"Globalization can be defined as the ability to produce goods or services anywhere in the world using capital, technology and components from anywhere and to sell the production anywhere and place profits everywhere" - - Peter Jay, BBC Economics Corrospondent, 1996 "Rather than bringing economic benefits to all people, economic globalization has brought the planet to the brink of environmental catastrophe, unprecedented social unrest, economies of most countries amid chaos, an increase in poverty, hunger, landlessness, migration and social dislocation, the experiment can now be called a failure.” The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) outlines here the economic and social problems they accuse of growing globalization to be the root cause. Peter Jay outlines in his definition the impact areas of globalization and this essay will proceed in an attempt to evaluate the impact of this impact on two main areas. First, the economic consequences of increased trade liberalization will be examined in terms of its effects on national and international markets, and second, the impact will be examined in terms of its impact on social issues such as inequality, poverty eradication and economic growth. These areas are commonly accepted as the most pressing global problems, and it follows that solving these problems should be the goal of any internationally approved economic system. The anti-globalization war is fought primarily by international NGOs concerned about the alarming prevalence of poverty and inequality in today's world, and globalization's perceived inability to resolve them, as they appear to be worsening due to increased international trade liberalizations. In 19… middle of paper… free trade is robust and the data tends to substantiate its claims. Its weakness, however, lies in the assumptions that must be taken into account before pursuing trade liberalization. First, the presence of adequate infrastructure to facilitate market forces should be ensured, along with stable macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policy. Whenever possible, however, liberalization should be pursued as it offers excellent opportunities for economic growth through larger markets and greater availability of necessary imports. The initial stages should however be managed carefully, as initial unemployment and declines in output are likely to follow from the reallocation period, as dictated by the theory of comparative advantage. However, these are short-term losses and will remain small compared to the long-term gains from increased international trade.