Brexit tells world to change path of globalization

The implications of Brexit, or Britain’s exit from the European Union, could extend far beyond the EU. It could be an antidote to the downside of globalization. Or, it could backfire on the problematic global economy.

Even many Britons in the “leave” camp were surprised that the majority of the country’s people had voted to leave the EU. With the number of people demanding another referendum on the rise, it seems most of the voters who cast their ballots to leave the EU just wanted to register a protest to remind the British government of the problems or potential problems the country could face in the near future.

Yet the fact that 57 percent of the upper class wanted to stay in the EU while the middle class was fairly divided and twothirds of the population below them supported Brexit — which a post-election analysis published in The Times, London revealed — speaks volumes of the dissatisfaction the majority of Britons felt because of the situation created by globalization or neo-liberalism.

Thanks to globalization, integration has been the most frequently used word over the past decades, with major countries trying to integrate the world into one economic entity to facilitate free trade. The establishment of such a huge global platform for business has indeed facilitated vibrant economic activities and innovative endeavors. The living standards of a large number of people in emerging countries have improved. China, with a little less than one-fourth of the world population, is a case in point.

Yet globalization has also been widening the chasm between the haves and have-nots, and the world’s wealth has been increasingly concentrating in the hands of a few elites, both in developed and developing countries. And China is no exception.