globalism in the age of nationalism
Stand Up and Show – Not Just Tell – the Benefits of Globalization By Dr. Allen J. Morrison
The turbulence caused by increasingly rapid technological change is giving rise to populism and nationalism around the world.
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et’s think locally for a moment about how we act globally. Thunderbird’s main campus sits in the city of Glendale in one of the fastest growing counties in one of the fastest growing states in America. In Arizona, 747,837 jobs – one in five – depend on international trade. Nearly 5,000 Arizona businesses – the majority of them small businesses – depend on imports. These are just two of the quantitative benefits of globalization. Yet globalization – NAFTA and beyond, in Arizona and beyond – is at risk. We have the opportunity, and the obligation, to stand up for it. But that will require leaders to really understand the sources of resistance to globalization. And we must not only tout the quantitative benefits but also share the stories of the people whose lives have been made better by globalization.
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE GIVES RISE TO UNCERTAINTY Electricity was first introduced in 1873 but it wasn’t until 1919 – 46 years later – that even a quarter of the U.S. population had it. It took
less time – 26 years – for TV to be adopted by a quarter of American households. PCs took 16 years. Mobile phones took 13. The Internet took 7. The rate of technological change is increasing exponentially. In fact, it has outpaced our ability to adapt. The inability to adapt as fast as technology changes leaves us feeling disoriented and rudderless – and for good reason. Citizens are left wondering what has happened to their country. Employees are left worrying about their career futures.
UNCERTAINTY GIVES RISE TO NATIONALISM The turbulence caused by increasingly rapid technological change is giving rise to populism and nationalism around the world. That is understandable, a natural consequence of uncertainty. When people feel confused and overwhelmed they naturally recoil inward. As my colleague Joshua Ault put it, “We are social creatures: when the going gets rough, we circle around our tribe with spears pointed outward.” But the risk is that our natural propensity to turn inward during times of uncertainty gives way to a return to nationalism. ‘The enemy is at the gate.’ ‘Different is bad.’ ‘Protect what’s ours.’ One need not look past the nightly news to see such overgeneralizations and stereotypes aplenty. And it has already had real consequences, with Brexit in the UK, the American election, dynamics in the French and Dutch elections and most recently, in Spain. Can we abate the rise of these sentiments and their political consequences? If we can’t, we could lose the global openness that we have embraced since the end of the last world war. This is the global openness that has pulled more than a billion people out of poverty and birthed the likes of Apple, Tesla, and Google. The global openness that supports 41 million U.S. jobs. winter 2018
