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... a mea culpa for Trump?
Actually, no I don't think Trump is their fault. My point was rather that promising economic growth trough trade protectionism is a shitty idea regardless of who suggests it. Moreover, it is one of those concepts that can never be easily placed on a left - right axis. (I think that is also what Oliver suggests in his post above?)
And now that an absolute shit stain won the US presidency promising protectionism, it seems clearer (at least to me) that was always just a way to channel frustration, whether it is on the right or the left, and not a workable and coherent long term strategy.
starfish&coffee-
promising economic growth trough trade protectionism is a shitty idea regardless of who suggests it.
It's been a while but I don't think that was ever the argument from an already incredibly diverse group of people. I think in almost every case it was an argument for more equitable and/or sustainable benefits at the cost of "promising economic growth".
There was certainly an economic argument from the trade unions, but even they recognised their interests were in conflict with the raw growth numbers, as well as being related to a concern for worker's rights elsewhere.
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I'm happy to hold my hand up as one of those people; it was never about growth through protectionism. It was about not letting capital ride roughshod over everything and using regulation to maintain standards as opposed to growth at any cost- and if a global system would not facilitate that, or was too beholden to regulatory capture then other methods would have to be utilised.
I would (I mean, obviously I would) argue that this current crisis is exactly the chickens coming home to roost that people were worried about in the 00s
branwen
Wait. You think anti-globalization protesters from two decades ago - living in a world radically different from the one we are in today in terms of technology and industry, geopolitics, and the environment (amongst certainly many other important factors) - should some how do a mea culpa for Trump?
I think if we spent some time looking into it, we'd find that many of the issues being raised as issues during that time were contributory factors to the increase in inequality which has, very likely, been a key factor in the emergence of illiberal political ideologies.