Discrimination between economic globalization and economic modernization
Here, we must first understand the respective connotations and characteristics of economic globalization and economic modernization, so as to have a deeper understanding of the modernization process in the Middle East. At present, it is difficult for people to understand the definition of economic globalization, but generally speaking, it refers to the gradual internationalization of economic activities and the gradual internationalization of production. It refers to the phenomenon that production factors such as capital, goods, services, labor, technology and information spread beyond the market and national boundaries, or it is "a worldwide industrial restructuring led by developed countries and promoted by multinational companies." But also promoted by communication technology and scientific and technological revolution. In the past 20 years, technological changes in products and production processes have greatly promoted the globalization of economic activities. These changes are closely related to the development of new information technology and communication technology, because they have strong diffusion, thus promoting the development of "new technology economic paradigm", which is characterized by profound changes in knowledge-intensive products, new company organizations and system structures.
Economic modernization is a new concept derived from industrialization and technicalization. It is a tortuous development process in which human beings get rid of the shackles of the old economic concept, absorb the positive factors in traditional culture and foreign culture, and realize sustained economic growth in contradictions and struggles. It is also a process in which human beings or human society make a rational response to economic development and its operating mechanism. Economic modernization is a problem that all countries in the world are facing at present, and the task of realizing economic modernization in developing countries and underdeveloped areas, including the Middle East, is particularly arduous. On a global scale, the economic modernization of all countries has some common characteristics, that is, its core is industrialization, which runs through various economic sectors such as industry, agriculture, transportation, telecommunications and other services, and its process is extremely risky and faltering. In addition, economic modernization is a subsystem of social modernization, and social modernization is a comprehensive and balanced development process. Economic, cultural, political and other levels of modernization restrict and promote each other, and it is impossible to complete any aspect of modernization independently. Therefore, economic modernization must go hand in hand with political and cultural modernization.
Like economic globalization, the motive force of economic modernization is also the revolution of science and technology and the change of productivity. Facts have proved that Britain, an old capitalist country and other developed countries in western Europe, will always develop by leaps and bounds every time it experiences an industrial revolution and a technological revolution, and world modernization will always advance in the process of industrial revolution and technological progress. Both modernization and globalization originated from the western developed countries, and then spread from the center to the whole world, which determines that when countries take the road of modernization or deal with globalization, they will learn from or even imitate the western development model more or less, and their traditional culture, lifestyle, business model and development concept will inevitably be impacted by westernization or secularization. In addition, economic modernization is as open and global as globalization.
Although there is a relationship between economic globalization and economic modernization, they are not exactly the same. First of all, economic globalization is centered on western developed countries, and under the guidance of the interests of powerful countries, it spreads to the edge with an irresistible trend. Marginal developing countries or other regions in the Middle East will involuntarily get involved in the battle, but realizing modernization is a natural choice made by every nation-state out of its own desire for survival and development, and it often responds with a very positive attitude. Secondly, economic globalization is a horizontal expansion process of the interests of a single nation-state to the global scope, while economic modernization is a historical and vertical development process in the economic progress of the nation-state. Thirdly, economic globalization is a phenomenon that transcends national boundaries, culture and ideology, and has no obvious personality characteristics such as culture, values and ethics. However, every sovereign country can choose a modern development model suitable for its own characteristics according to its own historical accumulation and cultural inheritance. Finally, it should be pointed out that economic modernization is more of a pure economic significance. Although it is related to politics, its influence on the international political system is relatively weak, and economic globalization has strong political characteristics. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the world gradually developed towards one pole. After winning hegemony, the United States adjusted its economic policy, abandoned its original "economic nationalism" and promoted "economic internationalism". This background determines that globalization and politics are inseparable. French scholar Jacques Ada believes that economic globalization is the domination and control of the capitalist economic system over the world, and the process of globalization is the process of capitalism sweeping and ravaging the world. Therefore, the connotation of economic globalization has gone far beyond the meaning of pure economy. Today, economic globalization is still dominated by the interests of central powers. This "double-edged sword" may be a "trap" rather than an opportunity for most developing countries such as the Middle East, and may even pay a heavy price at the expense of sovereignty.
Middle East Economic Cooperation under the Background of Globalization
The economic modernization in the Middle East is not only a regional issue, but also a global issue. Due to the differences in natural resources, population, productivity and technical strength, countries in the Middle East have chosen their own modernization models. However, under the impact of globalization, Middle Eastern countries have embarked on the road of economic cooperation and combined economic modernization with globalization, which is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
(A) the integration of the labor market
1973 after the middle east war, oil prices rose sharply, and there was a favorable opportunity to develop the middle east economy. Due to the small population base, the employment concept of avoiding low and getting high, the restrictions of Islam on women's participation in social activities, and the limited technology, the labor force in West Asian countries is small, so they have to rely heavily on foreign workers. Labor from South Asia and Southeast Asia began to import into West Asia on a large scale. India and Pakistan were the first non-Arab countries to send workers to West Asia, followed by Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea in East Asia. According to statistics, in 1975, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand exported 2% of their labor force to West Asia in South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia. By 1980, the proportion rose to 54%, and by 1989, it dropped to about 50%. While India and Pakistan accounted for 97% in 1975, and decreased to less than 30% in 1989. The ratio of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka increased from 1% of 1975 to 22% of 1989. From the 1970s to the early 1980s, South Korea has been an important source of labor in West Asia, reaching its peak in Liao Dynasty, with the number exceeding 1.5 million. After the 1990s, this status dropped to below 65,438+0.000. This trend reflects the increasing competition among cheap labor exporting countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and is also the result of the continuous improvement of the economic situation in South Korea.
