The Future of Globalization

Abstract

Since 2016 populism at the polls has begun to threaten the longstanding western commitment to globalization, i.e., free markets and open societies as the best model for promoting world peace and prosperity. Nationalist now challenges this model in the US, the UK, and several other European countries. The challenges reflect discontent with the last years of economic underachievement, fears of immigration and terrorism in Europe and on the Mexican border, and a wide spread fear of the "hollowing out" of the middle and working classes due to unfair Chinese exports.

But the concerns are greater than they need to be. Things are turning around, and recovery has set in. Globalization is thought to be the most effect way, over time, to generate global peace and prosperity, and to generate economy opportunity through competition. It is well supported by a deep infrastructure of supporting institutions in the governmental, commercial and financial sectors.

But populism has set in and has attracted a lot of voter interest in shaking things up. Itr is essentially a challenge to the "elites" and therefore we will have tp wait for the political process to to return to the center, but globalization will survive in the end.