CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN GLOBALIZATION The world is becoming more globalized, there is no doubt about that. While that sounds promising, the current form of globalization, neoliberalism, free trade and open markets are coming under much criticism. The interests of powerful nations and corporations are shaping the terms of world trade. In democratic countries, they are shaping and affecting the ability of elected leaders to make decisions in the interests of their people. Elsewhere they are promoting narrow political discourse and even supporting dictatorships and the “stability” that it brings for their interests. This is to the detriment of most people in the world, while increasingly fewer people in proportion are prospering. The modern system of free trade, free enterprise and market-based economies, actually emerged around 200 years ago, as one of the main engines of development for the Industrial Revolution. In 1776, British economist Adam Smith in his book, the Wealth of Nations. Suggested that for maximum efficiency, all forms of government interventions in economic issues should be removed and that there should be no restrictions or tariffs on manufacturing and commerce within a nation for it to develop. The book provides readers with of some of the basic principles of this subject. Contents: • Introduction • Globalization: Effects in Asia and Beyond • Globalization and Local Cultures • Globalization and its Fall Out • The WTO, Globalization and a New World Order • Globalization: Myth or Reality • Globalization and Anti-Globalization • Globalization: A Critical Framework for Understanding Contemporary Social Processes • The Impact of Globalization and Liberalisation on Agriculture and Small Farmers • Smallholders, Globalization and Policy Analysis • Globalization in the Fifth Schedule Areas