Labor mobility in Arab countries is mainly manifested in a large number of labor from non-oil-producing countries to oil-producing countries. On the one hand, it can earn a lot of foreign exchange, on the other hand, it also relieves the employment pressure in our country. Some labor exporting countries in the Middle East, whose economies are heavily dependent on remittances, have played an active role in urging labor interaction among Arab countries, which led to the signing of 1976 related agreements among Arab countries.
According to the survey of labor exporting countries, the labor flow between the Middle East and developing countries is characterized by large-scale and short-term, usually two to five years. In addition, unskilled or semi-skilled people generally flow. Most of the imports from developed countries are long-term technical services, which is the so-called "talent export". Another feature of labor mobility in the Middle East is that it is greatly affected by oil prices. In the early 1980s, there was the greatest demand for foreign workers. After 1983, oil prices fell, and countries in the Middle East slowed down the process of labor cooperation accordingly.
(B) the integration of finance and capital
In order to cope with the surging wave of financial globalization, countries in the Middle East have carried out financial system reforms one after another, strengthened all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging cooperation in regional financial industry, and transformed from the traditional financial system to global integration, becoming the most effective economic cooperation field in the Middle East. At present, according to the summary of some domestic scholars, the financial integration in the Middle East countries mainly presents the following characteristics: from nationalization to privatization, from miniaturization to scale, from simplification to omnipotence, from counter to networking, from nationalization to regionalization, and gradually enters the process of world integration, which is mainly reflected in the fact that banks in the Middle East countries have opened branches overseas, issued stocks and financial bonds to the international capital market, gradually introduced new international financial management models, and accelerated their integration with the international financial market. In addition, Islamic banks in the Middle East began to show the trend of globalization, expanding to Asia, Europe, the United States and other regions, and set up branches in non-Islamic countries such as Britain, Switzerland, the United States, India, Panama and China to carry out transnational financial business and investment development.
(3) production and trade cooperation
Japan is the main trading partner of oil-producing countries in the Middle East, accounting for about 1/4 of the total import and export of these countries, and Europe ranks behind Japan. The trading partners of non-oil producing countries are mainly European countries. For example, France accounts for about 35% of Morocco's imports and exports. After the mid-1970s, with the recovery of oil prices, the trade volume between Arab countries increased rapidly (70% of which were oil, petroleum products and agricultural products), and began to decline with the decline of oil prices after 1980s. After the Gulf War, in order to promote economic and trade cooperation among Arab countries, the Arab Monetary Fund set up a special fund, and Arab countries also cooperated to establish a trade information network, further strengthening market ties. 200 1 oil price fell again, leading to a sharp decline in trade exports and an increase in imports. On the whole, the trade of the Middle East countries basically maintained a surplus in this century, which changed the trade deficit in the 1990s.
Cooperation in the production field in the Middle East has been developing since the 1970s. In order to promote regional trade cooperation among Arab countries, the Arab League established the Arab Economic Unity Council as early as 1964. Since then, economic coordination organizations such as Arab United Company, Arab Industrial Investment Company, Arab Mining Company, Arab Pharmaceutical Industry and Medical Device Company and Arab Livestock Development Company have been established one after another, which greatly promoted the cooperation in the production field in this region. The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries has played an active role in the cooperation in the production field in the Middle East, and a series of organizations formed by it have played an effective role in promoting the development of oil industry, improving the downstream services of oil production, and coordinating the political, economic, military and security relations among member countries. In the 1970s, agricultural cooperation in the Middle East also developed. 1976 Arab League 13 Member States signed an agreement to establish an agricultural development fund to help Arab countries develop agriculture in order to solve the food shortage problem in the Middle East.
