Others would protect the West from Chinese competition, arguing, again falsely, that Western workers cannot compete with lower-paid workers subjected to harsh production discipline and without independent unions. As with policies that would stop migration, the justification for protectionism is camouflaged in Iceland Phone Number List the language of concern for others. Within this perspective, national capital should be made to remain mainly at home, promoting a much more “shallow” globalization than exists today. Ethical Western companies should not hire people in (say) Myanmar who do not enjoy basic Iceland Phone Number List labor rights. the popular masses In all cases, these policies aim to disrupt the free flow of trade, people and capital and to isolate the rich world from the popular masses.

They have almost no chance of success, simply because the technological advances of globalization cannot be undone: China and India cannot return to economic isolation, and people all over the world, wherever they Iceland Phone Number List are, want to improve their economic situation by migrating to richest countries. In addition, these policies would represent a structural break with internationalism, which has always been one of the most important achievements of the left (although it is usually rather Iceland Phone Number List conspicuous by its absence). They would reduce growth in poor countries and global convergence, slow down the reduction of global inequality and poverty, and ultimately backfire on rich countries themselves.

Dreaming of a restored world is usually quite common, and often (especially in old age) we get used to indulging in such daydreams. But you have to learn to distinguish between dreams and reality. To succeed in real time, under current conditions, the left needs to offer a program that combines its internationalism and Iceland Phone Number List cosmopolitanism of yesteryear with strong national redistribution. It has to support globalization, try to limit its dire effects, and harness its undoubted potential to equalize incomes around the world over time. As Adam Smith wrote more than two centuries ago, the equalization of economic conditions and military power throughout the world is also a precondition for universal peace to prevail.