In the article Globalization and its New Discontents, Joseph Stilglitz addresses some of the issues that have led to discontent with Globalization and free trade. He notes the following.
“Among the big winners were the global 1%, the world’s plutocrats, but also the middle class in newly emerging economies. Among the big losers – those who gained little or nothing – were those at the bottom and the middle and working classes in the advanced countries.”
This is time for people to rethink their ideological beliefs.
Globalization has led it equalization of wages, i.e. decrease in wages in developed word and increase in wages in the developing world. That is not a surprise and was suppose to happen. What is a surprise is that the significant economic growth was expected to offset this. For those who believe in free trade, this has been a tough fact to digest.
Why didn’t we get the significant economic growth that was expected? Why will Obama, the smartest president ever we were told, end his term without a single year of 3% GDP growth? Well, in contemporary history the two most successful presidents were Reagan (right of center) and Clinton (left of center). Both had one thing in common during their presidency, technological innovation. Former, personal computer and latter, internet, i.e. presidential policies have very little to do with economic growth despite what leftist believe. You can only dig so many holes and then cover them up.
With people looking after their own interest, is it any surprise that the global elite are in favour of free movement of people? One reason you see Facebook’s Zuckerberg urge for increase in immigration is so people like him can have access to cheap labour. This unfettered supply of labour is contrary to the interests of the working class and it is no wonder that Trump has found a ready forum.
As for Trump, affirmative action has given us a half-black and half-woman on the Democrat side. Clowns are people too so one has to give Trump a chance. If you look at the RCP average of polls it is amazing how he closes in on his wife, err opponent, and then he falls back. There is still a lot of ambivalence about him. He is doing it right lately by sticking to the script, or as Obama fans were fond of saying about him in 2008 “staying on the message”, so he might come out ahead.