Post-Brexit, Can a Kinder, Gentler Model Help Globalization Survive?

Politicians that do not learn lessons from Brexit, the United Kingdom’s decision to end membership with the European Union, will unleash new economic disruptions. “For years, a wave of anti-establishment resentment, feeding on anger at widening social inequality and hostility to foreigners, has been building across Europe,” writes Peter Ford, Sara Miller Llana and Howard LaFranchi for the Christian Science Monitor. “Lately, similar nativist forces have made themselves felt in the United States.” Voters in democratic societies must view policies as fair. Widening inequality in education and employment drags democracies toward extreme protectionist and narrow policies that distract from real problems confronting the globe. Leaders have “opportunities to present a vision of a kinder, gentler model of globalization that takes more account of local realities” prior to elections in the United States, Germany, France, and other countries. Solutions include trade adjustment assistance, social welfare programs, insurance policies, less reliance on austerity programs and improved communications on visionary policies. Globalization is a disruptive force. Backtracking from entrenched interconnectedness may be more treacherous. – YaleGlobal