Globalization as a Threat to Democracy

The introductory session of the webinar series will feature Professor Daniel W. Bromley, whose lecture will be based upon his latest book: Possessive Individualism: A Crisis of Capitalism

Abstract

The principle of comparative advantage stands as one of the most enduring theoretical claims of contemporary economics. The practical application of this claim supports a regime of international trade that is now characterized as globalization. While most economists praise this situation and comment on the enormous gains in human “welfare”, the empirical reality is that globalization weakens the ability of national governments to confront uniquely local economic problems under the need to remain “competitive” in the global economy.

Within trading countries, the presence of winners and losers from globalization weakens traditional civic bonds that hold nation-states together. Inequality of opportunities and outcomes further undermine collective commitments. Individuals then respond by a retreat into self-interested possessive individualism. While foreign military threats tend to strengthen the bonds of citizenship, economic threats from globalization weaken community bonds. As governments lose control of economic policy, political anger is magnified. Soon, authoritarian leaders emerge claiming that only a strong central authority figure can fix the problems, and this causes democratic norms to give way to authoritarian tendencies.

This lecture will divulge on why globalization is a threat to democratic coherence.

Speaker's Bio

Daniel W. Bromley is Anderson-Bascom Professor of Applied Economics (emeritus) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work focuses on institutional economics, the philosophical foundations of economics, environmental policy, and international development. He served 44 years as the editor of the journal *Land Economics*. He is listed in Who’s Who in Economics, and is a fellow of several professional societies. He was a Visiting Professor at Humboldt University in Berlin from 2009-2014. In 2011 he was awarded a generous prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany in recognition of his contributions to economics in Germany and the European Community. In 2016 he received the Veblen-Commons Award from the Association for Evolutionary Economics.

He has written over a 150 journal papers and book chapters, and he has written or edited seventeen books—including: (1) Institutions and the Environment, (2) Vulnerable People, Vulnerable States: Redefining the Development Challenge, (3) Sufficient Reason: Volitional Pragmatism and the Meaning of Economic Institutions, (4) Economics, Ethics, and Environmental Policy: Contested Choices. His most recent book is Possessive Individualism: A Crisis of Capitalism.

Format

Prof. Daniel W. Bromley will be speaking for the first 45 minutes. We will then be holding a Q&A Session.

This session is part of the larger project:

Dissecting Capitalism: Its past, present and future

This series aims to explore the tenets of capitalism over the fabric of time and examine its influence on the global economy and social classes.