Week Four Vocabulary

alienation

marxist concept, defined as “estrangement for human’s essential nature”

special economic zones

designated areas that don’t have the same laws as the rest of a country, to make business and manufacturing easier, thus helping the economy

countering force

opposing or opposite forces, different groups with different interests, power, and resources that engage in a fight to establish and change the status quo

power

defined by Max Weber as “the ability to achieve one’s goals when others are trying to prevent them from being realized”

globalization

the process of growing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of countries around the world

economic globalization

trade in goods and services between nations, foreign investment in domestic industries

social globalization

international communication, tourism, students, immigration and emigration, trademarks, etc.

political globalization

embassies, international NGOs

free-market economics

unregulated system of economic exchange, minimal to no government interventions; based on principle of supply and demand

free trade agreements

international treaty between two or more countries that reduces or eliminates trade barriers to make buying and selling goods and services easier

bourgeoisie

the class of people who own the means of production

proletariat

the class of people which do not own the means of production and must sell their labor

surplus labor value

workers produced more value in what they have made than what they are paid in wages

labor unions

organizations which fight for the rights of the laborers

job exportation

relocation of jobs to countries where products can be made for cheaper

race to the bottom

companies, states, or governments compete by progressively lowering standards, regulations, or costs to gain a competitive edge