Essay Sample on Rise of the Rest: A Possibility of a Shift in Global Economic Power

Introduction

Several countries across the globe have experienced an increase in their economies that remained illusionary in the past. There has emerged new hubs of regional opulence and prosperity. There exist a possibility of a shift in economic power, in which Asia may take the opportunity to close the financial gap between it and Europe. Some scholars argue that the coming decades may lead to a rise of the rest of other regions making the European Union and the United States of America registered a decline in their economic supremacy (Baylis, 2020). The West may observe a decrease in its portion of the international gross domestic product (GDP), industrial production, and global trade.

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The world vitality and control of the West economy will remain; however, its comparative influence may degenerate as the global economy grows. The decline of the European Union economy may result from the lack of political will, inadequate military authority, and ageing populace. For several decades, most economists have argued on the decrease of the USA from its position as a universal superpower (Layne, 2018). Scholars suggest that Americans and Europeans will separately remain significantly wealthier than most people across the globe for the predictable and long-term future. The purpose of this paper involves an examination of the economic power shift from the West to the East under international relations.

Indicators of Economic Power

China’s Internet Network argued that China had surpassed the United States in possessing the highest number of internet users in June 2008 with about 253 million subscribers. The Network’s claims made China have the leading global market with a 50% development rate over the previous year. With the advancement rates of 60 to 70% per annum, the internet market remains the fastest-increasing consumer market industry in China (Baylis, 2020). The internet market remains dominated by Chinese firms like Sina, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, and not the American companies like Yahoo or Google.

Economists suggest that by 2050, the economies of the group of the Emerging Seven (E7) that comprises of Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico, Turkey, and Indonesia may increase to about 50% more than that of the contemporary G7 that consist of Germany, USA, Japan, France, Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Some reports predict that in the next four decades, the economies of the E7 may surpass that of the G7 (Siddiqui, 2016). The primary reason for these assertions relies on the fact that India and China will ascend as the globe’s key suppliers of manufactured products and services. Besides, the reports base their argument on the belief that Russia and Brazil will emerge as the leading suppliers of raw materials.

Furthermore, the E7 countries have a massive potential consumer base, accompanied by the availability of continental markets and a large workforce due to their high population. However, the economy of China will get slowly passed concerning its development progress, though not the level of GDP by India and Brazil in the future decade due to its ageing population (Siddiqui, 2016). Some people may assert that the decline in birth rate (resulting in a decrease in populace growth) considerably below the ideal replacement number (occurring in Europe) may result in economic ruin if not balanced by an inflow of migrants.

Scholars argue that under such conditions, a country’s populace may decline by half in four decades generating an increase in health care and welfare demands, while tax collections reduce to an unmanageable degree. Over the past decade, countries in the E7 and South Africa have undergone considerable economic advancement (Siddiqui, 2016). The trend has prompted analysts to anticipate a shift in the center of economic power in favor of the dynamic emerging markets. Besides, these nations believe they merit a greater political involvement in the universal community, such as a seat on the United Nations Security Council, a say on World Trade Organization, and reforms in the UN.

The 2008 financial crisis, emphasizing the change in comparative economic power, urgently and strongly stressed the advocacy for more say in the global community. Moreover, the emerging markets have acknowledged that collaboration can enable them to push forward their agenda (Siddiqui, 2016). The United States has created and expanded its international influence on the roots of the British Empire. It has common values with one of the most significant economic blocks in the universe, the EU. The proportional change in the international significance and magnitude of the US economy should not, however, get conflated with a broad shift from the Western principles, global monetary structures, and trading arrangements.

The West has numerous assets that have established its position in the global community. For example, the United States of America possess capital, human, and natural resources (Layne, 2018). Besides, the country has several connections with transatlantic society, whose organizational centers, like G8 and NATO, influences many policies across the world. Furthermore, as China grows, it may not become the center of an emerging unified East. Asian countries have difficulties integrating than European nations. Moreover, the US dollar and the Euro remain the globe’s reserve currencies. The US Treasury bills have indicated a small sign of losing their value.

Furthermore, China’s economy has remained problematic by numerous fundamental weaknesses within the government, especially its inadequate social welfare, environmental conservation, and democratization (Layne, 2018). Besides, the economy of China remains founded on exports to wealthy Western markets that it must put more effort to sustain to grow and maintain its economy.

Conclusion

Although the center of economic power now seems to shift towards Asia, especially China, it remains untimely to write off the West. The West and America still have a strong economy and close intercontinental collaboration. Thus, there have certainly existed shifts in the weight of economic activity concerning many indicators. However, this falls well short of justifying the conclusion that the center of economic power has moved from West to East. There has existed no move of anything which could be called a center, and not enough progress concerning the indicators.

References

Baylis, J. (2020). The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations. Oxford University Press, USA. www.books.google.com/books

Layne, C. (2018). The US–Chinese power shift and the end of the Pax Americana. International Affairs, 94(1), 89-111. www.academic.oup.com/ia/article-abstract/94/1/89/4762695

Siddiqui, K. (2016). Will the growth of the BRICs cause a shift in the global balance of economic power in the 21st century? International Journal of Political Economy, 45(4), 315-338. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08911916.2016.1270084