I would argue that globalization of investment and financial flows is
actually breaking down apartheid-like barriers more than reinforcing them,
though the apartheid analogy still has alot of validity. With
globalization we are all becoming servants to the same master.
Apartheid-like geographic divisions are being re-created inside all
countries, but the previously privileged countries have lost alot of those
privileges. This is the logical result of freer trade. Immigration
restrictions obviously reinforce separation, but when you look at the
polarization of incomes in the US, it is clear that a large portion of
Americans have lost a great deal with the internationalization of the
American economy. Apartheid is in America now, like it always has been in
South Africa, Brazil or Mexico, but class stratification cuts across
countries. - DMG
On Thu, 10 Jul 1997, Gernot Kohler wrote:
> With reference to the discussion on race-related issues.
> A handful of writers, including Ali Mazrui, also myself, have compared
> the structure of the world system to the structure of (pre-Mandela) South
> African apartheid (in the sense of a system) and called it "global
> apartheid". The analogy has several dimensions: a (predominantly) white
> minority is dominant in the system (military and political power), has a
> vastly higher standard of living than the multiracial majority (wealth)
> and is privileged in several other dimensions. Over much of the past 500
> years, this system was explicitly justified in racial superiority terms.
> How do others on the list react to such a concept (i.e., global apartheid)?
>
> Regards,
> -GK
>