QBLOG – There is no doubt in my mind, that given the dependence on international trade and the ease of travel and transportation, that globalization is here to stay in some form. It is really the natural evolution of social and economic interaction in the world to unfold in the future. However, recent referendums and elections, particularly the Brexit vote in the U.K. and the election of Donald Trump as President-Elect in the U.S., would indicate that populations throughout the world are increasingly dissatisfied with many aspects of the globalization movement, as have been adopted in current models.
Italy and Austria are going to the polls today to vote on other aspects related to this global movement toward nationalism.
The European Union is probably the best example as to why the current globalization model is not working there. People throughout the world are basically looking for the same basic social and economic standards. These standards would include decent and comfortably furnished living accommodations, a vehicle for transportation, an ample supply of food, access to a reasonable and affordable standard of medical care, and a comfortable level of social familiarity leading to a feeling of personal security (respect for Human Rights).
What is not included is the circumstance of open borders such as exists in Europe at the moment, which erodes the feeling of a national identity and a familiar social structure. Brits want to be Brits, according to those national and social standards deemed to be British and established over hundreds of years of national and social evolution. Likewise, the French want to be French, the Germans want to be Germans, and so on, for the same reasons.
The Brexit vote in the U.K. was certainly a testament to this being the case. The U.K. voting to leave the U.K. was a reaction to this perceived loss of nationalism and a familiar social structure, with the current unbridled immigration and open borders policy of the EU and not a rejection of the trade and economic benefits derived from such a Union. This vote, based in many respects on fear of losing a national identity, was largely perpetrated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy of allowing large numbers of Middle East refugees into Germany and upsetting the social equilibrium in Europe in general.
I’m sure that many Brits would now like an open borders limited issue “do-over” of the Referendum vote, based on the negative economic consequences to the U.K. Economy and the devaluation of the Pound Sterling by more than twenty percent, which has occurred following the Brexit vote.
Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. is largely based on similar nationalistic feelings and not based so much on a negative feeling toward the trade and economic ties aspects of globalization. Many of the “hard-line” positions taken by the Trump Campaign, particularly on the issue of Immigration, and which contributed greatly to his election as President-Elect, have now been significantly modified since the Election, to something of a less harsh nature.
Not that there should be open borders in the Western Hemisphere as currently exist in the EU, but I believe that this change in stance has occurred because it is recognized that certain aspects of globalization are here to stay, as they contribute to the economic and social well-being of all Mankind and the security of world peace and stability over-all.
The “pendulum has swung” in a dramatic fashion at the moment, toward the global promotion of Nationalism. However, I believe that other economic and social considerations will prevail over-time, to ameliorate the more drastic aspects of this current movement, as has been seen in the change in stance taken by Donald Trump, since his election as U.S. President-Elect..
