Podcast Summary
Understanding the Mixed Bag of Economic Globalization: Economic globalization has positive and negative effects, and opinions differ from country to country. Embracing diverse perspectives is crucial to succeeding in this era.
Anthea Roberts, co-author of Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters, highlights how different countries and individuals hold different economic stories that they believe to be true. However, the reality is that economic globalization is a mixed bag, with both positive and negative effects. While globalization has lifted millions out of poverty, it has also produced damaging effects, including left-behind communities, increased suicide, and drug addiction. The global survey by Ipsos found that only 48% believed that globalization was a good thing for their country. As there is no clear right answer, the key to succeeding in the era of economic globalization is to embrace diverse perspectives and ideas.
The Unintended Consequences of Globalization in Manufacturing Jobs: Economic globalization has led to the elimination of manufacturing jobs and a slow reallocation process, creating relative gains and losses. Developed countries have seen a decline in their share of the global economy, while developing countries have increased their share.
Globalization has not been a win for everyone, as economic theories suggested. More global trade was expected to create growth, even at home as manufacturing jobs were outsourced. However, David Autor found that over a million US manufacturing jobs were directly eliminated between 2000-2007 due to China's trade penetration. Furthermore, the reallocation process into better jobs, which was predicted, has been slow, frictional, and scarring. While some see economic globalization as a win for everyone, Anthea Roberts argues that people are sensitive to relative gains and losses. Economic globalization has led to a decline in the share of the global economy from developed countries, particularly the US, and an increase from developing countries, especially from the Asian region.
Broadening the Scope of International Law: Challenges to the Establishment Narrative of Globalization: Anthea Roberts, a global governance expert, argues that international law should include non-state actors like corporations and NGOs. Polarization around globalization has brought trade policies to the forefront. Roberts explores six different narratives around global governance.
Anthea Roberts, a global governance expert, seeks to broaden the scope of international law by including non-state actors like corporations and NGOs. The establishment narrative of globalization that outlines the benefits it can provide is being challenged by right-wing populists like Trump who view it as allowing external threats to take advantage of the people. Similarly, left-wing populists like Senator Elizabeth Warren argue that economic globalization has only benefited the rich and not the middle class. This polarization has brought trade policies, like those between the US and China, to the forefront of political discourse. Roberts explores six different narratives around global governance.
Multiple Narratives on Globalization and Its Impact: Globalization is complex and has different perspectives, such as geoeconomic, corporate power, and global threats. Understanding these perspectives is important to grasp the full impact of globalization.
Globalization has multiple narratives, and each provides a different perspective on its impact on the world. The geoeconomic narrative views trade as a foreign policy issue that could potentially threaten national security. The corporate power narrative sees multinational corporations benefiting the most from globalization and leaving transnational labor behind. The global threats narrative focuses on the negative impact of economic efficiency and integration on our planet, such as the climate crisis and pandemics. These narratives are not mutually exclusive and create heated debates because each has its own set of concerns. Considering different perspectives is crucial in understanding globalization’s impact.
The Importance of Tools and Diverse Perspectives in Assessing Complex Problems.: To solve complex problems, it's important to have diverse perspectives and avoid dogmatism. The media plays a vital role in shaping our understanding, and we need greater diversity in reporting to understand perspectives from different parts of the world.
Anthea Roberts believes in giving people tools to think about complex problems, rather than telling them what to think. She highlights how the media, by reflecting and reporting on reality, can also shape it by creating storylines and ways of understanding things. Roberts emphasizes the need for greater inputs and diversity in reporting, both domestically and internationally, to understand perspectives from elsewhere. She also points out that dogmatism is a trait that hinders prediction, and that it is essential to consider multiple perspectives when assessing complex problems.
Practicing Open-Mindedness and Empathy for a New Economic Model: Avoid being dogmatic, try viewing the world from multiple perspectives, and understand different narratives to form new coalitions and approaches for today's economic realities.
Avoid dogmatism and actively practice empathy, open-mindedness, and curiosity to view the world from multiple perspectives. Economic globalization has not worked as a panacea and even centrist liberals are recognizing the need for a new model geared towards today's economic realities. The Biden Administration is trying to bring together multiple narratives in its approach. This can be seen in initiatives like the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act. It is important to have a three-dimensional view of the world, understanding different narratives and avoiding a one-dimensional or polarized view, which can hinder the ability to mix and match different approaches and form new coalitions.
The CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act: Nationalism, Climate Change, and Friend-shoring.: These Acts prioritize reducing reliance on foreign production and decreasing China's technological investment, while also focusing on climate change and strengthening alliances. China's perception of the U.S is changing, and the perceived containment of its rise is triggering national consciousness.
The CHIPS Act promotes the investment in semiconducting manufacturing in the U.S, reducing reliance on foreign production. The Inflation Reduction Act focuses on clean energy and technological investment with allies while undermining China's technological investment. Both Acts have a strong nationalist element, but also prioritize climate change and friend-shoring. China's perception of the U.S has changed, with a decline in infatuation and respect due to societal issues like inequality and polarization. The perceived containment of China's rise by the U.S. triggers strong national consciousness.
