Globalization Doesn't Make as Much Sense as It Used To

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/globalization-trade-history/510380/

Globalization Doesn't Make as Much Sense as It Used To

Since its founding, America has swung from protectionism to free trade. What’s next?

• Clyde Prestowitz
• Dec 12, 2016

A large number of American voters are tired of globalization—that much is clear. With Donald Trump calling for the abandonment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (or, more commonly, NAFTA) and Hillary Clinton turning her back on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement she herself had originally helped launch, both major-candidates abandoned what had come to be the standard pro-globalization position of those vying for the nation’s highest office. Most economists and many think-tank researchers have bemoaned this development, insisting that globalization generally leaves most nations—and most people—better off. But a review of American economic history suggests that something fundamental has changed: Increased globalization may make less sense now than it did in the recent past. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/globalization-trade-history/510380/