Is Globalization to Blame?
While we cannot accept the racism and misogyny on which Donald Trump’s electoral victory fed, we must recognize that the white working-class voters who largely supported him have real grievances. They...
View ArticleA Defense of Slowbalization
Last month, I met with a group of labor inspectors in Tunja, Colombia, about two hours east of Bogotá. The workers were on strike for better pay at the time, but that didn’t stop them from readily...
View ArticleWill Amazon Take Over the World?
Imagine waking up each day to find out whether you won an auction to do your job. The night before, you signed in to a labor platform—a website such as TaskRabbit—and carefully requested a relatively...
View ArticleGlobalization Survived Populism Once Before—and It Can Again
From New Hampshire’s icy mountains, From Florida’s coral strand, To where the Rocky ranges Roll down their golden sand, Protection! oh, Protection! The joyful sound proclaim, Till each remotest...
View ArticleWill Robots Set Us Free?
Donald Trump managed to get himself elected by spinning two, seemingly incompatible yarns. The first is about the need to save and empower workers by restricting technological advancements and...
View ArticleLeft Behind by Korea’s Success
Familiar Things Hwang Sok-yong (trans. Sora Kim-Russell)Scribe, $14.95 (paper)In South Korea these days, a popular dish at trendy restaurants is budae jjigae—an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink stew...
View ArticleThe Democrats’ Yawning Silence on Trade
The last time the United States had a trade war was in 1930, and it exacerbated the Great Depression. Now Donald Trump, following the economic nationalism that contributed to his 2016 election, has...
View ArticleCitizenship v. The Surveillance State
Now that the dust has settled on the 2018 midterms, we know that President Donald Trump’s effort to rally the Republican base by exploiting border insecurity didn’t work—neither his fearmongering about...
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