Globalism: BAD
Capitalism: GOOD
Current political mob-speak is attempting to reverse the past 75 years of history by claiming that Globalism is a bad thing – Nationalism/Patriotism should replace it.
The problem with this paradox is that Globalism is a natural byproduct of Capitalism, not its antithesis.
There are two issues related to Capitalism that should be considered that might be called: Economic Universalism and Border-free capital. Let’s look at the history of both.
I have called the first issue “Economic Universalism”. In the early days of the USA, business primarily consisted of cottage industries; family farms, shopkeepers and tradesmen. As the country grew and business expanded, capitalism pushed those businesses to look for new markets in other areas and to look to reduce operating costs by looking towards other companies to provide parts or services. This trend accelerated during the Industrial Revolution; textile companies in New England were replaced by companies in the south with lower labor costs, lower energy costs, decreased transportation costs and closer access to raw material growers.
Consumers who had purchased their produce from local family farms wanted more variety and longer seasons, so the businesses that provided these goods looked towards suppliers in other geographical areas such as oranges first from Florida, then from California, then Mexico, etc. Consumers who wanted to have strawberries year round looked to foreign countries with different climates to provide those fruits to them. Flowers grown in South Africa, Hawaii, Israel or Southeast Asia, channeled through the flower market in Aalsmeer, Holland became available worldwide.
The Capitalist pressure to reduce costs, compete with better products and provide the consumers with what they want resulted in cotton from Egypt, wool from Kashmir, silk from China, lower labor costs from underdeveloped countries and expansion of markets to international sites.
All of these capitalistic pressures required that there be stable international rules and regulations, shipping channels and distribution systems. The purely capitalistic need to reduce costs, increase productivity and establish reliable supply chains integrated the economies of the world’s countries. Manufacturing specificity further solidified these inter-country links. Engines for German, French, British and Scandinavian automobiles are made in Hungary although Hungary itself does not make cars; 80% of all whiskey made in Scotland is exported, etc., etc.
This interpolation of economies has required concomitant international organizations to insure stability including the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and large multi-national organizations such as SEATO, NATO, the EU and the TPP.
Economic Universalism was created by, fueled by, is supported by and required by Capitalism.
The second issue I have called “Border-free Capital”. By this I refer to the need for Capitalistic companies to finance their business. Again, in the early days of the republic, cottage industry and tradespeople created their businesses with inherited, granted or captured land. This was followed by funding from local banks, then regional banks, then national banks. And followed by investors, stock issuances and equity partners. The growth of international supply chains, international markets and international production networks has required funding from international sources. The ability of investors distributed worldwide to provide the capital necessary to support business locally requires additional stable rules and regulations on a global scenario. Again, this required international agreement to trust in international banks, money exchanges, currencies and credit. This resulted in the wide range of digital systems, financial networks, currency markets and bond markets currently in use across all borders regardless of the local political systems of each country.
The destruction of the global economic network, the global supply chain and the global capital markets would result in the destruction of American capitalism. The failure of the underlying systems and organizations coupled with a renewed sense of the rallying cry; “……First” for each and every country would put the entire world at risk of war.
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