Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

On the suggestion in the Presentation that economic globalisation is unstoppable.

This is supported by Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, in the Globalist this week.

Many of these potential developments [localization], especially a drift toward protectionism, are without any redeeming merit, in my view. But this is what happens when trends go to extremes. In free-market systems, the pendulum of economic power then invariably swings the other way. An era of localization will undoubtedly have more frictions than the unfettered strain of capitalism and globalization that has been so dominant over the past decade.

The big question, in my view, pertains mainly to degree — how far the pendulum swings from globalization to localization. The answer rests with the body politic. The repercussions lie in economics and financial markets.