People should not dismiss the meaning of a spate of shocking electoral results, for the world may be entering a period of democratic decline.
Tag: globalization
-OpEd- They said he could never win. At best, Donald Trump was seen as a voice for a growing number of desperate Americans. Trump was a symptom of the political and cultural misery of the working classes in the United States — the empire of our time. His strongest critics portrayed him as a monstrous, […]
Instead of global stability, the end of the Cold War has ushered in an age of high-tech changes and social turmoil. New tales of two cities for the 21st Century.
The once Great Britain has just gotten smaller. But Brexit has also rendered the meekness of the European project evident to all. And the big players like the U.S. and China will eat them for lunch if something doesn’t change quickly.
-Analysis- BEIJING — After 30 years of domestic reform and opening up to the world, China is a changed country. Society has progressed, but also diversified, resulting in a true plurality of opinions about various issues. With a wink to earlier liberalizations in China, included Mao Zedong’s aborted call to let “100 schools of thought […]
-Analysis- PARIS — It all adds up to a major mea culpa. For the most prominent economists, the U.S. presidential campaign feels like an act of contrition. Yes, we were wrong about the virtues of global free trade. No, French philosopher Montesquieu’s beloved doux commerce (“gentle commerce”) thesis wasn’t necessarily a win-win recipe for all. […]
Trade in goods and even services may be slowing for now, but globalization retains its momentum with migration and an unstoppable flow of ideas. Blame human nature.
From the Middle East to Europe and the United States to Asia, from geopolitics to economics, the world has fallen into widespread chaos. But there is cause for hope.
Colombia’s health minister has opened up to euthanasia and imposed new bans on herbicides — news in a conservative country, and one so close to the U.S. for so long.
BAGUIO — In South Korea, learning English is a national obsession. Families pay billions of dollars a year on extra curricular education so their children can enroll in top universities and later land high-paying jobs that require good English skills. But it’s not always affordable at home, which is why the Philippines, where English is one of the two official languages, has become one of Korea’s top destinations for overseas language education. Like almost every other South Korean high school student, 17-year-old Kang Tae-won spends every weekday evening at a private academy learning English. He believes his future depends on […]
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Why World Hunger Won’t Go Away
Two new books and a docudrama ask hard questions about how so many can still go hungry in a world of technological advancement and economic growth.
The economic slump has slowed the globalization process, but it’s not just cyclical. As alliances crack and problems spread, the interconnected world system may have just maxed out.
The sense of unraveling across the globe is the result of a power vacuum. After the post-Cold War end of U.S. hegemony, no one is ready to impose order. And, no, economics can’t fix it.
Traffic is decidely outbound in a country whose medical practices and facilities can’t keep up with a multiplying affluent class. Still, there may be positive effects for all in the long run.
In 1930, the International Labour Organization set a goal to eradicate forced work. Today, 21 million people are exploited around the world. Globalization is making matters worse.
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The Myth Of India’s Middle Class
NEW DELHI — As India’s national elections approach, the country’s middle class is the center of attention. Analysts cite it as the decisive demographic in the vote slated next month. It is true that the electoral weight of the middle class hasn’t stopped growing: according to the Asian Development Bank, the Indian middle class rose […]
JOAL — On the beach here in Joal, a large fishing harbor south of Senegal’s capital of Dakar, a group of women watch as fishermen unload their catch from their motor boats. It wasn’t such a good day. But empty nets are not the only disappointment here. A Russian factory that will transform fresh fish […]
The capital’s unique harbor has driven Cuba’s economy for centuries. But with Brazil’s help, the building of a new commerical port of Mariel marks a turning point in the island’s history.
NEW DELHI — The findings of India’s first linguistic census in a century were unveiled earlier this month. Of the 850 languages identified, 300 had never previously been documented, and nearly 200 are considered at risk of extinction because they have fewer than 10,000 speakers. The Sept. 5 ceremony took place at the Gandhi memorial […]
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Homes Are Us: The World According To Ikea
In seven decades, Ikea has spread to 41 countries, shaping the globe’s domestic habits. But looking closer at the Swedish standard also shows national cultural differences holding strong.
Despite the rise of the China’s economy in recent years, many people still doubt that Chinese enterprises will be able to develop innovative products or new manufacturing methods or business models. The Financial Times recently published an article in which it referred to two Chinese corporations, Haier and Huawei, which have learned and rapidly adapted […]
BEIJING – China is busy in America’s backyard. Over the past five years, Chinese businesses have been expanding their footprint in Latin America in a number of ways, beginning with enhanced trade to ensure a steady supply of bulk commodities such as oil, copper and soybeans. At this year’s Boao Forum for Asia, for the […]
CIUDAD JUAREZ – A maquiladora, or maquila, is an offshoring factory or manufacturing plant operated under U.S.-Mexico free trade agreements to encourage the development of industry in Mexico. Mexico allows materials used in maquilas to enter duty-free, provided the finished product is then immediately exported out of Mexico. The U.S. in turn charges these products […]
MOSCOW – There are four global logistics companies (DHL, FedEx, UPS and TNT) that are generally considered barometers of the global economy. They told of a crisis before it had engulfed the world, when international exchanges began to lag as trade was slowing down, and the price of shipping packages became cheaper. That’s why economists […]