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Article: Modern times, old trends. (globalization in the 19th century illuminates current trends)(Finance and Economics)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- April 20, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ACCORDING to their bent, journalists and politicians like either to enthuse or to rant about "globalisation". Some hail the greater ease with which capital and goods can move between countries as a cause of prosperity. Others rail against it, saying that it will impoverish workers in rich countries.
Economic historians, however, are a far less excitable bunch. Globalisation, they point out, is nothing new. The half-century or so before the first world war was similar to modern times, in that national economies became more closely linked. Declining transport costs made it cheaper to send goods across oceans. Migrants left Europe for the Americas and Australia in huge ...