Globalism not flawless but things are improving
At the end of this week, the heads of state from 20 large economies will gather in Argentina for the annual G20 summit. Perhaps no other institution symbolizes the current global economy, with its intertwined markets and dependent trade, better than this event. The G20 was conceived of 19 years ago as a way to curtail and mitigate financial crises.
It comes from the same tradition as many of the other globalist institutions that were created after the Second World War. Globalism and the collective institutions created to perpetuate and preserve it were intended to bring positive changes, but today, nearly two decades into the 21st century, few words engender so much apprehension and anger from so many people across the planet.
Globalism is the term used to describe the implementation of economic and geopolitical policy on a global basis. Some credit globalism with bringing peace, prosperity and order to billions of people. To others, the idea of globalism is odious.
Supporters point to worldwide economic growth and the relative lack of major wars. Detractors see globalism as a plot by powerful people to organize the world for their own interests. They point out that globalism has left hundreds of millions of people in poverty and living under repressive regimes.
According to the World Bank, we have experienced global economic growth every year since the 1960s, except for 2009. In the last 70 years, we have also experienced tremendous advances in health care and technology that must be credited to global industry.
Moreover, proponents of globalism argue that it has limited the spread of war. In the first half of the 20th century, the world was just as belligerent as it had been for centuries. It was not uncommon to see global powers and aspiring powers fight against each other. Most of these powers also pursued colonial and imperial aims — they pursued expansion instead of profit. Then, in the postwar era, these countries largely turned to economic expansion through peaceful business dealings.
On the other hand, opponents of globalism argue that the world has only been peaceful for the fortunate. Oppressive regimes have proliferated during this time. Pol Pot killed a million Cambodians in the 1970s; Hutus slaughtered up to a million Tutsi Rwandans in 1994; Bosnian Serb soldiers murdered 8,000 Bosnian men and boys in 1995; and up to half a million people have been killed in the Syrian civil war. Moreover, the same technology that has democratized communication and information can be used to keep people ignorant and even target them. Citizens of China, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere live with internet censorship and monitoring. Globalism did not save them.
And the World Bank says that, in 2015, 10 percent of the world population still lived in poverty. Globalism has not saved them. Yet the World Bank also notes that the number of people living in poverty continues to decline. Things are improving, and there is a good chance that global trade is the reason.