Fixing Globalisation

Globalism - good or bad?

• It can be a force for good overall, but there have been losers (often the lower middle classes) who now feel they have nothing to lose by challenging it.
• 'Right wing liberalism' is perceived as elitist - need to find a new label to save globalisation.
• Hyper globalisation is in crisis - need to return to globalisation.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been taken out of poverty, but at the same time the process has caused more inequality and job insecurity. It worked in China because of the way they implemented it (controlled capital flows, violated trade secrets) and the fact that they were a huge market for the rest of the world; and worked not so well in India.

Bretton Woods (the system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and Japan in the mid-20th century) was developed post WW2, when the US had large surpluses that went overseas - until the surpluses stopped.

The US intention to invest in retraining people who lost their jobs was never carried out - these people remained less employable.

Skills not needed. Chinese approach to over-capacity was to train workers and create new start-up jobs, a guaranteed basic wage, and looking after migrant workers.

It is quicker to close down a factory in the UK due to poor labour laws (can be as little as 45 days), than to close a factory in France or Germany, which can take years.

Companies now focus on shareholder interests, but the majority of shares in UK companies are held overseas, often for only a few months before being sold on. Companies should have workers on their boards - the UK is the odd one in not having such representation.

A future for globalisation needs to work better for those who lose out, and needs to stimulate world trade in order to avoid extremism and mass migration.

Source: Radio 4 programme series New World - episode Fixing Globalisation broadcast Fri. 6th Jan. 2017. Listen now http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086s822 or download podcast for later listening http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04nglqv, but not sure how long these will be available.