Subject file GLOBALIZATION: Exploitation

 

Courtesy: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/world-3-0-global/9781422142752/HBSP38649_chapter09.html

Globalization's economic model can lead to worker and resource exploitation by allowing multinational corporations to relocate production to less-regulated regions with cheap labor and lax environmental standards, often leaving the host countries with little independent economic growth and exacerbating global inequality. This exploitation manifests as low wages, dangerous working conditions, and the depletion of natural resources, creating a new form of economic colonialism where wealthier nations benefit at the expense of poorer ones. 

How Globalization Leads to Exploitation

Cheap Labor and Low Regulation: Companies can exploit weaker labor and environmental laws in developing countries by shifting production to these regions, reducing their operating costs. 

Increased Competition: Globalization increases competition between local labor markets, which can drive down wages and worker protections as companies seek the lowest possible labor costs. 

Corporate Dominance: Large multinational corporations can gain significant control in developing nations, leading to monopolies, resource depletion, and violations of human and labor rights, often bypassing national accountability mechanisms. 

Dependency on Global North: The global south's reliance on the global north for manufacturing and demand for low-cost labor can trap developing economies in a cycle of dependence, hindering their industrialization and economic self-sufficiency. 

Displacement and Land Grabbing: The demand for resources and agricultural land by foreign entities can lead to the displacement of local communities and the loss of fertile land, as seen in the depletion of fishing stocks and agricultural decline in some regions. 

Consequences of Exploitation

Increased Inequality: While some nations and individuals benefit, others become poorer, creating a polarized world with growing wealth disparities. 

Brain Drain: Skilled workers and graduates may leave their home countries in search of better opportunities abroad, weakening the local economy and creating a "brain drain". 

Environmental Degradation: Resource exploitation by foreign corporations can contribute to the depletion of natural resources and environmental damage in vulnerable countries. 

Erosion of Human Rights: The pursuit of profit can lead to widespread human rights abuses, including forced labor, dangerous working conditions, and the violation of workers' rights. 

New Form of Colonialism: The economic exploitation of the global south by the global north has been described as a modern form of colonialism, where power is exerted through economic rather than direct political mean.

Subject File GLOBALIZATION

 Introduction: What is globalization?

Ex. 1: Topic vocab. Match the words with the correct definitions.

	Topic vocabulary	No.	Definition
1	global trade		… countries with little or no industrial or economic activity where people have low incomes
2	developed countries		… a nation’s economy progressing towards developed and advanced
3	global village		… refers to the economy of the world comprising economies of different countries closely interrelated
4	outsourcing		… a workplace with unacceptably severe conditions and usually extremely low wages
5	developing countries		… the whole world looked at as a single community that is connected by electronic communication systems
6	emerging economy; emerging market economy		… countries with a lot of industrial or economic activity where people have high incomes
7	global economy		… the exchange of goods between countries
8	sweatshop		… finding goods or services outside the country

Ex. 2: Watch the video and check your answers in Ex. 1. Then compare them with the KEY.

Ex. 3: Pros and Cons of Globalization.

-> Read the text and decide whether the statements are true or false.

The Pros and Cons of Globalization

  

		True	False
a)	The outsourcing of manufacturing jobs in advanced economies is due to the higher level of skills in developing countries.
b)	Globalization leads to higher productivity and output in countries, more jobs, increased wages, and decreased product prices in the world economy.
c)	Globalization has contributed to reducing the number of people suffering from poverty around the world.
d)	Consumer goods such as household appliances, cars, or apparel have become less affordable due to globalization.

KEY 

Ex. 1: 5; 6; 7; 8; 3; 2; 1; 4

Ex. 3: a) False/due to cheaper labor costs; b) True; c) True; d) False/more affordable

Subject File THE IDEAL TOURIST

Mass tourism has become a scourge for many places around the world, often outweighing the positive aspects of the tourism industry for local communities.

Ex. 1: Learn more about the problems of mass tourism and complete the exercises

The Last Tourist

Subject File EXTREME TOURISM

Extreme tourism is a niche industry focused on high-risk activities and travel to dangerous locations for thrill-seeking experiences, often involving physical or mental challenges, pushing personal limits, and a higher potential for injury or death. Examples range from ultra-sporty endeavors like mountaineering and skydiving to traveling to hazardous places such as war zones, disaster sites, or the depths of the ocean and space. This form of travel appeals to adrenaline junkies who desire a unique, challenging, and often exclusive adventure, a trend amplified by social media and technological advancements.

Subject File TOLERANCE IN SOCIETY: Violence Against Women

Sexism and discrimination based on a person's gender belong to the most common forms of discrimination. They take many different forms in our society, the worst of which is gender-based violence, even leading to extreme outcomes such as femicide.

As of March 2024, the UN World Health organisation WHO reports the following key facts:

• Violence against women – particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence – is a major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights.
• Estimates published by WHO indicate that globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
• Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (27%) of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.
• Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health, and may increase the risk of acquiring HIV in some settings.
• Violence against women is preventable. The health sector has an important role to play to provide comprehensive health care to women subjected to violence, and as an entry point for referring women to other support services they may need.

