Is globalisation good, bad or inevitable? It should be good. It should provide jobs and raise living standards in developing (euphemism for poor) countries.
The saying goes that charity begins at home, so does globalisation mean that jobs are being exported and the poorest in our own society are being left behind? It looks like it. This year the UK has voted Brexit and the US, Trump. These votes were cast by people marginalised by globalisation. Should they be protected at the expense of improving the lot of those in much poorer economies? We live in a democracy and that’s what they voted for.
We are seeing the effect of a rapidly increasing population in Africa, the consequences of which are overwhelming European countries. A long-term way of stemming this tsunami of immigration would be to create jobs in Africa by investing in African countries.
Is globalisation inevitable? Businesses must operate efficiently to survive so they must operate in countries with a low cost base and a low tax rate. An employer cannot justify having a factory in Middlesbrough if the same goods can be made more cheaply in Moldova. But should shareholders be prepared to sacrifice profit for greater social cohesion in the UK? These are questions to ponder. The path we take lies in the hands of our politicians and President-elect Trump has already shown his hand by vowing to leave the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade treaty. Our Prime Minister has some hard decisions to make as her government negotiates the UK’s place in the world trading order.
The glib answer is that we should improve living standards at home by offering better education and having a skilled workforce to attract inward investment. This has worked rather well in the manufacture of motor cars over the last forty years. We should concentrate on sectors in which we excel such as education, financial services, design and innovation. This requires a collective, national self-confidence that we may not possess. One thing is sure – there is stormy weather ahead.