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ASK MAULANA Your Questions Answered DISCUSSION WITH MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN ON ‘GLOBALISATION’. Some people are critical of ‘globalisation’, citing evidence to show that it is causing rapidly increasing economic inequalities. Globalisation helps multinational corporations become even wealthier, while driving small businesses out of competition, resulting in massive poverty and unemployment. How do you see this? There are two aspects of globalisation that one needs to consider here. The first is inequality. Inequality does exist, but it is a natural phenomenon. The fact is that inequality is and will remain part of every system. This is because according to the law of nature inequality creates competition and challenges, which, in turn, lead to progress. A second aspect that needs to be considered is that opportunities have increased manifold because of it. As a result, there has come about what can be called the phenomenon of ‘de-monopolization’, which means that many more people now have the chance to avail of opportunities. Critics of globalisation generally focus on only one aspect of the phenomenon and ignore others. What they consider as the minus point is not due to globalisation per se, but, due to the law of nature. Misinterpretation of the law of nature has made the critics unable to understand and acknowledge the positive aspects of globalisation. It is important to bear in mind that inequality is part of nature and not something unique to globalisation as such. It is true that the magnitude or extent of inequality has increased because of it, but one must also remember that the quantum of opportunities has also increased. Further, one should remember that this inequality is not a permanent or absolute feature of globalisation. There are numerous cases of people who hardly possessed any material wealth initially, and who have worked hard and prospered as a result, availing of the new opportunities opened up by globalisation. One should also note that the opportunities that have accompanied it are an integral feature of the phenomenon of globalisation.