week 3-Notes-On the Economy of the Post-industrial Landscape.

Post-industrialism can be defined as the covergence of the "Information Age" and the "Service Economy" A post-industrial economy is often marked by: 1. A declining manufacturing sector, resulting in de-industrialization, 2. A large service sector, 3. An increase in the amount of information technology, often leading to an "information age". Information, knowledge and creativity are the new raw materials of such an economy. 4. The industry aspect of a post-industrial economy is sent into less developed nations which manufacture what is needed at lower costs.
Today, we live in an era of globalization.Most people see globalization as a beneficial thing. Is this a truth? Globalization is seen as cutting edge to "go global". Many people feel that globalization is a great force bringing the world closer together. There are even new phrases like global village which make us feel good about globalization bringing us all closer together. But when we think about what globalization really is - when we look beyond this - we can see the true meaning of the word. The real agents of globalization are the multinational corporations. Globalization is nothing more than the product of the multinational corporation search for profit. So, rather than being driven by positive things like a wish to bring the world closer together, globalization is driven by corporations seeking to maximize profits, and part of that search for profits involves the search for cheaper labor. Many companies move into less developed countries to take advantage of the lack of organization of labor there which allows these companies to pay low wages.Rather than making the world a more friendly place, globalization is leading to things such as "Export Processing Zones" - places where millions of people make products which are then shipped into the more developed countries and sold for a huge profit. These zones are integral to what globalization is and does. As the United States experienced rapid economic growth over the past two decades, many poor countries experienced declining living standards.