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women

Sexism and gender discrimination are often based on cultural or religious norms and can be witnessed across the world. In inherently misogynistic cultures and religions, women and girls experience patriarchal structures which deny them their own individual identity, their Human Rights and render them chattel and objects to different forms of violence and oppression. In its strongest form, this type of gender discrimination is called gender apartheid, and the most blatant example of this severe form of oppression can be seen in Afghanistan.

Country File UNITED KINGDOM: The System of Education

The UK education system has five stages—Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Further, and Higher Education—with compulsory education from age 5 to 16, though some countries have slightly different starting ages. 

Although each of the four UK countries has some autonomy, the system is structured around Key Stages, with students transitioning from primary to secondary school and then potentially to further or higher education, culminating in qualifications like GCSEs and A-levels.  

Subject File ASPECTS of TRAVELLING

 Dream Destinations 

1. Destination World: The World's 47 Best Tourist Attractions

2. Destination Europe Europe Travel Guide: The Best European Destinations

3. Destination Austria 

Ex. 1: Read the text and complete the numbered gaps with the correct city names.

Austrian cities are always good for a surprise, even if one visits them regularly. A tour of the country’s cultural sights promises an astounding variety of experiences, impressions and pleasures that could scarcely be more different from each other. 

________________ (1) can boast two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the ___________(a) city centre and the Baroque ensemble of Schönbrunn Palace and its grounds. One can find art treasures and magnificent buildings all over the former imperial capital. The most important “cabinet of art” in the world, the Kunstkammer in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, takes visitors back in time to the Renaissance and Baroque "Kunst- und Wunderkammer" (chambers of arts and natural wonders) of the Habsburgs.

Austria’s youngest provincial capital, ________________ (2), can look back on a long history, with its town charter dating back to the twelfth century. One of the most ______________ (b) features of the capital of Lower Austria today is its hyper-modern government district, and directly adjacent is the equally modern cultural district with its futuristic Festspielhaus, where world-renowned musicians and dance companies perform regularly.

_________________ (3), the capital of Upper Austria, is remarkable for the coexistence of traditional and contemporary architecture. This city, situated directly on the banks of the Danube, succeeds in blending art, science and technology to create an impressive synthesis. A host of modern buildings, such as the Ars Electronica Center, provide a stimulating contrast to the Baroque city centre. The Lentos Kunstmuseum and the new music theatre are two other outstanding modern buildings and ____________ (c) attractions for visitors to the city. 

The Baroque city centre of ________________ (4), Mozart’s birthplace and home to the _______________ (d) Salzburg Festival, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The cityscape is marked by numerous churches and palaces as well as the Baroque palaces of Mirabell and Hellbrunn. Salzburg Cathedral and the medieval Hohensalzburg Fortress are other architectural highlights. And visitors to Salzburg should not leave without taking some of the city’s sweetest souvenirs with them: the original Salzburg Mozartkugel. 

What makes ________________ (5) _______________(e)  is not just its extraordinary location, surrounded by towering Alpine peaks. The Tirolean capital also features such world-famous sights as the Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl), the art treasures in the Renaissance Ambras Castle, and the Court Church (Hofkirche). The city has its share of modern structures too, including the Hungerburgbahn funicular railway and Bergisel Ski Jump, both designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid.

The history of ___________________ (6) began as early as two thousand years ago, when a Roman settlement was located here. Today the main feature of the town centre is the _____________ (f) St. Martin’s Tower, crowned by a sixteenth-century onion-shaped dome. The shoreline of Lake Constance is dotted with impressive modern buildings that represent a harmonious addition to the townscape: the Festspielhaus, the Kunsthaus and the “vorarlberg museum”, which opened its doors in 2013.

It is the Carinthian capital’s Baroque and Jugendstil façades, lovely arcaded courtyards and narrow passageways that lend the picturesque historic district of _______________ (7) its Mediterranean charm. The Jugendstil-era Stadttheater is not only the southernmost theatre in the German-speaking world, but also an _______________ (g) gem of extraordinary elegance.

 ____________________ (8), Austria’s second-largest city, is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the old town, as the largest medieval historic district in all of Europe, and Eggenberg Palace. In 2011 the Styrian capital was also designated as a “UNESCO City of Design”, placing it among the world’s most ________________ (h) and future-oriented cities. Architectural examples of this are the Kunsthaus Graz and the Murinsel.

In _______________________ (9), the capital of Burgenland, the visitor will encounter one name again and again: Joseph Haydn. The composer spent over forty years as music director in the service of the Esterházy Princes. Esterházy Palace, the city’s landmark, is the venue for concerts by world-class artists throughout the year. The ___________________(i) area surrounding the city is also well worth exploring: it is marked by extensive vineyards and features numerous wineries.

Ex. 2: Choose an adjective from below to complete the gaps with letters.

medieval - architectural - historic - striking - scenic - famous - unique - popular - creative