Globalization Has Redefined Urban Life In The United States

Just as the Industrial Revolution redefined urban life in the late eighteenth century in the United States by the build-up of cities around industrial centers where white-ethnic, blue-collar works lived, the deindustrialization during the 1970s saw a massive exodus of profit-driven corporations leave for developing countries where labor is cheap and profits are high. The impact that this had in the U.S. manufacturing fields was economic devastation, and to which many cities have not fully recovered. Not only were industries restructured, by social connections between workers and their former employers gone as well, along with the cities sizable tax base. The 1980s and 1990s a time where North American cities were forced to restructure away

The peripheral countries have been more deeply impacted by this globalization and economic restructuring more negatively than positively. While there are a small, affluent segment living in these areas, most of the urban residents live in squalor and enjoy few amenities that these cities have to offer due to poverty. If anything, it appears that the major impact of globalization has been a significant increase in the income inequality and vulnerability of the people. It’s important to note that while these tiers are unequal, they are interdependent although on the other hand, the system operates in the interest of the core-tier. While there is a recent uprising in nonprofit agencies to combat this aspect of globalization, the task is

He further states that he who controls the economy at the top levels, controls society. Marx calls this “means of production” which is defined as all physical elements, other than human beings, that go into producing goods and services. He goes further to describe “means of distribution”, such as stores and while this many change over time, it is elemental in any discussion on how wealth is created or maintained. The Bourgeoisie elite enjoy an affluent lifestyle on the backs of the Proletariat workers. Adam Smith (the Father of Economics) expressed this in 1776 in his book Wealth of Nations. Marx continues by saying that there is an inevitability of revolution within a capitalist society, and that in every philosophy are the seeds of our own destruction. If the Bourgeoisie elite own the land, the buildings, the markets, the transportation, the resources and the money, and the Proletariat workers are discontented with low wages, poor living conditions, poverty, pollution and exploitation there will be an inevitable alienation that sets in. When that occurs, class consciousness can change and revolution can happen. With this current globalization and economic restructuring happening now, are we witnessing the seeds of our own