The Century of Humiliation and Global Impact on Relationships: Negative interactions have more power than positive ones, impacting political and economic relationships between nations. It's vital to have contingency plans in case of war-like situations, and different countries have different experiences with globalization.
The Century of Humiliation was a significant period in China's history that started with Britain's defeat of China in the First Opium War and ended with the founding of The People's Republic of China in 1949. Negative interactions have a much more powerful impact than positive interactions, and this is observed in political and economic relationships between nations as well. Governments and companies are making contingency plans in case of war-like situations, such as the one over Taiwan. Russia's experiences with globalization have been different from the U.S., and Putin argues that the West has been hypocritical in setting and following rules. Putin points out the war in Iraq as an example of this.
The Economic Impact of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict on Globalization: The conflict between Russia and Ukraine affects global trade and may harm food security. The rise of regionalism and protectionism leads to new power dynamics, while collaboration among scientists during the pandemic shows potential for global idea sharing.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has significant economic consequences, with a potential impact on food security and new trade alliances. Although the global economy has never been fully globalized, it is becoming less so due to the rise of regionalism and protectionism. The fragmentation is not only evident in trade but also in the digital space. In terms of globalization of ideas, the collaboration among scientists during the Covid-19 pandemic shows a wonderful flow of ideas, albeit still limited in comparison to the full potential. The conflict exacerbates the divide between Western hegemony and Russian resistance, leading to new global alliances and power dynamics.
The Future of Global Science: Balancing Asymmetries and Value Questions: While Asia's rise in science may rebalance the West's biases, geopolitical dynamics and the separation between China and the West can hinder scientific collaboration. Legal scholarship offers a perspective to balance different viewpoints, and economists' focus on optimization may miss important aspects.
Science is globalized, but still has blind spots and biases towards the West and English-speaking countries. The rise of Asia will rebalance these asymmetries, but geopolitical dynamics could hinder the global flow of ideas. Separation of technological ecosystems between China and the West will make scientific collaboration harder. Legal scholarship provides a perspective that balances different perspectives and synthesizes them. A complex, pluralistic approach is needed in dealing with value questions. Economists' focus on optimization may lead to missing important aspects.
The Need for Humility and Openness in Economics: Economists should acknowledge the limitations of their models and be willing to consider different perspectives. While there are answers to some empirical questions, economists struggle with value-based questions. The profession has made progress in addressing inequality.
Economists tend to oversimplify their message when speaking to the public about economic globalization and trade liberalization, leading to a loss of faith when communities aren't winning. The discipline needs to be more humble and open to views from different areas and disciplines, as well as acknowledge that value and price are not the same thing. Empirical questions on the interplay between job losses caused by trade and technology have answers, but economists struggle with value questions that aren't commensurable with efficiency. The economic profession has made real shifts in thinking about inequality across classes and regions.
Shifting Economics: Valuing the Environment and Clean Energy: Doughnut Economics prioritizes ecological balance and meeting the needs of all people, challenging traditional economic models. While criticized for its focus on inequality, it recognizes the constraints on economic growth.
Economists are shifting their focus towards valuing the environment and clean energy. Kate Raworth has popularized Doughnut Economics, which highlights the need for a delicate balance between meeting the needs of all people while staying within the planet's means. This approach differs from traditional economics, which only looks at maximizing economic efficiency and gross domestic product, resulting in environmental destruction. One criticism of Doughnut Economics is that the left-wing populist narrative is more concerned about class inequality than about the link between inequality and international trade deals. Another critique claims that some of the zero-sum perspectives in the six faces of globalization are based on fallacies. Overall, Doughnut Economics seeks to recognize and address fundamental constraints on our economic models.
The Importance of Empathy in Analyzing Economic Globalization: To truly understand the impact of economic globalization, it is crucial to consider the perspectives of those with grievances and balance economic gains with national security interests. Empathy and critical thinking can lead to a more nuanced understanding of the issues at hand.
To properly analyze economic globalization, one must put themselves in the shoes of those who have grievances. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of the balance between economic welfare gains and national security interests. While economists may prioritize absolute economic gains, national interests often require balancing these gains with security and positional loss. To encourage politicians and legal scholars to think more critically about global issues, it is important to consciously put oneself in multiple different positions and empathetically consider various perspectives. By doing so, a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of economic and political globalization can be achieved.
The Importance of Considering Multiple Perspectives: Understanding things from different points of view can help you better identify issues, find solutions, and improve communication in all aspects of life, including relationships and global politics.
The idea of looking at things from different perspectives is applicable in various aspects of life, including interpersonal relationships and geopolitical relationships. It involves considering how things look from both your own perspective and that of others. This approach can help in understanding complex issues, identifying potential problems, and finding solutions. Anthea Roberts discusses this concept in her book Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters, co-authored by Nicolas Lamp. It is an important skill to develop and can lead to better communication and stronger relationships.
