Author warns of globalization

Michael Shuman, author of "Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age," spoke Monday in the Indiana Memorial Union, warning that increased globalization in the business world is a threat to businesses in small communities like Bloomington.\nThe talk, "Can Globalization be Community Friendly?" focused on the problems globalization poses to communities and how those problems can be overcome.\nAbout 30 students, faculty members and citizens attended the event, organized by Bloomington Councilman Jeffrey Willsey and Jeffrey Isaac, professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Democracy and Public Life at IU.\nShuman said he sees today's globalized economy as dangerous for communities.\nAmericans have to ask "whether there exists a model of trade that can be community-friendly, because the trade system in place right now is anti-community, top to bottom," he said.\nShuman highlighted several dangers of globalization.\nHe said that while globalization is built on the theory of comparative advantage -- communities specializing in certain areas and trading with one another -- the modern world has developed a system of absolute advantage. In that type of system, communities that offer lower wages and less environmental regulation gain the advantage over communities that try to protect workers and the environment.\nShuman said globalization is dangerous because it is closely tied to the World Trade Organization, which he said is not a community-friendly organization.\nFor trade to be community-friendly, he argued, local governments must be allowed to participate in the economy and set regulations to protect citizens and allow their community to become self-reliant.\nShuman also offered a solution to the problems of globalization: a move toward smaller locally owned businesses and community-friendly economies.\nLocal businesses are better, he said, because they keep money within a community and allow cheaper goods by cutting down on the "in-betweens," such as suppliers and distributors.\nShuman said people should not get rid of imports and exports completely.\n"Local economy will be the central organizing principle, but communities will still be engaged in some degree of imports and exports," he said.\nFor example, it would be impractical for every community to produce computers, he said.\n Shuman said that although he believes the world is moving away from globalization on its own, the public needs to work hard to facilitate such a change. \n Willsey, whose District 4 City Council seat covers Teter Quad, Wright Quad, Ashton Center and Eigenmann Hall, said the talk was meant to open a discussion on the importance of local ownership and mobilize the Bloomington community.\n "The concept of local ownership comes down to whether we can determine if it has economic value," he said. "I think it does. We should look for ways to support local ownership."\nShuman is working on a project attempting to put his theories into practice. With others, Shuman is forming a local chicken company near Washington, D.C. The company will compete with Purdue and Tyson, two large chicken corporations.\nIf it is a success, he said, this company will prove his ideas can work.\nIsaac said Shuman's speech will allow a broader discussion in Bloomington of globalization.\n"Michael's visit is the kick-off event of a series of discussions on these issues that I'll be planning," Isaac said. "These events will lead up to a national issues forum town meeting in Bloomington."\nThat meeting will discuss Bloomington's economic development, he said.