in the world. These forces, by the sheer scale that they exist on, are impossible to overthrow at local levels, a...

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...cally flawed, and did not even give many localist alternatives to corporate globalization, in addition to not giving any real alternative to it. However, in spite of this, some people on campus were so inadequately informed about the reality of how globalization is being carried out that it did do some level of good. Under a constant barrage of statistics and moralistic proclamations aimed at revealing the debased practices of institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, some students did leave with a better perspective on how corporate globalization (i.e. Capitalism, if they come to identify it as such on there own) is operating and with more interest with, at the least, becoming much better informed on the issue and, at the best, even becoming involved with political and civil organizations aimed at humanizing and democratizing the process known as globalization.