Does globalisation have a future?
With an anti-globalist America at the fore, we may end up with only harmful long-distance dependencies, rather than beneficial ones
AS WILDFIRES raged through Los Angeles in January, the infamous American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones posted on X (formerly Twitter) that they were “part of a larger globalist plot to wage economic warfare & deindustrialise the (United) States”.
While Jones’ suggestion of causality was absurd, he was right that the fires had something to do with globalisation. Last year was Earth’s hottest since record keeping began – and likely the hottest in at least 125,000 years – eclipsing the record set in 2023. For the first time, global average temperatures exceeded the Paris climate agreement’s target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. For this, scientists overwhelmingly blame human-caused climate change.
Globalisation refers simply to interdependence at intercontinental distances. Trade among European countries reflects regional interdependence, whereas European trade with the US or China reflects globalisation. By threatening China with tariffs, US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce the economic aspect of our global interdependence, which he blames for the loss of domestic industries and jobs.
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