Before discussing globalization’s effect on India and how social entrepreneurs are making a difference, I would like to clarify a few terms.
For the most part, when globalization is discussed, I mean economic globalization. To simplify a complex idea, it refers to the world becoming smaller – figuratively speaking – and more inter-connected. Some have described it as a process characterized “by the growing interdependence of the world’s peoples.”[1] The call centers for US corporations are often overseas (outsourcing), as are an increasing number of factories and businesses (offshoring).
Free trade means that there are no governmental restrictions when it comes to different nations trading, selling, and buying goods. Tariffs are reduced or eliminated.
Sometimes globalization is referred to with pride. Many undeveloped nations have begun to flourish because of the new sources of employment and economic growth.
At other times, it is seen as a big ugly monster that eats up culture and tramples on the vulnerable.
Globalization is not good or evil, it is simply a force that is happening, and happening quickly. It creates cultural clashes as Western philosophy invades traditional villages. You can read more about these culture clashes in the essays Jihad vs. McWorld, by Benjamin R. Barber, and Clash of Civilizations, by Samuel Huntington.
India
Most people are well aware of the fact that the US outsources heavily to India. There are movies and sitcoms dedicated to this concept. In the cities, people are doing very well, for the most part. And yet consider the following statistics:
There is clearly some inequality going on here, and tends to minimize the truth of the “trickle-down” effect. The extreme poverty in India leads to issues like human trafficking, a widespread problem in the nation. In 2007, while the World Economic Forum in Davos praised the economic growth of China and India, Kerala’s Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan “condemned the new imperialism that was engulfing India under the rubric of globalization.”[3]
It is no use to place blame. What’s done is done and must be accepted. Platitudes, philosophies and compassion do nothing to change what is. Things have to be done differently and purposefully from this point on for history to reflect on globalization with pride.
Change Makers
Social entrepreneurs help fill the gap between non-profit organizations and corporations. They are businessmen and women who want to make a profit while making a difference. The Ashoka Foundation is one group that invests in indigenous social entrepreneurs that tackle social problems.
In his book “How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas,” David Bornstein notes:
“Most discussion of social entrepreneurship tends to revolve around “how business and management skills can be applied to achieve social ends… Social entrepreneurs are transformative forces: people with new ideas to address major problems who are relentless in the pursuit of their visions”.
They are people who raise the “performance capacity of society,” according to management guru Peter Drucker.[4]
Watch a short video about Ashoka here:
One of Ashoka’s Changemakers is Jeroo Billimoria, who launched Childline in India. It was the nation’s first attempt to create quick access to police assistance and healthcare for street children. They provide 24-hour emergency telephone service with follow-up support.
Damodar Acharya is attacking reasons for child labor, a devastating result of increased demand for cheap labor. Millions of children work in the cities. He invests in educational opportunities and brings economic opportunities to rural areas so that the families and children have less reason to migrate to the cities. According to Ashoka’s full profile on Damodar,
“Damu’s models for devising and implementing these mechanisms are carefully tailored to the specific characteristics of each region. His program analyzes migratory trends and literacy patterns, for example. Environmental conditions also play a role in deciding how to reduce child labor and urban migration; villages have differing needs depending on whether they are situated in highlands, plains, deltas, tribal forests, or coastal areas. This scientific approach to development work is in itself a unique model that Damu is trying to popularize. At the national level he is trying to persuade the planning commission to recognize it as a model for addressing child labor. With that done, he aims to exponentially multiply the number of “child labor-free zones” in villages throughout the state of Karnataka.”
There is much to say on this topic, and we will continue to explore these issues. For now, please leave your comments and let me know what you think!
Coming up Friday, April 15: a discussion of a UN release on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
[2] M. G. Srinath, “India Offers Students Free Midday Meals as Incentive to Stay in School,” Worldpress.org, August 6, 2008
[3] C. Gouridasan Nair, “India Sliding into Neo-Imperialism: VS,” The Hindu, November 3, 2007, available online at: ,http://www.thehindu.com/2007/03/11/stories/2007031118170100.htm.
[4] The rise of the social entrepreneur. (2006). Economist, 378(8466), 11-13.
