Washington Examiner: Good Globalization and Bad Globalization

Globalization delivers both comfort and pain – represented by a delicious cup of coffee anytime or anywhere in the world or job losses and shuttered factories due to foreign competition. Dan Hannan, capturing themes covered by YaleGlobal Online since 2002, describes how globalization has become a divisive election issue in many countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. He compares political and economic globalization, and cautions against lumping the two together. “Economic globalization is a bottom-up process,” explains Hannan. adding that consumers, by pursuing low prices, make regular decisions that favor globalization and reject local businesses. “Free trade reduces the power of the state and magnifies the freedom of the individual.” He goes on to suggest that “Political globalization, by contrast, is about imposing common rules, even when those rules are rejected by local leaders and their voters. It elevates technocracy over accountability.” Expanding competition and the spread of good ideas and best practices based on science and evidence, while taking local conditions into account, has lifted living standards worldwide, Hannan concludes. But that prosperity does not reach the countries that embrace protectionism and isolation. – YaleGlobal