Opening up, which is basically what that ugly world globalization means, is in keeping with the internationalism that progressive people have always championed. The Asian crisis could have turned truly lethal had leaders not stayed the course and had markets closed. It happened before, during the great depression, which gave birth to hostile trading blocks and to our organization, which was created to prevent this. The system worked. Our challenge now is to continue to open up.
Some people think that globalization, on which every perceived ill is blamed, has gone too far.
They want to turn the clock back to a golden age that never was. Then, only the rich who could travel overseas had consumer choice. Trying to go back to those old ways is not an option. Just ask the Chinese. Their decision to join the WTO is momentous.