In The News

Kentucky Fried Globalization

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom December 5, 2006
US media have been fascinated by both China’s and Vietnam’s success in embracing global markets while retaining communist governments. But that fascination resulted in a limited, oft-repeated presentation that does not delve into the cultural complexities, according to history professor Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. Journalists tend to make two mistakes, according to Wasserstrom: first, equating...

Globalization Anxiety

Lawrence H. Summers December 1, 2006
Despite all evidence that points to a robust world economy, many world citizens are anxious and distrustful of global integration and markets, reports economist Lawrence Summers in “The Los Angeles Times.” Conflict throughout the Middle East, combined with the inability of world powers to handle violent conflict or nuclear threats, contributes to the unease. But a major factor is that the middle...

Latin Americans Wonder if Democrats Are Traders

Sibylla Brodzinsky November 30, 2006
In an effort to keep good jobs in the US, Democrats in US Congress may push to change trade policy with the Americas. But that could result in job loss in countries like Colombia and Peru. Labor activists of both continents claim that many of these jobs are exploitative, but even so, the loss of steady work could result in economic instability, a spike in the illegal drug trade, as well as a...

Speed Bump at the Border

Thomas B. Edsall November 29, 2006
With Democrats victorious in the November mid-term elections, a disgruntled middle class expects some immediate protections on jobs, wages as well as health and retirement benefits. But the Democratic Party is divided about how to deliver economic benefits to workers: One camp embraces the economic benefits of globalization, and another group tends toward protectionism and controls on trade,...

Internet Extends Reach of Bangladeshi Villagers

Kevin Sullivan November 29, 2006
The developed world takes for granted the internet and its limitless spectrum of resources. Until recently, such access was unimaginable for the poor people of Bangladesh. Cellular phone technology has brought internet access to more than 100 Bangladeshi villages, with hundreds more internet centers expected to open by the end of the year. With the help of GrameenPhone, a branch of the Grameen...

Personal Misery in the Pursuit of Happiness

Stephen King November 28, 2006
Economic growth used to produce widespread wealth – and a combination of low inflation and unemployment once reflected a content and productive society. A widening income gap between rich and poor, in countries as diverse as the US and China, however, is producing large groups of disgruntled or worried workers. National statistics no longer necessarily reflect the mood of such citizens. Even as...

Globalization and God – Part II

Bruce Mazlish November 28, 2006
A spike in religious violence around the globe leads many observers to assume that secularism has a diminished influence in international politics. But surges of religious fervor in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the US are a backlash against modernity, whose ideas and freedoms cannot be swept under some global rug and forgotten. In the second part of this two-part series, historian Bruce...