Problems and Countermeasures of Economic Modernization in the Middle East
It can be seen that since the 1970s, remarkable achievements have been made in economic cooperation and modernization in the Middle East, but the existing problems are also very prominent. At present, the main problems faced by the economic modernization in the Middle East are: (1) strong dependence on foreign countries, mainly manifested as: resources are relatively single, except for oil, other resources are relatively scarce and need to be transferred from abroad; Industrialization investment mainly depends on attracting foreign investment, and its economy is controlled by big countries to some extent; Technology and equipment are heavily dependent on foreign countries; Lack of sufficient labor force; The market development is not perfect, and it cannot operate freely in the international market. There are still many gaps. (2) The economy has a dual structure, that is, the dual characteristics of economic thought and economic structure. Ideologically, it is reflected in the coexistence of traditional culture and western science and technology. On the one hand, science and technology are regarded as the first production factor of economic modernization, on the other hand, tradition is regarded as the spiritual and cultural force of economic growth. In terms of economic structure, the Middle East economy is characterized by the coexistence of large industry and small-scale peasant economy, and the coexistence of nomadic economy and small enterprises. Facing the surging tide of world economic development, the road of economic modernization in the Middle East will be more difficult and challenging. At present, the world economy is gradually developing towards globalization and regionalization. There are different views on the relationship between globalization and regionalization. One view is that regionalization will inevitably increase conflicts between regions, and the result will eventually lead to the rupture of the international system and the strengthening of regional protectionism. Another view is that regional integration will strengthen the development of globalization. Because from the current signs of international trade and capital flow, there is no exclusive regional group, and economic globalization has been greatly promoted by the technological restructuring of companies and markets. The development of regionalization cannot pose a threat to globalization. The positive role between regionalism and globalism needs certain conditions. The most important thing is to maintain its own development model and to what extent it is open to the outside world, that is, the so-called "open regionalism."
In the past 20 years, some countries in the Middle East have formulated some adjustment plans with trade liberalization, financial liberalization and privatization as the main goals, gradually canceling government intervention and opening up domestic markets. However, these reforms have not achieved the modernization goal with industrialization as the core. The basic characteristics of traditional agricultural society are still very obvious, and there are few new investment and development opportunities. New technology has assumed the elements and key role of global competition, that is, there must be enough labor with professional skills, a competitive environment that can stimulate technological development and a reasonable dynamic mechanism. It is unrealistic to simply use traditional methods and economic strategies to implement reform plans and improve competitiveness. Therefore, at present, countries in the Middle East should first cultivate reasonable industrial production capacity, adjust economic structure and formulate flexible and effective policies to maintain macroeconomic stability and obtain long-term energy self-sufficiency and self-development. Secondly, because the trade pattern of most countries in the Middle East is mainly resource-intensive and agricultural products and raw materials, it is still in the primitive stage, which eventually leads to a large outflow of funds. The Middle East is the region where the global capital outflow accounts for the highest proportion of GDP. The Middle East must further strengthen economic cooperation with developed regions or countries, formulate matching long-term development strategies and export-oriented strategies, make full use of the world market, promote the upgrading of production and export models, and finally curb capital outflows. Third, the Middle East should further strengthen regional economic integration and cooperation and give play to its complementary advantages. At present, the advantages and disadvantages of economic regional integration are still controversial, but most economists believe that regional cooperation is a very effective means, because the current trend of globalization and regionalization has been revealed, and regional cooperation is conducive to the interaction of goods and services and the construction of infrastructure, which will eventually form economies of scale. Finally, with the continuous advancement of globalization, foreign aid from developed countries will continue to flow into the Middle East, and the Middle East should allocate funds and energy according to specific economic conditions, especially considering factors such as markets and policies.
Of course, the premise of achieving the above goals is how to form regional consultations to promote the Middle East peace process and create a stable surrounding environment conducive to economic development. Regional conflicts have had a tremendous negative impact on the sustainable development of the Middle East. Because regional conflicts are difficult to calm down, many countries in the Middle East spend a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources to expand their armed forces and prepare for war, which has seriously affected the intensity of economic development. According to statistics, among 18 countries in the Middle East,1countries' defense expenditure exceeds 5% of GDP, Saudi Arabia's defense expenditure is about 13% of GDP, and Israel, Syria and Jordan all exceed 8%. The Arab-Israeli conflict has brought great resistance to cooperation in this region, and the advantages of both sides cannot complement each other, resulting in economic losses in many countries in the Middle East. It is estimated that in 1996 alone, Israel lost $40 billion due to the boycott of Arab countries, and Arab countries also lost tens of billions of dollars due to Israel's blockade and control. The conflict between Palestine and Israel has repeatedly frustrated the Palestinian economy. Since September 2000, Palestine has suffered a direct loss of $4.5 billion due to the decline in income, the sharp drop in trade, the increase in unemployment, the decrease in tax revenue and the decline in tourism revenue. Since Israel tightened the blockade and curfew on Palestinian towns in April 2002, Palestine has lost $6 million a day and its economy has almost collapsed. In the two years after 2000, Israel also lost $5 billion.
In short, in recent years, the two basic trends of globalization and regional integration have been rising. In the future international competition, they will influence each other and have a great impact on the economic modernization in the Middle East. Strong geo-economic development momentum will make the economic relations between regions more and more unbalanced, which may lead to differences, mutual accusations and the continuous strengthening of local protectionism. Only by strengthening regional economic cooperation and establishing an open and global international economic system can the Middle East find a living space in the fierce competition and avoid being marginalized or even eliminated by international economic rules.
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