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The dependency theory by Andre Gunder Frank explains why I support the focus being on Caribbean development rather than globalization. Frank, the leading dependency theorist,
suggests that lack of development is because Western nations have deliberately under-developed them. He explains a system of core and peripheral nations where the core nations such as the USA and UK exploits the peripheral nations, the less developed nations such as Caribbean territories (Mohammed 304)  . The periphery is kept in a state of dependency and under-development because the developed world requires cheap raw materials and labour, which is usually all that is exported from Caribbean territories as most of the major manufacturing and processing happens in the more developed countries. The problem with this system is that the raw materials were worth very little when compared to the value after processing. This is why the economies of the larger territories prosper more than the smaller ones. These practices have shown itself in other means even after slavery. The way world trade is organised today is a legacy of colonialism. Most ex-colonies have achieved political independence but their economies still tend to be based on exporting cash crops and raw materials to the West. The dependence instilled in Caribbean nations have been institutionalized in these territories and need major development in order to be able to compete on a global scale. Therefore, to answer the question, Yes even with today’s level of globalization, regional/Caribbean development is still necessary to an extent and this is due to their status as developing nations. They are not yet ready to compete at a global level as individual nations but hopefully they stand a better chance to compete with efforts towards regional integration.

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This includes the viewing of environment as a global whole and combatting global swarming and climate change. As a global village the aim would be to achieve oneness on issues like climate change. This a global issue because it’s not just Caribbean islands that are engaging in environmentally harmful activities but in addition, we will all suffer from the effects of such wide scale natural disaster that will result if we don’t take action as soon as possible.

Sustainable development is a global problem, not a regional one. The focus of sustainable development is efficient use of the resources available to provide for today’s generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Thompson 229). And while there can be regional efforts, every nation needs to play its part in reducing and preventing further damage. This is the only dimension where development should be globally rather than regional and this is because of the severity of the matter as well as the accomplishments that may result from a global effort to prevent disaster. I presume that the ‘lifeboat Caribbean’ effect would be multiplied. This term describes where a natural disaster takes place in a Caribbean territory such as earthquakes that are frequent to Haiti and many other Caribbean nations chip in to help in recovery. Whether by providing financial aid, sending good and other necessary supplies or the human resources necessary to take care of the injured. This is what is envisioned on a global scale if efforts are made towards global development.

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Due to the technological advances especially in the field of information and communication technology, globalization describes our changing experience of time and space, known as 'time space compression (jwala 2009). Globalization has mean the increase in interdependency across space and an increase in speed with which this relationship may occur. There are new opportunities for networking and this is due to technology which has facilitated communication like never before, from free texting, keeping up to date on social media to video calls. Distance is no longer a barrier to relationships, business transactions or development. Conference calls can be done with participants across the globe and resources can be sourced, ordered and delivered from miles away. However the global village has once again disadvantaged Caribbean development as outsourcing and ordering foreign resources takes away from local support and leaves local entrepreneurs at a loss. While this was already touched on in terms of economics, it also affect the quality of life and human development of the Caribbean territories.  Human development is concerned with improving people’s wellbeing through better opportunities and freedoms and trying to ensure an individual’s basic needs are met (Thompson 231). In this way, development is more than economic growth, it includes social justice, empowerment, living conditions, education and healthcare. Compared to larger foreign countries, the Caribbean nations are still in its developing stages. This is why the focus should be on regional integration and development rather than global integration.  Efforts should be geared towards retaining our populations and skilled personnel and this can be done by improvement of the facilities such as healthcare, job opportunities, education and strategies that would reduce the cost of living.

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This emphasises the view that the world is a global marketplace. It describes where access is not only to local products but also foreign goods (Pitterson 50) . The benefit of globalization in economics is usually linked to ease of trade, movement of labour and goods and services. The most important economic agents are multinational corporations (MNCs) which no longer have serious national allegiances. They operate worldwide. So if any country wants to prosper in this new global arrangements or economic order then it must woo these main actors, the MNCs and to attract foreign investment (Jwala 2009). This process is referred to as industrialization by invitation and while it has brought investments to the Caribbean it has been suffocating local entrepreneurs. Local retailers cannot compete with these large scale multinational companies who benefit from economies of scale and a reputation. The focus should instead be on regional development, supporting local franchises and helping them to expand to extra regional territories. Many organizations have been formed to facilitation the liberalization of trade such as (CARIFTA) Caribbean Free Trade Association, (CARICOM) Caribbean Community and Common Market and (CSME) Caribbean Single Market and Economy which all promote easier trade and movement of goods, labour and services, however the reality is that much of our well trained and educated are leaving to go to other countries for better conditions or job opportunities. We are putting resources into education our population only to experience brain drain. Instead, development should be focused on creation and improvement of jobs locally so that the skilled labour is retained and further develops our nations rather than the already developed foreign territories. Putting energy into development of the entrepreneurial drive would also increase production, thereby increasing national income and decreasing importation debt.

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This includes the coming together and commercialization of various cultures, religion and forms of dress. It can be described as the spread of global popular culture, and other forms of human interaction. This can be explained by Edward Kamau Brathwaite’s theory of creolization where it is stated that creolization is a way of seeing society not in terms of separate nuclear units but as contributory parts of a whole. Brathwaite noticed that proximity facilitated the two way mixing of cultures between the colonial people and their colonizers which included language and religion. Similarly, with globalization the sharing of culture is as easy as a click of a button. You can learn about the culture and religion of another territory just by watching television. However, this brings with it issues of identity and a watering down of culture. The portrayal of American culture has led to a desire of western values and this usually means forsaking our Caribbean culture in acts as simple as online shopping rather than supporting local retailers or buying Starbucks coffee rather than rituals coffee. The information revolution and the mass media, provides both a window to the wider world and a challenge to traditional ways of doing things (Lieber 2002)

However, culture is a source of income for the Caribbean in relation to its festivals, music and cuisine and globalization and the spreading of knowledge of such culture has facilitated this source of income in the form of tourism and support for local artists. Visitors come from all over the world to take part in carnival celebrations, have a relaxing vacation on a tropical island and support for our music has taken local Soca artists Calypso Rose and Machel Montano to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and all over the world. Such publicity is sure to be beneficial to our little twin islands in recognition of our talents and our original genres of music.  In addition development of the Caribbean culture will bring major benefits to the tourism sector. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries globally, and it is a primary contributor to the economies of most Caribbean countries (Mohammed 2015). This development should not be individualistic, the focus must be on all Caribbean islands to promote the territories as all being a vacation destination as a whole.  This is because the islands are already being looked at in a connected way and the reputation of one affects the reputation of them all. The major finding of  Mohammed’s study in Trinidad and Jamaica is that violent crime impacts negatively on tourist arrivals in both countries and that the image of the destination country could be negatively affected by high levels of violent crime. This goes for the Caribbean as a whole rather than the individual islands as the term ‘Caribbean Island’ refers to them all as a blanket term.

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Globalization facilitates the connection and interdependence of economies and cultures coming together on a worldwide scale via advancements in technology, communications, transport commerce and trade liberalization resulting in the world becoming a ‘global village’ (Thompson 263). Regional or Caribbean development refers to a similar agreement between the Caribbean islands to co-operate and work closely together to achieve peace, stability and wealth. The question is not which is better or which should more efforts be put into, but rather, for the Caribbean can one exist without the other? The answer here is no. As a small Caribbean island, there is no globalization without Caribbean development and here’s why!
The following points are separated into four categories or dimensions of developments, which are the socio-cultural dimension, the economic dimension, technology and communication dimension and the environmental dimension.